Anyone ever keep a Tessellated Blenny?

User1 · Apr 18, 2018

recess62 said:
I hate to be a buzz kill. However collecting these from the wild without knowing how to take care of them only to have them die is just wrong. Imho

Ok. Ready for the flamin

No - no flamin or going at you 'bro' stuff. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and you didn't post in a hostile way. So nothing but golden bombs of light and love to you

Having said that, you do raise a interesting point. Florida, assuming that was the location it was pulled from, has colder water temps so that will be a factor. Much like those people down South of me around Santa Monica collecting the blue banded / Catalina goby. It can be done, usually in a dedicated species tank. When done right they look unique and epic. I've thought about it a couple times since I'm a active diver here in the Monterey area. Some of the best diving in the world right here - of course I'm biased

Anyway it is a pretty cool looking fish - maybe one could introduce. I probably would have sought out Richard @TBS - people have received some interesting hitchhikers and I'd wager he sees these all the time. I think @d2mini once received a rather cool fish in one of his packages. Although cool has it was he banished him / her to the sump. #Coolhitchhikerslivesmatter (couldn't resist).

Anyway nice photo and cool fish.

happyhourhero · Apr 18, 2018

They are found in barnacle clusters on wrecks and drilling platforms in the northern gulf. Sea surface temps here range from the high 50’s to the high 80’s depending on the month.

Chasmodes · Apr 23, 2018

In my opinion, chances are that fish collected and put into a tank with matching parameters and a similar food chain have a better chance of survival than the fish that are caught and shipped across the world to an LFS where every tank has pretty much the same parameters that may not match the ecosystem that the fish came from. It is our care, based on research that we do, that makes a difference. I collect all of my fish locally, and I have done a ton of research to try and duplicate their environment as much as possible.

In the case of this fish, it is my experience that blennies are pretty hardy and can withstand a wide range of parameters anyway, so they may adapt and live well in a typical reef tank. I have a hunch that it might not be that much different with the tessellated blenny.

Granted, these fish come from far different ecosystems than mine do, but the basic concept is the same. My blennies live in water temps ranging from the 90's in the shallows of the Chesapeake Bay in summer to the mid to upper 30's in the winter (they head deep in the winter, so probably 39-40 degrees is likely). I've collected them from very salty water to an SG of 1.012. And, they adapt to just about any food that I offer them. However, I try my best to provide them fresh food from the Bay as much as possible. My point is that the care of our fish depends on our experience, research, and willingness to do the best for them, whether or not we collect or purchase them.