We occasionally swim over garden eel colonies. Some of them are 90 feet deep, others, like today are in shallower water (20 feet). Garden eels settle in the sand, and remain in their burrows where they search the water for food items. When threatened or approached, they withdraw into their burrows. They are charming little animals that bob and weave as they pick planktonic prey from the water that flows past them.
I'm guessing that these eels were 8 to 10 inches long, but the most we ever saw was 6 or 7 inches protruding from a burrrow.
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| A distant view of the colony |
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| Getting closer |
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| A close-up of the garden eel |
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| A concerned eel that has withdrawn into its burrow |
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