Is there a TRUE freshwater moray eel? or something similar?

[hereticlosmorte]

Gymnothorax polyuranodon (Bleeker 1853), a "Freshwater Moray". Indo-Pacific; Sri Lanka to Fiji, down to Australia.

this species is caught in more than one location, not only in the queensland area.
suffice to say, it would migrate to these locations through the saltwater. this eel is akin to that of a bull shark, that it can survive in more than 1 water type. does that make a bull shark a freshwater species? no.

a true freshwater fish will not survive in saltwater. that is what makes them classified fresh water.

 

[Comatose]

They don't breed, or live exclusively in freshwater and should not be treated as such. If you look at the the fishbase heatmap you'll see the majority of specimens are found at sea. You're gonna do what you're gonna do, but this species, along with every other moray, needs at least brackish conditions.

 

[Umbra]

Not wanting to get into the whole "saltwater fish in freshwater" debate (or any of those highly opinionated debates in general), I'd just settle for something along the lines of a spaghetti/paddle tailed eel (Moringua sp.fresh to mild brackish, have been kept successfully in both). They're built like a miniature elongated moray and can be kept in a community setting. Despite initial shyness, if kept with quiet, retiring tankmates and given regular feeding regimes you can usually coax them out of the sand with food.

 

[pookie]

Right now my LFS is selling "freshwater" moray eels.. :/

 

[Carefree_Dude]

wait, aren't scats and african leafs brackish too?

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

scats are, but African leaf are not...also that is a good retail price for G. tile.

 

[masone]

This moray from north Queensland lives right up in the freshwater streams in the rainforest, the scientist have only ever have caught them in the freshwater, the biggest caught to date is about 1.5m long and the smallest is about 10cm long both were in the freshwater. i know the leading scientist from cairns who has been studying these eel for years.

Hey Ben. Gar came good! Stoked. Anyway, to get back on topic, yes these eels are true fresh. Have seen them in the wild and have caught them. Why are they all over the Pacific? Well like most eels they have a larval stage which lives in marine. Suffice to say these little larval eels get moved around in the currents and that is why they are through the Pacific region. As they grow into elvers they move back into fresh. Look at some of the stiphodon goby species. Same ones are found in Indo, PNG, various islands around the way and Aus. They are freshwater, how did they get to all these places. Marine larval stage! All G. polyuranodon here have been caught way up in freshwater streams, not even near the tidal influence. When the scientist is finished doing the otoliths we will all know how long they spend in each environment but I would say they are catadromous like many fish in the region, living in fresh and breeding and growing through their first life stages in marine or brackish conditions. They are also doing genetic work with variuos populations (Aus, polynesia etc) to see if the genetics are mixed up as would be expected if they are drifting in the sea as young or if they are distinct populations. I guess the final thing for the naysayers will be the BBC film they are doing here atm. They have filmed the morays in the wild and are filming some feeding in said scientists FRESHWATER aquarium. Expect to see it out at the end of the year.
For those that are interested, pics by Brendan "scientist"

And a ****ty cellphone pic from me

 

[xenia]

not trying to derail but whats a gymnothorax tile?! arent they the "freshwater moray eel" my LFS sells them in brackish water and say they can live their whole life in here true or not ?

 

[dzjr1188]

morays can live in both salt and fresh like salmon, but they do not spend the bulk of their lives in fresh, their are many fish that can go from one to the other for a few days to weeks but that doesnt mean it is good for them.

 

[northboy]

I know it is an old thread BUT,
First off, fish base is not always up to speed, it just depends on what boffins have updated it?

Second, there has only been 2 boffins working on the Morays, one in the French Pacific islands and one here (work on going and about to be compared), there has been info put on fish base from boffins working on other species, that have seen polyuranodon and loged the info as a side project.

Of the Australian species, I have logged/caught 40% of them and all the specimens including the unpublished ones have come from puer fresh, the one that wasent was 7cm and probily migrating back.

In answer to one of the miss infomed I read, No, Australian rivers are not brackish we have a full range of FRESH water from soft acid to hard and all inbetween.

The other one about migration, the young laval eels move around on currents, before finding there new home OR back to there orginal creek!. There is a salt water traping trial starting soon to see if we can find adults in salt, (we are not collecting there to many Crocs) I am thinking they will not be there.

Other fresh water eel species start there life the same way! but are kept as fully fresh water species.

The definer is when the ear bones are done and the DNA is compare, the DNA is the one I am most excited about, I am thinking they are breeding in fresh, the young move to the salt and they are staying local, except for when the Coral sea currents are strong, then they are moved as young. There is to many localised population simularitys

Not wanting to sound like a smart A, i dont think it is right to comment on things that are not in you country or you have seen and the science is not complete on yet. We are drawing on internet info, that for a lot of the time is far from right. I read all the info before I got involved and how wrong is it, WOW.

Keep an eye out for the doco, it will for the moment at least be called The Barrier Reef, how orginal LOL. I was there for the Moray shoot 5 days for 4.5 minutes but WOW and the whole doce looks S##t hot, it is about the relationship between the reef and the Rain forest. It is a BBC doco and on in the new year, they are in London now editing it.

Not 100% sure yet but there may be a doco on Australian fresh water, I will be heavley involved in it, you guys might get to see the Aussie rival to the Red Tail cat not as pretty but 5 foot or 1.5mt long, an animal, yes fish base and books say 2 feet or 60cm sorry.

The long and short of it is. They will live very well in GOOD QUALITY fresh water that is medium hard and has no organic build up, No3, phosphates and the like and dont belive every thing on fish base LOL, unless a scientist has up loaded there work, it will be out of date!. OH and local kept ones have been in fresh for 2 1/2 years.

Bob