Moray Eel

Photo: Amanda Johnston · © all rights reserved

Giant morays reach well over a metre in length on this reef, using the undercuts of coral boulders as ambush points for fish and crustacean prey at night. By day they hang with jaws open at crevice entrances in a characteristic breathing posture that appears threatening but is entirely respiratory. Cleaner shrimp set up stations at moray dens, and the relationship between the eel's patience and the shrimp's bold grooming is a reliable photographic subject at 6 to 10 metres.