What are blennies?
Blennies belong to the Family Blennidae. From FishBase: the family has 53 genera and 345 species. They are found in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans mainly in tropical and subtropical marine habitats. Features: Most blennies are small, 10-15cm or smaller. They are generally elongated fishes. They lack scales and have a slimy skin. ‘Blennos’ means ‘mucus-like’ in Greek. Most have a continuous dorsal fin along the body length and are thus somewhat eel-like. Head usually blunt with short tentacles on eyes, nose opening. As a group, they come in a wide variety of shapes, colours and patterns. What do they eat? Most blennies are bottom feeders, nibbling on small animals, algae and detritus. Others eat plankton. Some blennies, however, take on larger animals, and specialise in chomping a mouthfull of scales and fins of bigger fish! To get close to their ‘prey’, these blennies often mimic cleaner fishes. Fearsome little fishes: A group of blennies called the Sabre-toothed or fang-blenn
Related Questions
- I was planning a 3 week stint in the tank, I know this is a must for the Coral and the Tang, but could I remove the Blennies earlier to the display to reduce the bio load?
- Thanks James. Does this imply that some blennies are omnivores, contrary to what is commonly thought, or that they simply eat flesh in new surroundings or under special conditions?
- I have a 65 gallon reef tank, I was wondering if I can add lawnmower blennies in with my black sailfin blennies?
