Forktail fang blenny

Care at a glance

Overview

The forktail fang blenny is a peaceful fang blenny for the middle of a reef tank. It is an easy fish to keep.

Caring for the forktail fang blenny

Keep the forktail fang blenny in 30 gal (114 L) or more, with plenty of live rock that offers tight hiding spots. Fit a well-sealed lid, since it jumps readily when startled.

Hold the water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Offer a varied diet of mysis, vitamin-enriched brine shrimp, finely chopped seafood and herbivore preparations several times a day. It will also graze on copepods and the algae film in the rockwork.

The forktail fang blenny is peaceful toward other species and safe around corals, clams and most invertebrates. If it is underfed, it may pick at small ornamental shrimp or feather duster worms. Keep it singly or as an established male-female pair, since two unrelated fish of the same or similar-looking species usually fight. Breeding it is hard.

Good to know

The forktail fang blenny, also sold as the yellowtail or eyelash fang blenny, belongs to Meiacanthus in the family Blenniidae. Like other fang blennies, it carries a pair of long, grooved canine fangs on the lower jaw, connected to venom glands. The venom is purely for defense, not for hunting prey. It contains opioid-like compounds and enzymes that can drop a predator's blood pressure and cause disorientation, giving the blenny time to escape. The bite is harmless to people beyond a sharp, localized sting.

In the wild

The forktail fang blenny is native to shallow reef flats and lagoons across the western Pacific, from Bali and the Philippines east to Samoa. It shelters in abandoned worm holes and small crevices in the reef. Unusually for a blenny, it spends much of its time swimming freely in open water instead of perching on rock.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Mozambique fangblenny

  Meiacanthus mossambicus

  3.5 in (9 cm) · 29 gal (110 L)

  3.5 in (9 cm)29 gal (110 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Disco blenny

  Meiacanthus smithi

  3.1 in (8 cm) · 26 gal (100 L)

  3.1 in (8 cm)26 gal (100 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Canary fang blenny

  Meiacanthus oualanensis

  3.9 in (10 cm) · 40 gal (150 L)

  3.9 in (10 cm)40 gal (150 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Blackline fang blenny

  Meiacanthus nigrolineatus

  3.5 in (9 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)

  3.5 in (9 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Striped poison-fang blenny

  Meiacanthus grammistes

  4.3 in (11 cm) · 29 gal (110 L)

  4.3 in (11 cm)29 gal (110 L)73–79°F (23–26°C)

• 

  Midas blenny

  Ecsenius midas

  5.1 in (13 cm) · 29 gal (110 L)

  5.1 in (13 cm)29 gal (110 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)