Pictus Blenny, Ecsenius pictus

The Pictus Blenny, also referred to as the White Lined Blenny, is found in the Indo-Pacific. Infrequent to the aquarium trade, this dazzling and timid little blenny from Ecsenius makes an excellent addition into a nano or standard reef aquarium to help control nuisance algae growth. Their specialized comb-like teeth help to scrape such matter off of surfaces, which make up a large portion of their diet. The Pictus blenny has a typical blenny shape, with an overall gray body decorated in white dots and dashes that transitions to a yellow tail with reddish markings. Blennies are extremely personable and fun to watch as they “hop”, perch, and back into holes around the aquarium. This behavior is due to their lack of a swim bladder that would otherwise enable them to continually swim in the water column like many of their tank-mates. Only one Pictus blenny, or even Ecsenius species altogether, should be kept per aquarium as they can quarrel. An adult Pictus blenny can reach a size of approximately 2″.