Comments on: "He needs to be a Youtube star."

"He needs to be a Youtube star."

casarkos — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:19:10 -0800

Oliver the green moray eel loves to be petted. With small children, a fish popsicle, and commentary about barracudas. (SLYT)

Eels, previously.

By: meta87

meta87 — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:28:09 -0800

This video has totally changed my view in regards to having an eel as a companion/sidekick.

By: WidgetAlley

WidgetAlley — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:31:17 -0800

I didn't know Aquaman ran an aquarium store. Best eels ever.

By: ooga_booga

ooga_booga — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:34:24 -0800

As a diver, I can't help but cringe while watching this video - especially when one of the people petting Oliver starts stroking the inside of his mouth. GAH.

By: prize bull octorok

prize bull octorok — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:35:15 -0800

AwwWWWW who's a good eel? Who's a good eel! You! Yes you are! I love this. This is the best Metafilter post.

By: planetesimal

planetesimal — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:36:32 -0800

That put me into shock.

By: Slap*Happy

Slap*Happy — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:40:08 -0800

Yeah, this is an educational opportunity on how wild animals aren't tame just because you wish they were just waiting to happen. There's a video of someone losing their thumb to another "pet" moray you can find without searching too hard.

By: planetesimal

planetesimal — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:44:17 -0800

Maybe it's sick or debilitated?

By: dobie

dobie — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:45:32 -0800

So I guess it's not OK to eat fish then.

By: Atom Eyes

Atom Eyes — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:57:58 -0800

Maybe it's sick or debilitated? Or just some dude with his arm stuck in a green sock.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:03:56 -0800

I was expecting to see some lovely underwater arterial spray.

By: eugenen

eugenen — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:04:22 -0800

Sweet Jesus that is a tame eel. Those things are blind as bats and in the wild will snap viciously at anything that moves.

By: Daily Alice

Daily Alice — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:09:15 -0800

When you feel something queer, and an eel bites your ear, that's a moray...

By: MaryDellamorte

MaryDellamorte — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:15:42 -0800

There's a video of someone losing their thumb to another "pet" moray you can find without searching too hard. That video is hard to watch because you can't believe someone would be as stupid as to feed a moray eel hotdogs the same shape, size and color AS HIS FINGERS.

By: codacorolla

codacorolla — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:16:14 -0800

This has changed every conception I had about eels.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:20:35 -0800

Maybe it's sick or debilitated? Perhaps he's just feeling eel?

By: Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:22:24 -0800

I'm not sure I'd say "loves to be petted." Tolerates being petted, maybe.

By: East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:31:49 -0800

This is the second-most adorable Oliver; ahead of Twist but behind John

By: painquale

painquale — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:32:13 -0800

Is this post a response to this comment just two posts down?

By: tigrrrlily

tigrrrlily — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:34:02 -0800

Snake-like aquatic pet You can scratch on the head ... That's a moray?

By: nathancaswell

nathancaswell — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:41:59 -0800

Yeah don't eels bite people's fingers off like, quite frequently? I've never scuba dived or snorkeled in my life and I feel like I know that.

By: jpolchlopek

jpolchlopek — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:55:14 -0800

When you swim in the sea and an eel bites your knee that's a moray (apologies to whomever, here, I stole it from)

By: 5_13_23_42_69_666

5_13_23_42_69_666 — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:59:14 -0800

listening to the petter's commentary, it seems that the eel thinks he a hygiene fish - there is nothing in the aquarium that grooms the eel, so he lets the person do it. Which is neat, but also a bit sad. also, the person taking the video assures her friend that she will be edited out. lies!

By: mai

mai — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:34:29 -0800

I watched it eel-even times.

By: jquinby

jquinby — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:30:29 -0800

Thanks to everyone here who helped put that damned song into my head.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:51:59 -0800

jpolchlopek, I believe this comment by bradlands is the earliest appearance of that joke on Metafilter.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:18:13 -0800

Oliver is welcome in my hovercraft anytime.

By: DingoMutt

DingoMutt — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:54:58 -0800

Thanks to everyone here who helped put that damned song into my head. When I started reading the first one, for some reason my brain played it for me in the style of the Diarrhea Song. I had never really noticed the similarity between the two songs before, but clearly there is a mashup just waiting to happen.

By: Napoleonic Terrier

Napoleonic Terrier — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:00:59 -0800

I can't wait to go the local aquarium and try this! Regards, Soon-to-be-Lefty

By: Zero Gravitas

Zero Gravitas — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 05:02:02 -0800

I've been waiting for an excuse to post this stupid little video for soooo long.

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 05:36:09 -0800

That video is hard to watch because you can't believe someone would be as stupid as to feed a moray eel hotdogs the same shape, size and color AS HIS FINGERS. You're a deeper thinker than me: I thought it was hard to believe someone would offer the eel his hand a second time after being lucky enough to get it back in the condition it left the first time.

By: Pyrogenesis

Pyrogenesis — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 06:22:38 -0800

Let's do it properly then!

By: emmling

emmling — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:18:31 -0800

Sending this thread to my friend who has a tumblr about the adventures of a moray eel plushie.

By: Darken Skye

Darken Skye — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:07:20 -0800

Here's another video of someone playing with a moray.

By: Lexica

Lexica — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:43:05 -0800

I love the commentary.

Kid: Would a barracuda kill you? Eel-petter: No, probably just maim you. You wouldn't be doing much track & field after that. Mom: You're really good with kids, you know?

By: IAmBroom

IAmBroom — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 04:57:17 -0800

Cool Papa Bell: I'm not sure I'd say "loves to be petted." Tolerates being petted, maybe.

Not sure why you don't see an animal that is actively seeking out the touch, waiting for it, and responding gently to it as if to invite more of it. It's pretty clear to me that the eel is showing pleasure responses. At first, I was stunned - this is what I think of as "mammal behavior": craving lightly-compressive touch and stroking from another being. But then I realized that morays spend their lives sheltered in close rock crevices, and so their nervous systems must have feedback that says, "My skin is pressed against something, so I'm safe." I suppose being stroked by a hand isn't all that much different from rubbing their body against a tunnel side, in a way, so they get the same relaxing feedback from it. I suppose the test for this hypothesis would be if most other tunneling animals respond positively to touch.