Blue Ribbon Eel

The very secretive Blue Ribbon Eel is certainly among the most colorful of all eels and is also one of the oddest. As juveniles they are all black, gaining color as they age. At maturity males tend to be the mostly blue with yellow fringe as you see in this week's photo, while females can turn almost entirely yellow, leaving just a few hints of blue. They are also hermaphroditic as males can turn into females (and thus switch colorations). Their combination of timid behavior and a penchant for eating live fish can make them a challenge to keep and thus we recommend them to only expert aquarists.