Gymnothorax arabicus is a new species of Moray eel from the northwestern Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Socotra Archipelago, and the Arabian Gulf.
The new species was formerly confused with Gymnothorax pseudoherrei, but is distinguished from it by having slightly more total vertebrae (114–120 vs. 111–116), dark stripes on the throat and the side of the head, and a larger maximum size of 300 mm TL vs. 200 mm TL.
We saw the description of this short, brown moray eel back in July 2024, but chose not to cover it as we wrongly assumed it wasn’t in the hobby. Little did we know that it was a guy from an aquarium store who helped to identify it.
James Dandar of St. Pete Saltwater Aquarium Store, Florida helped discover that the eel in his care was a new species of moray eel by sharing DNA with researchers at the Smithsonian Museum, and is named on the scientific paper.
The fish originally came from a supplier in Sri Lanka, via wholesaler Quality Goldfish, also in Florida. James told Reef Builders about the newly described Gymnothorax arabicus that is in his care:
“The DNA was collected by using a 1/16th hole punch through the tip of the tail about 4 years ago, but this healed completely.”
“The first 2 or so years I had this eel it refused to eat anything but freshly killed live ghost Shrimp and now eats primarily 1-inch pieces of frozen silversides.”
“It shares the aquarium with two peppermint shrimp and two Percula Clownfish, one of which will feed the eel pieces of silversides like it would feed an anemone.”
“There is also a forest with three color variations of Kenya trees. The eel will sometimes swim through its branches and the Kenya trees are also excellent at absorbing the waste from the aquarium.”
“However, this eel spends most of its time hiding in a cave under a rock with just its head sticking out.”
“There are also quite a bit of bristleworms, which also help with eating leftover food tremendously.”
“My eel is not for sale to hobbyists, but I hope to sell it to an accredited Zoo in Florida, where it can be studied and viewed by as many people as possible.”
James has had the eel since January 2020 and it currently resides in a 10-gallon Innovative Marine Pro.
At just 12” fully grown, Gymnothorax arabicus should make a more suitable long-term aquarium resident than many of its congeners but James wants his to go on display at an accredited Zoo.
More info: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5477.4.4
