🐍 Spotted Garden Eel (Heteroconger hassi)
A Swaying Colony That Looks Like Seagrass • Slender, Spotted, and Sand-Dwelling • A Mesmerising Specialist Display
 
📋 The Spotted Garden Eel, also known as Hass's Garden Eel or the White-Ring Garden Eel, has a slender tan-to-beige body covered in distinctive brown-to-dark spots, with a blunt snout and small eyes. From the Red Sea across the Indo-Pacific, it lives in colonies that can number in the hundreds or thousands, burrowed into sandy flats and slopes, where from a distance they look like swaying blades of seagrass.
Part of its magic is how it lives: it almost never leaves its burrow, stretching most of its body upward to feed while its tail stays anchored below the sand, and it vanishes completely at the first sign of danger. It's peaceful and timid, best in a dedicated, calm setup, and it's reef safe with caution: generally compatible, though it may eat small fish and crustaceans alongside its staple plankton. Every Spotted Garden Eel we ship is feeding well.
It's a specialist's display, and success starts with the setup. It feeds almost continuously on drifting plankton, so an automatic feeder that cycles food past the burrows through the day is ideal, along with a deep, fine sand bed of at least 20cm and a group of at least three, ideally six to ten, in a large, dedicated tank. It's a known jumper, so a tight lid is essential. It reaches up to 45cm and suits expert aquarists who love a quiet, mesmerising display.
 
💡 Highlights
🌾 A Swaying Seagrass Colony: Spotted eels that stretch up from the sand
🍽️ Ships Feeding Well: Every Spotted Garden Eel we send is eating confidently
🕳️ A Deep Sand Bed Home: At least 20cm for its burrow
👥 Best in a Colony: A group of at least 3, ideally 6-10
🌿 Reef Safe With Caution: May eat small fish and crustaceans besides plankton