Eel Bites Lion Fish

[Jack Ryan]

During a recent trip to the Caymans we saw a juvenile eel, strike at a lion fish and completely bite it in half.

We were staying at the Sea Lodges at Cayman Kai and had regular snorkel outings in the marine park. While returning to shore we stopped at a formation close to shore and just before we got out of the water I noticed a lion fish hunting near the outcropping. I asked my wife for the camera and just as I focused on the lion fish, I saw a small eel strike with blazing speed at the lion fish. You can see the results.

While reviewing the video shot during that day, I did not see the eel, but, putting some video clips together after our vacation, the eel was still out from under the outcropping. Looking closely you can even see the mouth open and close.

Way to go eel!

YouTube - Lion Fish attacked by Eel

 

[francousteau]

That Lionfish was already halved by the time the eel struck it. You can see that there's no tail on the lionfish even before the eel got it. The lionfish appears to move due to the strike and not because it was trying to get away. That's the way I see the video anyway.

 

[docuw]

Looks like you got the video after it was stuck by the eel? Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the strike that francousteau is seeing is another fish biting at the now dead lionfish. I didnt see an eel in the video?

 

[irishtn]

I actually don't see the eel either but your camera is really good, whats your setup?

 

[Hank49]

That couldn't have happened. The lionfish had no natural predators in the Caribbean and they're going to take over. In a few years, that's all we'll see.

just kidding. That's good news.

 

[BKP]

Nice vid... let's hear it for "nature finds a way..."

 

[Jack Ryan]

The strike was very, very fast and I just missed the bite. But, in the first few seconds of the clip look under the rock, below the floating lion fish you can just see him. You can see the head, turn slightly and return to it's hiding place. I watched this several times without seeing the eel. But then I watched it again and there it was.

Try adjusting the clip to 720 P, this helped a bit.

Believe it or not, my set up is a Go Pro Hero. I bought the basic model with a max 960 P video resolution. The standard housing does not provide the best image quality underwater so I picked up a new housing from Eye of Mine. Total cost with a new SD card was less than three hundred dollars. You just point, hope, and shoot as there is no LCD display on the back.

 

[Hank49]

Nice vid... let's hear it for "nature finds a way..."

Yep, and now that we have all this eel food out there, I guess next we'll be over run with eels.