Fish

Spotted garden eel

Heteroconger hassi

Spotted garden eels rise from sandy burrows in colonies, swaying like grass as they pick plankton from the current. Approach slowly, or the whole meadow vanishes.

Least ConcernIn 19 Atlas countries

Least Concern (IUCN, 2019) means it is not at high risk of extinction worldwide today.

Spotted garden eels rising from sand, black spots clearly visible — Photo: Piotr Lukasik, iNaturalist, CC BY

Spotted garden eel emerging from burrow among seagrass — Photo: Jacob She, iNaturalist, CC BY

Spotted garden eel head poking from sand near seagrass — Photo: Jacob She, iNaturalist, CC BY

Two spotted garden eels stretching up from sandy seabed — Photo: Bernard DUPONT, iNaturalist, CC BY

Spotted garden eel rising among green seagrass blades — Photo: Kai Squires, iNaturalist, CC BY

Spotted garden eels swaying above rubble seabed — Photo: Bernard DUPONT, iNaturalist, CC BY

Colony of garden eels standing in sand over rubble — Photo: desertnaturalist, iNaturalist, CC BY

Garden eels bending from burrows on sandy slope — Photo: cello caruso-turiello, iNaturalist, CC BY

Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.

Length

Typical size not well measured; largest usually given as about 40 to 45 cm (16 to 18 in), and one museum source says up to 60 cm (2 ft). Only about 14 mm (0.6 in) thick

Weight

Not reliably measured

Next to a person

Up to about a quarter of an adult's height, and usually only part of the body shows above the sand

What it eats

Tiny drifting plankton, picked from the current while its tail stays in the burrow.

Around people

Harmless

How it lives

Spotted garden eels live in colonies on sandy slopes near reefs, often below about 15 m. Each eel digs its own burrow and rarely leaves it. They lean into the current to pick plankton from the water, and pull back tail first when something comes near. To spawn, partners stretch out from neighbouring burrows and twist together.

Where it goes

It does not migrate. Adults stay in their own burrow. Only the tiny larvae drift in open water before they settle on the sand.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Found widely on sandy bottoms across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Polynesia. The size of a colony varies by site, depending on current, sand and visitor pressure. There are no named subspecies. Other garden eels, like the orange-banded splendid garden eel, can live nearby and are a different species.

Meet it respectfully

Approach slowly and stay low, at the edge of the colony, not above it. Do not chase, touch, feed or crowd them, and do not stir the sand with your fins. If they hide, wait quietly. They decide if they come back up.

Fun fact

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