Happy New Year! I visited the Shedd Aquarium with some friends for the first time in years, and I was, as expected, absolutely exuberant. I discovered these fascinating little guys in the Wild Reef area. Some brief investigation showed that they sway around with the current while staying anchored to the seabed and eat plankton. From afar underwater, you and I would probably mistake these garden eels for seagrass.
A casual conversation with a friend sparked this post – we were intrigued by their “hiding” behavior and wondered 1) how long are these guys and 2) how do they stay attached to the seabed?
Answer #1: they measure up to 16 inches (~40 cm) long! That’s around the length of two bananas combined. Some of the Philippine and spotted garden eels at the aquarium were only one or two inches above the sand. They’re between the thickness of a pencil and a Sharpie.
Answer #2: they dig a hole and attach themselves to the seabed with a special kind of mucus they secrete. They can leave their burrows, but choose not to, although they do move closer to each other during mating season.
Garden eels are typically quite shy, and they hide from predators in their burrows. When I get a chance, I’ll update this post with a video taken from the aquarium since I just switched to a better phone. They’re adorable, especially when they intertwine with each other! Meanwhile, here’s a really good (and cute) video explaining more about their behavior and habitat.
Bonus: a Japanese aquarium encouraged people to video call their garden eels during quarantine.
Thanks again for stopping by!
Sources: garden eel info, garden eel info (1 – thumbnail looks like seagrass),
Image sources: thumbnail: sleep fish (at Shedd Aquarium), open water garden eels: Wikimedia Commons
sleep fish. 
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