Tiny skippers!! Share your experience with barnacle blennies!

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Hey guys! How many of you have kept barnacle blennies? What was your experience like? Would you do it again, and what might you do differently?

This is one of those fish that I've always wanted to try but never had a system that would have been a good fit IMO. Maybe on the next tank...

Here are a couple that @VKP01 has in their 4g nano reef: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/4...ics-crystal-aquarium-softies-blennies.583084/

Photos by @VKP01

 

[Da8]

Love em but always happens something....after a few tries I won't try again

 

[BestMomEver]

Are they hard to keep?

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

I have kept them on two prior occasions and they are one of my favorite fish. Its facinating to watch them poke in and out of their holes and darting out to catch food. Visitors watching my tank would rarely notice them until I fed, then they could not stop talking about and laughing at them.

Highly entertaining fish and I will absolutely have some again. Soon.

 

[saltyhog]

I have 2 panamic barnacle blennies in my 10 gallon IM Fusion tank and 2 larger eyebrow barnacle blennies in my 72x24 tank. I've had them a couple of years and love them. So much personality. For 1 foot they are the fastest fish in the ocean! :D

 

[VKP01]

I just got those guys a couple days ago, and it’s my first time keeping them. I’ve not know anyone else that keeps them in a home tank, but the lfs has a 20g display with a couple in it. They’ve had them since I started going over a year ago, and I fell in love with them.
I just got them, but I’m already noticing they’re way less shy than I was expecting. Very curious fish!

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

What's the largest tank you'd keep one in?

 

[vlangel]

What's the largest tank you'd keep one in?

Hi Daniel, I have 2 panamic barnacle blennies in my 56 gallon high nutrient reef. I have had them about 6 months and they are doing wonderfully.

They share the tank with 2 combtooth blennies, a venomous blenny, a blue gungeon dartfish, 2 pajama cardinals, and 2 green clown gobies. There are also shrimp, snails and crabs in the tank. Its a mixed reef with macro algae. I have tiered my rock and sand so that there are 3 levels and lots of hidey holes. I will post a video. You can see one of the barnacle blennies in the first 12 seconds. The orange spot blenny stops on the barnacle blennies's rock. The 2nd barnacle blenny is in a coco worm tube at the 1.09 second mark. I know of someone on RC who has his in a 180 gallon seagrass and macro algae tank. He doesn't have many other fish, just some damsels and acclimated mollies so far.

 

[smartwater101]

I currently have 2 Eyebrow Barnicle Blennies in my 160 and plan to get several more. I like a large tank with many nano gobies so they're perfect for that. People like searching the rocks to find more, once they've discovered one. Their pretty entertaining.

The only large fish I keep are a hippo tang and a foxface. The rest are gobies/blennies/cardinals. All very peaceful and I never have a problem with aggression or possessiveness over territory.

They're a great addition imo

The two I have:

 

[vlangel]

https://flic.kr/p/2cZfYYH

 

[vlangel]

Whoa, my tablet misfired. Sorry about that!

 

[Nathan Milender]

I have four in my 125. I ordered 6, 2 came in much smaller than the others and did not make it through QT (I'm talking paper thin). Otherwise I consider these one of the most underrated fish I have ( I have only had them 3-4 months). They live with clown fish (oscellaris), flasher wrasse, watchman, tailsopt, bicolor, flame angel, barber shop, war paint clown goby, Yellow clown goby, link's goby, rainford's goby, red firefish, purple firefish. 2 peppermints, 2 skunks, blue hermits, lots of snails.

They set up shop in holes and I did place 2 barnacle clusters in the tank but the bicolor claimed them and I rarely see him in there. They fight each other a bit but it is mostly just jaw opening. One of them did get slightly bigger than the others and changed color getting red cranial dots and darker coloration. They zip around and get their food. They will snag amazingly large chunks for their size and haul it back to their holes. They will take food right out of the flame angel's mouth. No fear and as far as I can tell the damage nothing. Great fish. I would send pictures but I do not have a great pic setup.

 

[User1]

Hi Daniel, I have 2 panamic barnacle blennies in my 56 gallon high nutrient reef. I have had them about 6 months and they are doing wonderfully.

They share the tank with 2 combtooth blennies, a venomous blenny, a blue gungeon dartfish, 2 pajama cardinals, and 2 green clown gobies. There are also shrimp, snails and crabs in the tank. Its a mixed reef with macro algae. I have tiered my rock and sand so that there are 3 levels and lots of hidey holes. I will post a video. You can see one of the barnacle blennies in the first 12 seconds. The orange spot blenny stops on the barnacle blennies's rock. The 2nd barnacle blenny is in a coco worm tube at the 1.09 second mark. I know of someone on RC who has his in a 180 gallon seagrass and macro algae tank. He doesn't have many other fish, just some damsels and acclimated mollies so far.

Have to say that looks a lot like a reef crest from a scuba divers point of view. Well done and it looks really fantastic.

 

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

My Midas blenny spends all her time in a barnacle. Does that count? :D

 

[saltyhog]

I found a video of my eyebrow barnacle blennies when they were in the nano tank before being moved to the big tank. They're almost as fast as the panamics.

 

[sweat90lx]

Got 2 barnacle blennies last week in my seahorse tank

 

[Wiskey]

I love mine! He sits in his hole all day long just looking around, then as soon as food hits the tank darts out and grabs all he can eat.

Whiskey

 

[HunterCL]

I have 2 panamic barnacle blennies in my 10 gallon IM Fusion tank and 2 larger eyebrow barnacle blennies in my 72x24 tank. I've had them a couple of years and love them. So much personality. For 1 foot they are the fastest fish in the ocean! :D

What type of fish was the one at the beginning of the video? The one that hides under the rocks

 

[Jim Fox]

I've had one. It is one of the best fish I've ever had. Very entertaining and unique!

 

[asting]

What type of fish was the one at the beginning of the video? The one that hides under the rocks

Are you talking about the yellow watchman goby?