The spotted garden eel is a small fish that can reach a maximum length of 40 centimetres (16 in; 1.3 ft).

[3] The spotted garden eel is widespread throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific from the eastern coasts of Africa including the Red Sea to Polynesia, and south from Japan to New Caledonia.

[4] It lives exclusively in variously sized colonies on sandy bottoms that are exposed to currents, at depths from 15 to 45 meters.

[5] It digs a burrow from which emerges about a third of its body pointing their mouths towards the underwater current to catch drifting food.

Fertilized eggs and juveniles have a planktonic period before reaching sufficient size to start living in the substrate.