Escenius bimaculatus

i cant think · Nov 5, 2022

I’m willing to give Blennies one last shot, and my question is for those who own Escenius bimaculatus. This is a blenny I would love for my SPS tank. Now, those of you who have seen my previous experience with a blenny and SPS coral will most likely know I don’t have a huge trust in them. The blenny I have had with SPS was an Escenius lineatus (Now residing in my 4’ Softie and LPS reef).

My question is, how risky is having an Escenius bimaculatus pair in an SPS tank? I specifically enjoy the fluffy acros such as Millepora so how likely are they to eat the Milles?

Also, if I did do this species is it better to go for a pair in a 3’x16”x1’ tank or stay with a singular specimen? My aim is to have fish in the way they’d be found in the wild. For example, Pseudocheilinops ataenia is found in small groups of 3-5 in the wild so I have a trio in my 3’ shallow tank.

The fish in question (Photo from UltimateReef).

i cant think · Nov 5, 2022

i cant think · Nov 6, 2022

i cant think · Nov 6, 2022

Nano sapiens · Nov 6, 2022

I have been watching to see if anyone has had this fish in with an Acropora dominated tank...

Over the years I've had two of these in a nano sometimes with one or two Acropora present. The fish seemed to be happy grazing bio films and eating whatever food was given. I never saw any nipping or other disturbance behavior towards any of any corals.

The fish tend to stay mostly visible, but are a bit timid. When feeling threatened they will wedge themselves into a horizontal rock feature and form an arc with their head and tail somewhat exposed (the two 'eye spots' resemble a crab's eyes and the head/tail it's claws).

Overall, I found these fish to be well behaved and personable (as most Blennies are). The two that I had were not long-lived, though, as they died after about 1-1/2 - 2 years. But the lifespan may be longer if younger fish are acquired.

I have no idea how they'd act as a pair, but Blennies as a whole are quite territorial and rather intolerant of their own or very similar types. More likely to work in a large system, but I wouldn't try it in a small one.

Hope that helps...

Sir Bubb · Nov 6, 2022

I had one for several months in my Porites dominated tank. While he never bothered any of the corals, I ultimately had to remove him because he would nip at maxima clam mantles.

I included a pic to show an example of how long some of my Porites tentacles are (bottom left of of the colony). Not the most relevant response as to how they do with milles, but I thought I’d share my experience