Write-Up Wednesday: Orange Spotted Blenny (Blenniella chrysospilos)

The Orange Spotted Blenny (Blenniella chrysospilos) has a long, slender body that is covered with red or orange spots that pop off of the white background color of the body. The mouth is turned down which gives the fish the appearance of being grumpy. Since this fish is a perching fish, it spends most of it’s time resting on the rock work or sand bed in your tank.

Even though the Orange Spotted Blenny is a herbivore, I have had success getting them to take prepared fleshy foods such as mysis shrimp and chopped seafood. While these fish will eat the fleshy foods, they far prefer algae in the form of nori attached to a rock or macro algae placed in the tank. They’ll also eat any nuisance algae that happens to pop up in your tank.

Bennies can be territorial and the Orange Spotted Blenny will nip at fish if they get too close to it. These bites rarely cause anymore harm than leaving a superficial bite mark on the offending fish that will heal quickly. Usually only larger fish fall victim to the bites as my Orange Spotted Blenny will let small fish within an inch of him, while a larger fish will quickly be put in its place.

Their territorial nature includes other blennies. Larger systems can accommodate multiple types of blennies while smaller systems are best suited with only one blennie. I define a “large system” as one that is over 5 feet (1524 mm) long and/or 30″ (762 mm) wide.x

While Orange Spotted Blennies are listed as a “nano fish” meaning they would do well in a tank under 30 gallons, my experiences with this fish that it prefers larger systems with plenty of rock work where it can roam in search of algae to eat.

If you are looking for a unique perching fish that will also be an algae-eating workhorse, the Orange Spotted Blenny will fit in the bill and catch your eye with it’s unique looks.

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