TankBud

Tailspot blenny

Ecsenius stigmatura

Also known as Tail-spot blenny, Tailspot combtooth blenny

SaltwaterFish

Tailspot blenny (Ecsenius stigmatura)
User:Haplochromis · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–79°F
22–26°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
2.4 in
6 cm
Minimum tank
20 gal
75 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Blenniidae
Origin
Western Pacific reefs around the Philippines, Indonesia, and nearby waters

Overview

The tailspot blenny is a small, calm perching blenny and a common choice for nano reefs. It is among the easier small blennies to house.

Did you know

The tailspot blenny is one of the best-behaved small blennies for a reef tank. Unlike the lawnmower and bicolor blennies, it rarely bothers corals or clams, even when its algae runs low.

Caring for the tailspot blenny

Give the tailspot blenny 20 gal (75 L) or more, with plenty of live rock that offers nooks to hide in and surfaces to graze. It perches and grazes on the bottom and rockwork rather than swimming in the open. A mature tank with some algae growth suits it.

Hold stable marine water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feed a mostly herbivorous diet of marine algae and spirulina with some meaty foods. It also picks at film algae along with prepared foods.

Keep one per tank, since it can be territorial toward its own kind and similar small perching blennies. Only a tank large enough for separate territories can hold two. Toward unrelated fish it is peaceful.

It is reef safe and leaves invertebrates alone. Like most Ecsenius, it has not been reliably bred in home aquariums, and breeding it is hard.

Good to know

The tailspot blenny is a small combtooth blenny in the family Blenniidae, named for the dark spot at the base of its tail. It has the big-eyed, blunt-nosed face typical of its genus, and it often shows a soft blue and gold wash over the body. Trade fish are wild-caught.

In the wild

Tailspot blennies come from shallow western Pacific reefs around the Philippines and Indonesia. They perch among rubble and branching corals and dart back into a hole when startled.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The tailspot 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.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a tailspot blenny need?

A tailspot blenny needs at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a tailspot blenny need?

A tailspot blenny is comfortable at 72–79°F (22–26°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a tailspot blenny eat?

A tailspot blenny eats a mostly herbivorous diet of marine algae and spirulina, with some meaty foods. It also picks at film algae along with prepared foods.

How big does a tailspot blenny get?

An adult tailspot blenny reaches about 2.4 in (6 cm).

Related species