Ecsenius midas

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Facts
Latin name Ecsenius midas - Starck, 1969
Local name Persian blenny
Family Blenniidae - Ecsenius
Origin East Indian Ocean, West Indian Ocean, Australia, Japan, The Red Sea, Indonesia, East Pacific, Central/West Pacific
Max length 13 cm (5.1")
As aquarium fish
Minimum volume 300 l (79 gal)
Hardiness Hardy
Suitable for aquarium Suitable for most aquarium
Reef safe Often reef safe
Aggressiveness Mostly peaceful but might be aggressive towards similar species
Feed
Recommended Macroalgea (Eg. seaweed / nori)
Microalgea (Eg. spirulina)
Small crustaceans (Krill, mysis, artemia...)
Zooplankton (Cyclops, pods...)
Beware of
Jumps out of open aquaria

This species is known to jump out of open aquaria.

Can nibble at clams

This species sometimes nibbles at clams including Tridacna species.

Keep in mind
Frequent feeding

This fish requires feeding several times a day, especially when newly added.

When the fish can find its natural food in the aquarium it requires less frequent feeding. 

Lives in a pair

This species can live as a pair (male and female).

Personality

This species often has a fun and interesting personality.

Hiding places

This species needs good hiding places, for example, between live rocks.

Descriptions and further reading
Genus description (Ecsenius)

Fish in the Ecsenius genus are very popular for fishtanks, normally easy to look after and fitting well in most aquaria.

Family description (Blenniidae)

There are many differences within the Toothcomb Blennies family, some eat algae whilst others eat zooplankton. There are many families of Blennies, this is merely one of them.

What they have in common are their oblong shape and long dorsal fin. Some species have small "legs" used to move around the bottom.

These Blennies do not normally get very big and are therefore a good choice for both small and large aquaria. They are not often very colorful, but many have a fun personality which many aquarists fall for.

The species of the families Aspidontus and Plagiotremus imitate Cleaner Wrasses and can therefore be difficult to identify.

FishBase
Aquarium trade Yes
Distribution Indo-Pacific: Gulf of Aqaba and southeast coast of Africa to the Marquesan Islands.
English common names Lyretail blenny
Lyre-tail combtooth-blenny
Golden blenny
Midas coralblenny
Midas blenny
German common names Goldener Schleimfisch
Danish common names Midas-slimfisk
French common names Blennie midas
References and further reading

About references

Bob Fenner. Combtooth Blennies of the Genus Ecsenius - Wet Web Media - (English)

Jeff Kurtz. 2007. Combtooth Blennies: Bewitching Bottom Dwellers - Tropical Fish Hobbyist - (English)
Scott W. Michael. Reef Aquarium Fishes: 500+ Essential-to-know Species - TFH Publications / Microcosm Ltd. - (English)
Bob Fenner. The True/Combtooth Blennies, Family Blenniidae - Wet Web Media - (English)
Bob Fenner. Blennioids: Blennies and Blenny-Like Fishes - Wet Web Media - (English)