2017-09-01 Coral Magazine

OVERVIEW

This is an undeniably appealing fish and one worth

knowing—so that you can resist taking it home when

the occasional specimen turns up in a local shop. In the

wild, it lives by grazing on coral polyps; in captivity it is

unlikely to survive without extraordinary care and luck.

DISTRIBUTION

Indian Ocean and Central Pacific, from the Red Sea and

the east coast of Africa to Hawaii.

DESCRIPTION

The Leopard Blenny gets up to 5.7 inches (14.5 cm) long

and has a very pretty patch pattern that is reminiscent

of a leopard’s coat. Depending on the fish’s mood, the

upper half of the body (except for the head) may become

significantly darker and turn a reddish or brownish color.

BEHAVIOR

Exallias brevis lives on coastal reefs, hiding in the branch-

es of stony corals, often Pocillopora or Acropora. This fish

is not aggressive; in fact, it is a loner. It is not very ac-

tive, and usually perches on substrate, observing its sur-

roundings and watching for predators.

AQUARIUM CARE

Exallias brevis has such a specialized diet—the rich flesh

of small-polyp stony corals—that it is practically impos-

sible to care for in the marine aquarium. It will usually

starve without stony corals or become weakened and

succumb to disease. The Leopard Blenny eagerly eats

small-polyp genera (SPS) such as Montipora, Acropora,

and Pocillopora. It is not as likely to eat large-polyp spe-

cies (LPS) or soft corals, but keeping this fish with SPS

corals is extremely difficult.

Occasionally an individual makes the transition to

eating substitute foods, such as Mysis or Artemia, but

its preference will always be to nip the polyps off stony

corals. Some expert aquarists are training obligate cor-

allivores, such as butterflyfishes, to graze on highly nu-

tritious paste rations on feeding stones, and a Leopard

Blenny might be a candidate for this approach.

species spotlight | DANIEL KNOP

Leopard Blenny

OVERVIEW

Exallias brevis

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Superclass: Osteichthyes

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Perciformes

Family: Blenniidae

D. KNOP

Exallias brevis: Sometimes sold as the

Honeycomb Blenny, but never a wise

purchase for the average aquarist.