Bicolor blenny

The bicolour blenny (Ecsenius bicolor) is a small Indo-Pacific rock blenny with a dark blue-grey front half that gives way abruptly to a warm orange rear. It has a blunt, frog-like face and a habit of wedging itself into a hole with only its head showing, then darting out to rasp algae off nearby rock. Personality is most of the appeal — these are curious, expressive fish that watch the room as much as the room watches them.

Aquarium care

• Adults reach about 10 cm.
• Needs rockwork with small holes and crevices it can claim as a home.
• Grazes film algae from rock and glass; supplement with algae-based prepared foods, as tank algae alone is rarely enough.
• Generally peaceful toward unrelated fish, but territorial toward other blennies and similar-shaped gobies.
• Some individuals nip at clam mantles, zoanthids or LPS corals. It is not universal, but it does happen.
• Perches on rock rather than swimming in open water.

Good for an established reef or fish-only tank with clownfish, cardinalfish, chromis and small wrasses. Keep only one per tank unless the tank is large, and weigh the coral-nipping risk before adding one to a heavily stocked reef.

Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is available for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. Browse the saltwater fish collection.