Garden Eels?

[bobmaggi]

it was a pretty deep dive. Bob got down to 120', and I got to 108'. I'm glad we got to see them up close at the Maui Ocean Center! No way to see them otherwise! Maggi

 

[justleesa]

when we get close they pop back in. Wwe go back they come out...lol.....it's like a game

 

[howard4113]

Actually at Molokini they look like this - at least they did last Saturday:

They are darned shy.

 

[Charlie99]

when we get close they pop back in. Wwe go back they come out...lol.....it's like a game

At Molokini at least, the area covered by eels is big enough that you can move on into the middle and just settle in. After a minute or so, the ones 4 or 5' away will just peek out of the hole, 7' away they will poke up a few inches, by 10 or 12' away they are pretty close up to their normal foot or so showing. IIRC, the close in guys didn't go back to feeding. Only the eels 8 -10' away or more would start doing their little dance back and forth plucking stuff out of the current.

A couple of times I settled all the way down onto the sand, on top of some eels. They didn't bother me, and after lifting off a couple minutes later and hovering 15' away, they'd come right on up out of their holes right underneath where I had been on the sand.

 

[fishb0y]

Are those eels or cobras?

Remember... this is right outside of Pearl... and we do have the nuke subs there... you should see the eels at night!

 

[bobmaggi]

how close were you when you took this?!!! or did you have to zoom in a lot? Anyway, nice to have the Ocean Center there, to see them up close and personal. Maggi

 

[justleesa]

Great picture Mark!

and we do have the nuke subs there... you should see the eels at night!

that I'd like to see!


I'll have to try that Charlie...thanks for the tip

 

[Universal Diver]

Hmm....

 

[Universal Diver]

I checked my book on exotic Pacific Sea Life and it says these are rare, black-lined, cobra, garden eels. That's what I thought...

 

[Charlie99]

Actually at Molokini they look like this - at least they did last Saturday:

They are darned shy.

Hey! I've got a picture from 2004 in the same spot. It has the same rock in the background. Little point and shoot Stylus400, so not anywhere near the same quality, though. That eel off to the right of the rock in your photo is all contorted -- look's like he's making a really big lunge for a tidbit drifting by.