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Title says it all.
Saw some of these in a shop today, never seen them before, always presumed they'd be brackish. these were in total freshwater, and were indeed albino moray eels.
Any ideas? No latin name im afraid.
Hit me..

I am 99% sure that they will not survive. They are actually a saltwater fish that just travels into freshwater occasionaly, but cannot live there for extended periods of time.

*whacks James*

Alright, Fishbase lists 2 species with the common name "Freshwater Moray":

Gymnothorax polyuranodon

G. tile

Season lightly with pepper and enjoy.

Edit: By the way, how much did the buggers cost? I have to imagine more than the GDP of Haiti.

about £35 each i think....and for sure, body shape wise, it was the second.

I have caught Morays in SW and seen them being caught in brackish water as well. But those fellers grow huge and you go no where near their heads they have BIG jaws.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

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Keith

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G. tile is the "freshwater moray" that I see around here, increasingly commonly I might add. I've never seen them albino before, though.

Like most brackish fish, it can probably tolerate a wide range of salinities. Though some eurhyaline fish species don't care much between brackish and freshwater, some are more stringent. As morays are scaleless, I'd bet they're in the latter group, especially as they are from a primarily saltwater group. On the other hand, I have never seen a single LFS keep them in brackish water, and the fish don't seem to be preturbed. Someone with experience with this species should weigh in.

I really do want to get a moray of some kind one day, 'cuz they are pretty awesome.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I've never seen a FW moray for sale around here. I mean, it's an event if I see a fire eel or a tire track eel in an LFS. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places.

As a side note...

Shini! You're Shini again!

99% of Green spotted puffers and Figure 8 puffers at the LFS are in pure FW as well. Being brackish fish, they'll do fine in pure FW for a time, but they'll have a greatly shortened lifespan.

I'd bet that's the same with these eels. Many future SW fish spawn in freshwater or slightly brackish areas where there are lots of plants that provide good cover (the Chesapeake Bay in the US is a good example of this - prior to pollution it was a huge protein factory that was a spawning ground for many BW/SW fish.

Eric

Joe, I'm sure it's just a matter of time. FW Morays weren't exactly "common" around here two years ago, but I'm seeing them more and more regularly every time I go to fish stores. Maybe you should just start shopping for fish in DE. You're in Pennsylvania so you can't be THAT far away. Plus, we're tax free.

Yes indeed, I am back with my old name again. I have to admit, it feels good, actually./:'

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

too right..../:'

I went to a pet store about an hour away from my house yesterday to get myself some Sparkling Gouramis (and some Pygmy Corys too! So adorable, or as I like to call them, "corydorable". ) and ran into one of these guys. They were keeping it in pure FW (not quite sure the wisdom behind that especially since it is a true moray). I also thought it was kinda interesting that the genus name was Echidna while actual echidnas aren't. Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Just wondering if anyone had more info on it.

very nice.
buy one and acclimate it to brackish.

Wish I could. I'm not sure my parents would let me have another tank, and I'm also not sure I'd trust them to take care of it once I get back to school. He'd be a bit more advanced than my other tanks.

They were pretty reasonably priced. About 30 or 40 bucks, if I recall.

You were right, Shini. Saw my first G. tile today.