Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Western Central Pacific Ocean: Fiji and Tonga.
Size: 3 inches (9 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow coral reefs and usually found between depths of 15 – 65 feet (5 – 20 m) where it mainly feeds upon zooplankton.
General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the trade and usually having a black body with a yellow horizontal band from the eye to the mid section of the body, and black on the upper and lower lobes of the deeply forked tail.
Can be maintained in either fish-only or reef aquariums having rocky areas with caves to hide and/or explore while looking for tasty crustaceans to consume.
Basically requires a meaty diet, e.g., fortified brine shrimp, mysis, and other meaty type marine fresh or frozen foods, along with some herbivore foods and all should be finely chopped and fed twice daily.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Blennioidei
Family: Blenniidae
Genus: Meiacanthus
FYI: One per aquarium
Small shrimp and feather dusters are at risk of being eaten.
Has venomous fangs used mostly for defense.
Captive bred specimens available.
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Diet: Omnivore
Coral Safe: Yes
Fish Safe: Yes
Invertebrate Safe: With caution
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium
Tankmates: Peaceful
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
Temperature Range: 74 - 83°F (23 – 28°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5