Heterocongrinae

{{Short description|Subfamily of Congridae}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Garden eels

| image = Heteroconger hassi 1.JPG

| image_caption = The spotted Heteroconger hassi and striped Gorgasia preclara

| taxon = Heterocongrinae

| authority = Günther, 1870

| subdivision_ranks = Genera

| subdivision = see text

}}

The garden eels are the subfamily Heterocongrinae in the conger eel family Congridae. The majority of the 36 known species of garden eels live in the Indo-Pacific, but can be found in warm ocean water worldwide.{{FishBase genus | genus= Congridae| month = July | year = 2012}}{{FishBase genus | genus = Heteroconger | month = July | year = 2012}}{{Cite web |title=CAS - Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes - Genera/Species by Family/Subfamily |url=https://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/SpeciesByFamily.asp |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=researcharchive.calacademy.org}} These small eels live in burrows on the sea floor and get their name from the behavior of poking their heads from their burrows to feed on plankton while most of their bodies remain hidden. Since they tend to live in groups, the many eel heads "growing" from the sea floor resemble the plants in a garden. They vary in color and size depending on the species. The largest species reaches about {{cvt|120|cm}} in length, but most species do not surpass {{cvt|60|cm}}. Garden eel colonies can grow as large as one acre in surface area and number up to several thousand individuals.{{Cite web |date=2020-06-01 |title=What’s the Deal With Garden Eels? |url=https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2020/06/01/garden-eels/ |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=Ocean Conservancy |language=en}}{{cite web |last1= Doubilet |first1=David |title=The Best Images from 2019's Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition |url= https://weather.com/photos/news/2019-10-17-wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-competition-entries#11 |website= Weather.com |publisher=TWC Product and Technology LLC |accessdate=26 October 2019}}