All fish / Blenniidae

Red-streaked Blenny

Cirripectes stigmaticus

Also known as red streaked blenny, red-spotted blenny, red speckled blenny, stigmatic blenny, red spotted blenny, fringelip blenny, ハナグロギンポ, 红纹穗须鳚

A dark brown combtooth blenny covered in fine red to orange streaks and spots, with a fringe of cirri across the nape and a dark spot behind the eye. Aquarists keep it for its character, perching on rock and peering out of holes, and for its habit of grazing nuisance algae.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

10 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

110 litres

Keep as

Keep singly unless the tank is large

Diet

Herbivore: grazes filamentous algae and diatoms; offer nori, spirulina-based foods and some mysis

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

3 to 5 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean: Indonesia, Philippines, Great Barrier Reef, Melanesia to Samoa

Breeding

Pairs lay demersal eggs in rock holes, where the male guards them until they hatch into planktonic larvae. Captive breeding is very rarely achieved because the larvae are tiny and hard to raise.

Good to know

It is territorial towards other blennies and similar bottom dwellers, and needs plenty of live rock with algae growth or it can slowly starve. It may nip at clam mantles or coral in some cases.