Starry Blenny (Salarias ramosus)

[ThRoewer]

I would think Apocyclops nauplii should be small enough for blenny larvae. Otherwise, you may have to try Pavocalanus nauplii. You will have to build a nauplii harvester. Unfortunately, there are so far none commercially available.
A rectangular tank may also not be ideal for more finicky larvae. Round tubs or Planktonkreisel tanks may give better results (try the tubs first as they are vastly cheaper than custom build Kreisel tanks.)
If they spawn regularly I would suggest trying to raise them and experiment with different feeds and tank configurations - that's pretty much the only way to figure out what the best way is. I did just that with my Amphiprion bicinctus and went from just 30 juvenile fish to a yield of several hundred in only 4 iterations.

As for the blenny sexing, the difference between males and females of this species is actually small but significant enough to sex them. With other blenny species, it is either very hard to tell the sexes apart or the differences are so vast that males and females look completely different. The latter case usually leads to the sad situation that only the more colorful and flashy males are collected while the rather dull-colored and camouflaged females are left behind. I just saw that last weekend at a local store. They had really nice sailfin barnacle blennies, but very obviously only males as the females have no sailfins.

 

[TvanB1]

I would think Apocyclops nauplii should be small enough for blenny larvae. Otherwise, you may have to try Pavocalanus nauplii. You will have to build a nauplii harvester. Unfortunately, there are so far none commercially available.
A rectangular tank may also not be ideal for more finicky larvae. Round tubs or Planktonkreisel tanks may give better results (try the tubs first as they are vastly cheaper than custom build Kreisel tanks.)
If they spawn regularly I would suggest trying to raise them and experiment with different feeds and tank configurations - that's pretty much the only way to figure out what the best way is. I did just that with my Amphiprion bicinctus and went from just 30 juvenile fish to a yield of several hundred in only 4 iterations.

As for the blenny sexing, the difference between males and females of this species is actually small but significant enough to sex them. With other blenny species, it is either very hard to tell the sexes apart or the differences are so vast that males and females look completely different. The latter case usually leads to the sad situation that only the more colorful and flashy males are collected while the rather dull-colored and camouflaged females are left behind. I just saw that last weekend at a local store. They had really nice sailfin barnacle blennies, but very obviously only males as the females have no sailfins.

I have a few ~15 gallon tubs that I used for culturing copepods.
I will look into making a nauplii harvester, I think I saw one on Reef Nutrition/Reed Maricultures website. A. panamensis will also be much easier to culture for me as opposed to Parvo.
They do spawn regularly, about two days after their last clutch has hatched. New eggs every 8-9 days or so.

 

[ThRoewer]

My local store had a number of these guys last weekend and I decided to get a pair. At first the smaller female was a bit hostile towards the slightly larger male but by now they seem to get along fine. Both are still fairly small so I don't expect them to start spawning anytime soon.

 

[TvanB1]

My local store had a number of these guys last weekend and I decided to get a pair. At first the smaller female was a bit hostile towards the slightly larger male but by now they seem to get along fine. Both are still fairly small so I don't expect them to start spawning anytime soon.

Keep us updated!
I’ve increased feeding since their last spawn and the female is almost exploding with eggs. I also added extra fish oil and AM Selcon. Excited to see their next clutch.
My female C. nahackyi is also much fatter than usual.

 

[ThRoewer]

The good thing with these is that they are easily sexed.
BTW, does your male turn white during courtship? I found this described on a German forum.

 

[TvanB1]

The good thing with these is that they are easily sexed.
BTW, does your male turn white during courtship? I found this described on a German forum.

Yep, he turns almost entirely white. You can see it slightly in one of the pictures I posted before. He occasionally changes colors while he eats too.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Does your male have streamers on the anal fins? Do you know if this blenny remains the same sex it’s whole life? Just wondering if there’s a chance for the smaller female could turn into a male. Could you post pics?

The good thing with these is that they are easily sexed.
BTW, does your male turn white during courtship? I found this described on a German forum.

 

[ThRoewer]

Does your male have streamers on the anal fins? Do you know if this blenny remains the same sex it’s whole life? Just wondering if there’s a chance for the smaller female could turn into a male. Could you post pics?

Yes, the male has the first few anal fin rays elongated, the female not.
Blennies do not change sex. This is what makes getting pairs of them so tricky and the fact that it is either difficult to tell the sexes apart (see Ecsenius species) or they are so different that only the more flashy males get collected like it is unfortunately with most of the Caribbean or East Pacific sailfin blennies.

 

[ThRoewer]

I'm likely going to get a few more pairs of these guys as they are ferocious algae destroyers...

 

[TriggerFinger]

Hey @TvanB1 and @ThRoewer; do you both think this is a female blenny? I’ve had it 2 years. She’s roughly 3.5”. The anal fins are not elongated but I don’t know if that wouldn’t show until a potential mate was present...

 

[homer1475]

My favorite fish!

They have the most personality of any fish I've owned! And their algae destroyers. My last one would turn all white when he got excited(food time), so we dubbed him the "Old Man" as he looked like an old man with white eyebrows and whiskers. Is the turning white a mating color? Think I just read that in this thread or another about breeding them.

My last one jumped, and it's getting harder to find a replacement. Lots of algae blennies, but I really want a starry.

 

[ThRoewer]

Hey @TvanB1 and @ThRoewer; do you both think this is a female blenny? I’ve had it 2 years. She’s roughly 3.5”. The anal fins are not elongated but I don’t know if that wouldn’t show until a potential mate was present...

It's a female.

 

[ThRoewer]

My favorite fish!

They have the most personality of any fish I've owned! And their algae destroyers. My last one would turn all white when he got excited(food time), so we dubbed him the "Old Man" as he looked like an old man with white eyebrows and whiskers. Is the turning white a mating color? Think I just read that in this thread or another about breeding them.

My last one jumped, and it's getting harder to find a replacement. Lots of algae blennies, but I really want a starry.

Local store here has still a number of females - no males unfortunately. They ship within the US.

 

[TvanB1]

It's a female.

+1

 

[TriggerFinger]

Local store here has still a number of females - no males unfortunately. They ship within the US.

What is the name of the store?

 

[ThRoewer]

What is the name of the store?

Aquatic Collection in Hayward, CA

 

[TvanB1]

Aquatic Collection in Hayward, CA

I was there this week. I think I saw some decent ones.

 

[TvanB1]

Closeup of the female
Her ‘forehead’ looks normal in person. Not sure why my phone picked it up like that.

 

[TvanB1]

Does anyone know the average lifespan of these guys?

 

[ThRoewer]

As a wild guess i would say somewhere between 3 to 10 years.