Spotted Garden Eel

The spotted garden eel can be found in tropical waters in the Indo-Pacific region from Africa to Japan and Australia. It occurs most commonly on protected sandy bottom slopes that are exposed to current. This species is most often seen in dense colonies of up to several hundred individuals with only about one-quarter of their 16- to 24-inch bodies extending above the surface of the sand. 

This fish uses its pointed tail to burrow into the sandy bottom and then secretes mucus to bind the sand grains along the burrow walls to prevent its collapse. Individuals rarely leave their burrow and even reproduce by leaning over to intertwine with an adjacent mate.