Leopard Blenny

The Leopard Blenny Exallias brevis has a large oblong shaped body with a long dorsal fin that tapers down to its smaller caudal tail. This marine fish goes by a number of different names including Pink Spotted Blenny, Short Bodied Blenny, Leopard Rockskipper, Shortbodied Blenny, Sailfin Blenny, and Honeycomb Blenny. It has an unusual look, from the cirri at the bottom of its head to the tentacle located above each eye. Half of its body is white and the other half is orange, and there are small brown spots appearing across its entire body and fins.

In the aquarium, this marine fish requires plenty of places to hide, like in live rock, and a large area in which to swim. It has an ungainly swim pattern and at times appears to ‘walk’ along the substrate.

This member of the Blenniidae family is not reef safe and requires the care of an expert aquarist to keep it fed. Part of the Toothcomb Blenny group, it has teeth that are configured in a way that allows it to efficiently eat live stony coral polyps. It also uses these teeth to scrape algae off dead corals. Some aquarists try to entice this Blenny to eat occasional frozen or flake herbivore food, finely chopped crustacean flesh, and brine and Mysis shrimp. But if unsuccessful, the aquarist should be prepared to provide stony coral polyps throughout its life.