Salarias fasciatus

Download Reef App on Google Play or App Store
Get it on Google Play Get it on App Store
Facts
Latin name Salarias fasciatus - (Bloch, 1786)
Local name Jewelled blenny
Family Blenniidae - Salarias
Origin East Indian Ocean, West Indian Ocean, Australia, Japan, The Red Sea, Indonesia, East Pacific, Central/West Pacific
Max length 14 cm (5.5")
As aquarium fish
Minimum volume 400 l (106 gal)
Hardiness Hardy
Suitable for aquarium Suitable with care
Reef safe Always reef safe
Aggressiveness Might be aggressive towards food competitors
Feed
Recommended Microalgea (Eg. spirulina)
Maybee Macroalgea (Eg. seaweed / nori)
Beware of
Jumps out of open aquaria

This species is known to jump out of open aquaria.

Eats only algae from glass and rocks

This species only eats algae from rocks and glass. There must therefore be enough algae growth so it can find its own food.

Some aquarists have trained it to accept dry foods, but it is not something one should count on.

Keep in mind
Personality

This species often has a fun and interesting personality.

Changes colour depending on its surroundings

This species has the ability to change its colouring depending on the surroundings.

Effective algae-eaters

This species can eat large amounts of algae (relative to their size) from rocks, like green hair algae and filamentous algae.

As it doesn’t eat every algae type, in case of a specific algae plague, find out more precise information.

Descriptions and further reading
Description

Sorry, no translation available.

This fish is also known as Lawnmower Blenny.

Genus description (Salarias)

Fish in the genus Salarias are often used to combat algae growth, especially the Jewelled Blenny is popular and is seen in many aquaria. There is little difference in what these fish eat, but they often remove the filamentous algal layer and detritus from glass and rock. Some individuals eat also other kinds of algae, like i.e. green hair algae.

Be aware that they can be very aggressive towards other Blennies. Also in some instances towards food competitors, like the Surgeonfish, Rabbitfish or similar.

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: Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia.
English common names Jeweled blenny
Jewelled blenny
Banded jewelled-blenny
References and further reading

About references

Salarias fasciatus - Saltvandswiki.dk - (Danish)

Scott Michael. 2013. Über Algae Eaters: The Lawnmower Blennies - Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine - (English)
Bob Fenner. Algae-Eating Blennies of the Genera Salarias and Atrosalarias - 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)