Some experts believe that the young nephrite eel's coloration helps it to hide among seaweed, which protects it from larger predators and offers a place from which to ambush prey of its own.
This juvenile stage of the jade eel is most often found in open sea, where the prey is plentiful. Naturalists have observed that as the nephrite matures, its body darkens to the adult's lustrous green, but beyond this, little is certain of its life cycle or breeding habits.