Blenniella periophthalmus

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Facts
Latin name Blenniella periophthalmus - (Valenciennes, 1836)
Local name Blue-dashed rockskipper
Family Blenniidae - Blenniella
Origin East Indian Ocean, West Indian Ocean, Australia, The Red Sea, Indonesia, Central/West Pacific
Max length 15 cm (5.9")
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 Detritus
Microalgea (Eg. spirulina)
Mostly 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.

Insufficient information

There is little available knowledge of this species, so there can be important information missing on this page.

Keep in mind
Reef safe, when well fed

This species can be found nibbling soft coral and LPS if there is insufficient food available.

Well established aquarium with algae

These fish should be kept in a well run aquarium where they can "graze" algae from rocks and stones.

If there are insufficient algae on the rocks, it is important to feed more frequently and supplement with algae rich food e.g. Spirulina. 

Descriptions and further reading
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 No
Distribution Indo-Pacific: Red Sea south to Durban, South Africa, east to the Marquesas and Tuamoto Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands; throughout Micronesia.
English common names False mudskipper
Blue-streaked blenniella
Bullethead rockskipper
Peppered blenny
References and further reading

About references

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)