All fish / Blenniidae

Lined Combtooth Blenny

Ecsenius lineatus

Also known as lined blenny, linear blenny, lineatus blenny, lined combtooth blenny, yes blenny

A small, slim combtooth blenny with a pale body and a dark line running along each side. The line often breaks up into a row of spots, and the head and rear can carry a yellowish tint. It is kept for its lively perching habits on rockwork and because it is reef safe and grazes nuisance algae.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

6 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

75 litres

Keep as

Keep singly, or as a mated pair in a larger tank

Diet

Omnivore: grazes algae and film on rock, and also takes frozen mysis, brine shrimp, nori and marine flake or pellets

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

3 to 5 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indian Ocean and western Pacific: Maldives and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia, the Philippines and northern Australia

Breeding

The female lays eggs in a hole or crevice and the male guards them until they hatch. Spawning sometimes happens in home tanks, but raising the tiny planktonic larvae is difficult and rarely achieved.

Good to know

It can be territorial towards other blennies and similar small bottom dwellers, so keep only one combtooth blenny per tank unless the tank is large. Give it plenty of live rock with holes to hide in and a tight lid, as blennies can jump.