Captive Bred Meiacanthus Blennies

Not many reef fish come with a built-in self defense system, but Meiacanthus blennies do. These little fang blennies carry a pair of grooved venom loaded teeth in their lower jaw, and every predator on the reef seems to know it. Meiacanthus blennies know they're venomous, too. This means they're are so bold, fearless, and confident that they don't hide much, which is great news for anyone who actually wants to see their fish.

They're colorful, gregarious, and constantly out swimming in the open water, and they are reef safe, so they leave your corals and inverts alone. Add the fact that the species we carry are captive bred, and you've got one of the best small, peaceful, reef safe fish you can put in a reef tank.

What makes a fang blenny a fang blenny?

Most blennies are bottom dwellers that perch on rocks and watch the world go by. Meiacanthus species are different. They hover in the water column near their favorite crevice, picking zooplankton out of the current, and they can afford to be that exposed out in the open because of those fangs. When a larger fish tries to swallow one, the blenny bites the inside of its mouth and the predator spits it right back out, usually unharmed on both sides.

The venom itself is pretty fascinating. Rather than causing intense pain like a lionfish sting, research on fang blenny venom found opioid like peptides that seem to lower a predator's blood pressure and slow it down, giving the blenny time to get away. For people, a bite is typically compared to a bee sting, and these fish only use their fangs defensively, so they aren't going to chase after your hand during feeding time and cleaning. Still, it's unwise to try to pick up a fang blenny with your bare hands.

That venom is so effective that other fish have built a whole career out of looking like Meiacanthus. Several unrelated blennies, including some sabretooth blennies in the genera Petroscirtes and Plagiotremus, mimic the colors and stripes of the local fang blenny so predators leave them alone, too. It's one of the best examples of mimicry you'll find on a coral reef.

Meiacanthus smithi, the Disco Blenny

The Disco Blenny (also sold as Smith's Fang Blenny, Smith's Blenny, or just the White Blenny) is a clean, elegant little fish. Its body is a soft white to pale blue gray, with a bold black stripe that runs from the snout through the eye and up along the base of the dorsal fin. Look closely and you'll see fine electric blue edging on the fins, which is where the "disco" name comes from.

In the wild it's an Indian Ocean species, found from Sri Lanka and the Maldives east to the Andaman Sea and western Java Sea. Its max size is around 3 to 3.5 inches, which makes it one of the more nano friendly fish in the genus. Our pictures honestly don't do the blue highlights justice; this is a fish that looks better in person, cruising the front of the rockwork under reef lighting.

Meiacanthus grammistes, the Striped Fang Blenny



If the Disco Blenny is understated, the Striped Fang Blenny is the opposite. It has a bright yellow head that fades into a white body, with three bold black stripes running nose to tail that break up into dots toward the tail fin. You'll also see it sold as the Grammistes Blenny, Striped Blenny, or Striped Poison Fang Blenny.

This one comes from the Western Pacific, ranging from Indochina to Papua New Guinea, north to the Ryukyu Islands and south to the Great Barrier Reef. It's the bigger of our two regular Meiacanthus, reaching about 4 to 4.5 inches as an adult, and it's a confident, active swimmer that tends to claim the open water in front of the rockwork.

Why choose captive bred?

Both of the Meiacanthus species we stock regularly come from Proaquatix, a marine fish hatchery in Florida. Fang blennies are actually some of the easier marine fish to breed, since pairs spawn readily and the larvae can be raised with the right setup. That means there's really no reason to pull them off a reef when healthy, hatchery raised fish are available.

Captive bred fish also just make life easier for you (and for the fish). They've grown up in aquarium water, they've never had to adjust from the ocean to a shipping bag to a holding system, and they arrive already eating prepared foods. Proaquatix raises their blennies on pellets and flakes, along with frozen fish foods, so you aren't stuck coaxing a picky wild fish to eat. They also tend to arrive without the parasite and disease concerns than wild collected fish (though we still recommend quarantine as good practice).

How do you keep them happy?

A 30 gallon tank or larger with plenty of live rock is a good starting point for either species. They spend most of the day in the open, but they want a few caves and crevices to duck into at night or when they feel threatened, and you'll often see one pick a favorite hole and guard it.

A tight fitting lid or screen is a must, because fang blennies are known jumpers!!! Don't assume they won't be able to wiggle their way into a convoluted gap in the lid system. They are smart, and they don't understand the concept of dry land, so they will actively search for holes to escape through. 

These are reef safe fish. They generally ignore corals and invertebrates, so they fit right into a mixed reef. They're peaceful with most tankmates, but they can get a little pushy with other fish that share their long, slender blenny shape, and two Meiacanthus in a small tank usually means arguments. If you have a smaller tank, it's best to have just one or a bonded pair. If your tank is on the bigger side, at least 6 feet long, you should be able to keep more than one. Avoid housing them with large, aggressive fish that might try to eat them, since a fish that bites a fang blenny is going to have a bad day and the blenny probably will too.

Feeding is easy, but frequency matters. Fang blennies have a fast metabolism, so small meals several times a day work much better than one big feeding. A quality marine pellet plus a rotation of frozen foods like brine shrimp and Calanus, and other small meaty foods will keep them well fed and keep their colors looking sharp.

Keep an eye out for the rare ones

The genus Meiacanthus has around 30 species, and every so often we're able to get a few of the less common ones in. They don't come around often and they don't stick around long, so if you see an unusual fang blenny pop up in our shop, that's your sign to grab it.

Whether you go with the sleek Disco Blenny or the bold Striped Fang Blenny, you're getting a hardy, personable, captive bred fish that will actually be out where you can enjoy it. Not bad for a fish that's small enough to fit in your palm (just maybe don't actually put it there).

Sources

• Proaquatix: Disco Blenny
• FishBase: Meiacanthus grammistes
• Reef Life Survey: Meiacanthus grammistes
• ReefApp: Meiacanthus smithi