Starry Blenny

Care at a glance

Overview

A useful algae grazer that stays reef safe as long as it has enough natural algae to graze continuously; in a newer or overly clean tank it can turn to picking at coral flesh or clam mantles out of hunger. It is territorial toward other blennies and algae-eating competitors like tangs and rabbitfish, so keep only one per tank. Supplement its diet with dried seaweed, spirulina and herbivore pellets once the natural algae supply runs low.

In the wild

Native to shallow, sheltered reef flats and lagoons from the Philippines to northwestern Australia, where it grazes algae off rock and rubble in well-lit water. Needs a mature aquarium of at least 114 liters (30 gallons) that has been running long enough to grow a healthy film of algae and diatoms on the rock and glass, along with a tight-fitting lid since it jumps when startled.

Good to know

Starry blennies use comb-like teeth to rasp algae and diatoms from hard surfaces, spending most of the day working over rock in short grazing bursts. They are oviparous, laying sticky, flattened eggs that adhere to the substrate until the planktonic larvae hatch and drift off to find a reef of their own.

Did you know

It grazes almost constantly through daylight hours, which is why it does poorly in brand-new tanks that have not yet grown a proper algae film, but settles in quickly once there is enough turf to work through.

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