A Lawnmower Blenny can be good choice for the beginner. A hardy, active and peaceful fish that perches on rocks and hops around a reef tank, that also helps keep the tank clean.
Natural Habitat
The Lawnmower Blenny’s scientific name is Salarias fasciatus. It originates from the Indo-Pacific, Red Sea and Great Barrier Reef areas. A usually bottom dwelling fish, it will move around rocks grazing and searching for algae in shallow waters. A timid fish, that likes to hide in crevices and caves when it feel threatened.
Appearance
Lawnmower Blennies are usually either tan/green/gray with a variety of blue or black spots on its head, and typically dark stripes over the sides of its body. Lighter coloured dots can be seen on its face especially circling its eyes. A blunt head and over-sized lips make up the interesting features of this Blenny. They are sometimes referred to as the “chameleons of the reef tank” as they blend in well to rocky backgrounds.
Size
A Lawnmower Blenny will typically be four to five inches in length for a fully grown adult.
Temperament
The Lawnmower Blenny is considered to be a peaceful fish. It can get territorial though with other Lawnmower Blennies and so is best kept on it’s own, or as a mated pair. Some Lawnmower Blennies have also been known to attack other fish that simply “look” like Lawnmower Blennies.
Diet
Lawnmower Blennies are technically herbivores and thier main diet is algae(filamentous green microalgae), diatoms, and detritus. The microalgae it eats also includes the film type of algae found on a tank’s glass as well as rocks. In addition, their diet can be supplemented with algae-based shop-purchased food.
Tank Requirements
With it’s main diet being algae, it does well in a mature tank that at least some algae to feed on. General consensus is that a tank of 30+ gallons is best to house this fish, although they can live quite happily in a smaller tank in some cases. While they don’t need a lot of open water to swim in, plenty of crevices and caves that provide a good amount of surface area to graze on are what they thrive on. They also prefer moderate to high water movement. The use of a lid is advisable as they have been known to jump right out of the tank.
Water parameters should consist of a temperature between 72-84-F with a PH between 8.1-8.4. Salinity should ideally be between 1.020-1.025.
Reef Safeness
The Lawnmower Blenny is generally considered to be reef safe. They do not “typically” eat corals or invertebrates, or typically attack other fish. They can sometimes nip at corals though,(some polyps for example). Although, this usually down to there not being enough food for them in the tank.
Tank Mates
They can be kept with a wide range of tank-mates and can get along with most other popular reef tank fish, which is one of the main reasons for their popularity. Often seen happily living together with most other reef tank fish, as long as they too are not algae eaters.
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