 |
|
| Home | Marine Aquariums |
Freshwater Aquariums |
Planted Aquariums |
Brackish Systems |
Ponds,
lakes & fountains |
Turtles & Amphibians |
Aquatic Business |
Aquatic Science |
Ask the WWM Crew a Question |
| Please visit our Sponsors | ||||
“Owww! What was that?” Something had either just stung or pinched
me on my exposed leg while out diving in about forty feet of water off
Hawai’i’s Big Island. I rubbed the spot philosophically and looked about
for fragments of a floating jelly; or…. “Yowch”; this time on my forearm
where the wetsuit shorty just joined exposed skin; and then I saw it… a
pencil-like horizontally striped fish with, I swear, a smile on its
little face, with some of my arm-hairs in its mouth! This was my first and most memorable experience with the subgrouping of true or Combtooth blennies (Family Blenniidae) that comprise the Fangtooth or Sabretooth Blennies. All told there six genera and sixty or so described species; all occurring in the tropical to sub-tropical Indo-Pacific. These bold little fishes are notable for more than there propensity to at times bite divers; they also avoid predators with their biting, some deriving nutrition by ambushing other fishes; biting off scales and flesh. Oh, and some species are venomous.
For aquarists, a
few Fang Blennies are of use regularly aquacultured and seasonally
available as imports, principally from the South Pacific. As with
hapless divers, there are definitely genera/species to be avoided; lest
your other fish livestock become bitten and skittish.
Some Prominent Fang Blennies:
Some of these
members of the Combtooth or “True” Blennies are offered year round as
tank-bred specimens; but most are “catch as catch can” specimens
collected in the wild. I’ll present other genera and species of
biological interest; though for aquarists, only the genus Meiacanthus is
of practical use.
Genus Aspidontus:
Petroscirtes: Ten described species.
Genus Plagiotremus: Eleven valid species
Genus Meiacanthus: Twenty eight species
currently described; they spend most of their time in mid-water; are
less-inclined to hole up in tubes or hide in rock.
Behavior:
Mimicry:
There are some
celebrated Batesian mimics of some of the Fang Blennies; a few accruing
less-predation advantage by pretending to be species that bear poison
bites though possessing none themselves.
A fave example of
Batesian mimicry involves three fishes found in the Red Sea; the “real”
Fang Tooth Blenny (Meiacanthus nigrolineatus), a “faking”
non-venomous Plagiotremus (P. townsendi) and a harmless Ecsenius blenny
(E. gravieri). The real Fangtooth and Ecsenius shown below.
Meiacanthus
grammistes and Petroscirtes breviceps I’ve mentioned above
along with their images. M. grammistes has a very interesting mimic
partner in the form of the Bridled Monocle Bream, Scolopsis bilineatus.
Of all things, these two appear as all bright yellow species in Fiji;
continuing the mimicry! Shown, the Blenny and the Bream in N. Sulawesi.
Another kind of Batesian mimicry involves pretending you’re a
beneficial animal in order to gain proximity to prey. I’ve mentioned
Aspidontus taeniatus mimicking the Cleaner Wrasse, Labroides
dimidiatus, and there’s yet another “copy-cat” in the way of
Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos as juveniles. Shown: the “real thing”,
Labroides dimidiatus juvenile, the Sabertooth mimic, Aspidontus
taeniatus, and below them, the fake Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos
juvenile. Note the terminal mouth on the true Cleaner, the
underslung, sub-terminal ones on the fakes.
Aspidontus taeniatus
can fool even the best of us in the trade. On a visit to Fiji I recall
stopping in at Walt Smith International to chat with Walt himself. On
inspecting his large Labroides dimidiatus tank I mentioned to him that
he had a few Aspidontus mixed in. He was very surprised, and asked how I
could tell so easily. I told him the first clue was the behavior of the
“true” cleaners present toward the mimics. You could see the former
avoiding the latter; making a sort of cleared area around them. Walt
quickly netted out the offenders. Shown
Compatibility:
Though one can
find the other genera of Fang Tooth Blennies in brief association with
each other in the wild; and even seemingly shoaling at times as
juveniles; other than the members of the Genus Meiacanthus, these fishes
are territorial toward their own kind; and again; inclined to nip and
tear at other fish life. Hence you are encouraged to only consider
Meiacanthus species for mixed-fish systems, keeping the other
genera/species in either specialized solitary systems or perhaps in huge
volume tanks with low fish-stocking density.
These
fishes are definitely “reef safe”; neither biting nor lounging on
corals, clams, shrimps…. But they do not tolerate bullying from other
fishes; or crowding of conspecifics.
Selection:
Some of the
genera/species of Fang Tooth (aka Poison Tooth) Blennies derive a good
deal of their nutrition from preying on other, larger fishes; ambushing
them and tearing off tissue and scales with their prominent teeth. You
assuredly do NOT want these in your mixed-fish aquariums. Others, in
particular the genus Meiacanthus, which feed predominantly on plankton,
can make beautiful additions to fish to full-blown reef set ups.
The
first resource for these fishes is the several species that are
aquaculture. The company ORA alone produces seven Meiacanthus species
for the ornamental trade. Barring these, the best source from the wild
is from Fiji.
Systems:
For breeding
purposes, Meiacanthus species may be housed in small systems of a few
tens of gallons volume; but in mixed fish settings they’re better kept
in as large size tanks as can be afforded.
Appropriate habitat has been referred to. Providing rocky crevices, pipe
parts, and for non-Meiacanthus species, ideally worm and snail holed
rock and coral skeletons will help your Blennies to feel right at home.
Neither current nor lighting intensity are important in keeping Fang
Blennies.
These fish are
superb escape artists! Make sure the top of their tank is thoroughly
screened; as well as intakes to pumps, overflows and filter intakes.
Foods/Feeding:
These
fishes are eager eaters, and though their small and human hands large;
do NOT offer food via your fingers. Meaty foods are accepted greedily,
frozen/defrosted, live, dried… More frequently, smaller amounts better
than the alternative.
Disease/Health:
These fishes are remarkably disease resistant. To wit; they will likely
be amongst the last if not the end of livestock lost due to
environmental or pathogenic problems.
Reproduction/Breeding:
Quite a few genus Meiacanthus Fang Blennies have been captive bred and
reared; a few commercially.
Breeding pairs can be kept, but Meiacanthus are more likely to reproduce
and do so more frequently when maintained in a grouping of their own
species. As they’re difficult to sex, keeping a group will allow harems
to form and sort out spawning in time. Subordinate males should be
removed; and sections of plastic pipe included, providing spawning
caves. A hundred or more adhesive eggs are placed inside the pipe/s.
Rearing protocol includes removing the eggs and pipe to a
hatching/rearing tank ahead of hatching (typically 7-8 days); providing
the small (3 mm.) young with appropriate foods (rotifers typically) in
reasonable stocking density.
Cloze:
Fang
Blennies, the Plagiotremi in some classification schemes, are a group of
active, even bold small fishes capable of holding their own and more in
captive settings. These are intelligent, largely handsome, outgoing
animals that exhibit intelligence as well as beauty. Some genera should
be avoided if you’re stocking larger, predatory fishes; and all need
room, habitat to do well in captivity. Consider the tank-bred species;
and maybe try breeding them yourself. Like Neon Gobies, these are tough,
fun fishes to keep.
Bibliography/Further Reading:
Fishelson, Lev. 1976. Spawning and larval development of the
blenniid fish Meiacanthus nigrolineatus from the Red Sea. Copeia
1976: 798-800.
Smith-Vaniz, William F. and Gerald R. Allen. 2011. Three new
species of the fangblenny genus Meiacanthus from Indonesia, with
color photographs and comments on other species (Teleostei: Blenniidae:
Nemophini). Zootaxa 3046: 39-58.
Wingerter, Kenneth. 2012. Aquarium Fish: An Overview of Fang
Blennies of the genus Meiacanthus.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/5/fish |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Features: |
|
| Featured Sponsors: |
