Pictus blenny
Ecsenius pictus
Also known as White-Lined Comb-Tooth Blenny, Painted Blenny, Pictus Coralblenny, Painted Combtooth Blenny
SaltwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 73–81°F
- 23–27°C
- pH
- 8.1–8.4
- Adult size
- 2 in
- 5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 20 gal
- 75 L
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Social behavior
- Solitary
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Breeding
- No record
- Rarity
- Common
- Reef safe
- Reef safe
- Family
- Blenniidae
- Origin
- Found in the western Pacific around the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands, along outer reef walls with rich coral growth.
Overview
The Pictus blenny is a tiny, peaceful blenny, and its small size makes it a good fit for small reef tanks. It is easy to keep.
Did you know
Despite its small size, the Pictus blenny has a big personality. It often perches out in the open, watching the room rather than hiding.
Caring for the Pictus blenny
Keep the Pictus blenny in a reef tank of 20 gal (75 L) or more, with mature live rock. Give it lots of perches and grazing surface on the rock.
Hold the water at 73 to 81°F (23 to 27°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Offer a mixed diet of algae, spirulina and small meaty foods, and let it graze the rockwork.
The Pictus blenny is peaceful, but keep only one per tank unless the tank is large, since they squabble with their own kind. It is generally reef safe, though it may occasionally nip at clam mantles.
Good to know
Ecsenius pictus is a combtooth blenny in the family Blenniidae, and its species name means painted in Latin. The trade also calls it the painted blenny or the white-lined comb-tooth blenny. Its brown body is marked with rows of white and blue dots along dark stripes. Like other combtooth blennies, it uses rows of fine teeth to scrape algae off rock.
In the wild
The Pictus blenny lives in the western Pacific around the Philippines, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands. It is found along outer reef walls with rich coral growth. There it perches on rock and coral, hopping from spot to spot, and grazes film algae and detritus from hard surfaces.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
The Pictus blenny is a peaceful, solitary species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.
Yellow watchman goby
Cryptocentrus cinctus
Saltwater3.5 in (9 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)
Ocellaris clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris
Saltwater3.1 in (8 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
Percula clownfish
Amphiprion percula
Saltwater3.1 in (8 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
Disco blenny
Meiacanthus smithi
Saltwater3.1 in (8 cm) · 26 gal (100 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
Harlequin shrimp
Hymenocera picta
Saltwater2 in (5 cm) · 11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
Fighting conch
Strombus alatus
Saltwater3.1 in (8 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
Common questions
What size tank does a Pictus blenny need?
A Pictus blenny needs at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.
What temperature and pH does a Pictus blenny need?
A Pictus blenny is comfortable at 73–81°F (23–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.
What does a Pictus blenny eat?
A Pictus blenny eats a mixed diet of algae, spirulina and small meaty foods. It also grazes the rockwork.
How big does a Pictus blenny get?
An adult Pictus blenny reaches about 2 in (5 cm).
Related species
2.4 in (6 cm)20 gal (75 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)Tailspot blenny
Ecsenius stigmatura
2.4 in (6 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)
3.1 in (8 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)Red Sea mimic blenny
Ecsenius gravieri
3.1 in (8 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)
3.5 in (9 cm)20 gal (75 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)Lined blenny
Ecsenius lineatus
3.5 in (9 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)
3.9 in (10 cm)29 gal (110 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)Bicolor blenny
Ecsenius bicolor
3.9 in (10 cm) · 29 gal (110 L)
5.1 in (13 cm)29 gal (110 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)Midas blenny
Ecsenius midas
5.1 in (13 cm) · 29 gal (110 L)
2.4 in (6 cm)20 gal (75 L)73–79°F (23–26°C)Tessellated blenny
Hypsoblennius invemar
2.4 in (6 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)