Fish Lab - Ecology

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Garden Eels -
Dwellers of the Undersea Desert

Learn more about these fascinating sand-dwellers in this informative article on garden eel biology. Photo by Roger Steene

The members of the family Heterocongridae are familiar to any diver that has strayed from a coral reef and explored the adjacent sandy expanses. From a distance these eels resemble a field of seagrass, but as you draw nearer you begin to notice that this grass miraculously disappears in response to your approach! In most cases these eels are quite shy and rarely allow you to approach closer than 1 or 2 m (3 to 7 feet) before vanishing into their burrows.

In this CoralRealm Group Profile we will take a look at this interesting subfamily of fishes. This includes a synthesis of what is known about their behavioral ecology, photos of numerous species, and links to species profiles in our Reef Fishes Encylopedia.

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