Known for catching their prey with surprise attacks, moray eels are found in marine and freshwater habitats. These colorful patterned moray eels are vicious aquatic animals.
Possessing a bone-crushing jaw, moray eels wait for their prey to pounce once spotted. Given their variety of species, moray eels consume a somewhat similar diet.
That said, moray eels are ferocious and carnivorous eels. They enjoy feasting on diverse fish and other food items. Read on to learn more about “What do moray eels eat?”
Insects, Animals, and Fish
Moray eels are the active night hunters usually found swimming around the reefs, searching for food. For most of the day, these eels sit and wait patiently for any prey to come close. The jaw of the moray eels provides ease for grinding and crushing the prey.
Being carnivores, moray eels eat fish, lionfish, clownfish, parrotfish, and pufferfish as well. Together with these small fishes, moray eels eat squid, octopus, and jellyfish. Their feeding isn’t limited to a few food items, because they can consume virtually anything.
From small fish to crustaceans, the feeding of moray eels constitutes a varied diet. That said, moray eels eat shrimp, mussels, oysters, lobster, sea urchins. Not so surprisingly, but moray eels eat sharks that are relatively small to fit into the jaw of moray eels.
Fruit, Vegetables, and Plants
Although they live and swim around coral, moray eels don’t forage vegetation or plants. This is because of their favorite meaty dietary habits. Hence, moray eels don’t eat fruit, vegetables, or plants even if fish are scarce.
What moray eels don’t eat?
These voracious and opportunistic feeders exclusively consume almost every small fish in the water. However, moray eels don’t eat sea turtles or barracudas. And that’s because barracudas, sea snakes, and other aquatic creatures prey on moray eels. Not to mention, moray eels don’t eat humans. However, they can injure humans if they come in contact with them.
