# Come On, Moray boy, Let's Go Hunting!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/come-on-moray-boy-lets-go-hunting/389700>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 27, 2007, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/come-on-moray-boy-lets-go-hunting/389700 "2007-01-27T09:07:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/come-on-moray-boy-lets-go-hunting/389700/1 "2007-01-27T09:07:38Z")

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[Groupers and moray eels team up to go hunting.](http://www.scienceupdate.com/show.php?date=20070122)

> [@](#):
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> Moray eels and grouper fish should be enemies, since they compete for the same prey. But now, scientists have extensively documented them hunting together in the Red Sea. According to behavioral ecologist Redouan Bshary of the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, a grouper will actually invite a moray eel to a joint hunt with a distinctive head shake. If the eel accepts, the grouper hunts in the open water, while the eel wriggles into the crevices of coral reefs.

Pretty danged clever for fish.

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**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/come-on-moray-boy-lets-go-hunting/389700/2 "2007-01-27T14:36:55Z")

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Tuckerfan, you could run a meta-site. You consistently link to the neatest articles. Thanks for bringing such sites to our attention. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/come-on-moray-boy-lets-go-hunting/389700/3 "2007-01-27T14:46:06Z")

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When an eel, wanting prey,  
Asks a grouper to play,  
That’s a moray!

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/come-on-moray-boy-lets-go-hunting/389700/4 "2007-01-28T02:37:13Z")

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I saw this on a BBC nature program a few weeks ago. It’s really cool. They also showed similar behaviour with another fish and snakes. As you say, one group is in the open water, and the other in the crevices, so the prey gets caught either way.

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**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/come-on-moray-boy-lets-go-hunting/389700/5 "2007-01-28T03:23:31Z")

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Pretty clever.  
I love morays. I even did a documentary video on one in college. (Tech didn’t expect underwater footage shot in advance of the class. 😃 )