Striped Blenny(Meiacanthus grammistes)
The Striped Blenny(Meiacanthus grammistes) known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Striped Fang Blenny, Line-spot Harptail Blenny, Gammistes Blenny, or Striped Poison Fang Blenny is found in the Western Pacific Ocean and ranges from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea to the Ryukyu Islands.
The Striped Blenny is a solitary combtooth blenny species that is normally encountered alone or in close proximity to their den in reef environments characterized by rocky crevices and coral formations. In areas where large numbers of striped blenny dens are found close to one another; pairs and even small harems can often be found inhabiting a single den.
Although the Striped Blenny is a solitary species that is usually found in the open ocean, it frequently travels into shallow saltwater and brackish water estuaries where it is commonly found darting amongst coral branches and rocky outcrops, seeking refuge in crevices.
The Striped Blenny has relatively large canine like teeth that protrude from the lower jaw. Their unusual painless venom that they use to stun predators consists of a neuropeptide that is seen in cone snail venom, a lipase that is found in some scorpion species, and an opioid peptide. The venom lowers the blood pressure of the predator and relaxes its jaws allowing a captured Striped Blenny to escape.
Striped Blenny(Meiacanthus grammistes)
The Striped Blenny has a stout body with a pointed snout, a long continuous dorsal fin, and a crown shaped caudal fin that in mature adults develops long filaments. The body color is white to platinum colored with a bright yellow area over the head that fades past the shoulders, and four thick black horizontal stripes that run from the forehead to the caudal peduncle tapering at the posterior into dots. The dots are larger over the caudal area and decrease in size into tiny spots over the rays of the tail. Males and females exhibit similar coloration and morphology.
The Striped Blenny is best kept in a FOWLR or reef tank of at least 30 gallon capacity with a sand or coralline gravel substrate and plenty of mature live rock arranged into caves, overhangs, and crevices for them to nest and hide among. Meiacanthus grammistes require a tightly fitting lid on their tank and a lot of free swimming space with moderate water flow, but otherwise are quite undemanding.
The Striped Blenny is a hardy, peaceful species that can be housed with other peaceful fish in a reef tank, however they may become territorial towards other blennies, gobies, or dartfish when housed in smaller tanks. Compatible tank mates include Clownfish, (Ocellaris Clownfish), Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto), Firefish (Nemateleotris spp.), Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni), Orchid Dottybacks (Pseudochromis fridmani), Pygmy Angelfish, etc.
Meiacanthus grammistes are considered reef safe and generally ignore corals and invertebrates however, when insufficient food is available, they have been known to occasionally nip at small-polyped stony corals.
The Striped Blenny has been bred in an aquarium environment however the larvae are difficult to raise. Pairs will frequently pair up, spawn and deposit tiny, adhesive, pinkish colored eggs along the walls of their den however, raising a brood in a home aquarium is next to impossible.
In their natural environment, the Striped Blenny feeds on a variety of crustaceans, zooplankton, algae and copepods. In an aquarium environment, they readily accept a varied diet of fresh, frozen, or freeze dried brine shrimp, Mysis shrimp, frozen marine formulas for herbivores, chopped crustaceans, pellets, and high quality marine flakes.
The Striped Blenny(Meiacanthus grammistes) is widely available to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as wild caught or captive bred specimens from a variety of online retailers, wholesalers, and transhippers at prices that vary on size and area of collection.
Approximate purchase sizes are: Small: 1″ to 2″; Medium: 2″ to 3″; Large: 3″ to 4″. Prices vary from $ 57.99 for medium Indonesian specimens to over $65.99.
Striped Blenny(Meiacanthus grammistes)
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallon (55+ gallons for pairs)
Aquarium Type: Reef or FOWLR
Care Level: Moderate
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Aquarium Hardiness: Hardy
Water Conditions: 72-78°F, dKH 8 – 12°, pH 8.1–8.4, sg 1.023-1.025
Max size: 5″
Color Form: Black, White, Yellow
Diet: Omnivore
Compatibility: Reef Safe
Origin: Philippines and Indonesia
Family: Blenniidae
Lifespan: 5 years or more
Aquarist Experience Level: Beginner/Intermediate
