The chain eel's only get aboout 3 feet or so. Golden tail are common and they only get about a foot or two. Sharp tail eel about 2-3 feet but very skinny and easily mistaken for a snake buy swimmers. Viper eels have wicked looking teeth and mouth and get to maybe 3 feet, very reclusive and hard to spot in the coral head. Spotted eels are pretty common and get about 3-4 feet or a little longer. Purple mouth eels are rare and get to maybe 4 or 5 feet. But the big green eels are the daddy of them all. We have a couple out on the house reef that are easily 8 feet long and 7 or 8" thick at the throat. They are all pretty harmless if you don't harass them. Had a buddy that witnessed one of the big green morray's race in his direction, stop abruptly and grabbed a 2 or 3 foot spotted eel, fliped it up and ate it swallowed head first. Wouldn't want one of them mad at me.

There are a number of different kind of mantis shrimp. The one in the picture stays in coral heads and is very reclusive, only gets to maybe 3 inches. But there are large varieties that get a foot in length and bore holes into the sand/rubble bottom. I watched a divemaster (in Roatan, Honduras) feed a 6" long lionfish he had speared (after clipping off the poision spines) to a big foot long mantis in a hole (think it was a scaly tail mantis). That thing was wicked when it came out and latched onto that fish. Pulled the whole fish down its hole. Could rip a guys arm open if unsuspectingly irritated it.

Most of the stuff that can hurt a guy in the ocean is likely to do it by accident rather than purposeful intent. Most of the ocean critters main concern is for the next meal and they all have their normal menu and preferences.

Thanks everybody for well wishes on my recovery. If I get to feeling sad and tempted to have a little pity party I just tell myself, slow recovery is better than no recovery. I was a very lucky guy to recover at all. Very fortunate to get to do the things I do. I have been blessed.