Tessellated Blenny

The Tessellated Blenny is very rare in the aquarium trade. Not only are they stunningly beautiful with their bright red spots, they also tend to have adorable personalities that endear them to their humans. Like many other blennies, they tend to camouflage and change colour depending on their mood and the environment. Some aquarists report that when they are happy or excited, the red colouration intensifies. 

A well-established 100L or larger aquarium with multiple swimming levels and plenty of rock is a suitable environment. It is best to house singly unless kept in a larger tank and the two are a mated pair.  In the wild they like to live in empty barnacle clusters, but they'll also inhabit holes in rockwork or decorations. Their behaviour is similar to other barnacle blennies.  The Tessellated Blenny is generally quite peaceful with other fish species but can become aggressive toward similar species. 

The Tessellated Blenny does best in well-established aquariums with large amounts of natural algae to feed on. This omnivorous species does well on a varied diet of pellet foods and frozen foods like small Mysis, Spirulina brine shrimp, and Calanus. They aren't picky eaters and will try most prepared aquarium foods and will even nibble on algae in the aquarium. The addition of Calanus to their diet can help intensify and maintain their bright red colouration.