🐠 Ember Blenny (Cirripectes stigmaticus)
Marine Reef-Safe Rock-Perching Blenny • Reddish-Brown Body With Scarlet Spotting • Mixed Diet Grazer • Beginner-Friendly Marine Fish
 
📋 The Ember Blenny (Cirripectes stigmaticus), also known as the Red-Streaked or Scarlet-Spotted Blenny, has a reddish-brown to blackish body dotted with vivid orange-red spotting, giving it a genuinely warm, glowing appearance against live rock.
Native to a wide range across the Indo-Pacific, from Kenya and Mozambique through the Indian Ocean to the Marshall and Samoan Islands, this species spends its day perched on rock and coral rubble, grazing algae and inspecting crevices for planktonic snacks.
Unlike many blennies that are almost purely herbivorous, the Ember Blenny genuinely benefits from a mixed diet including meaty foods alongside algae — a detail worth knowing, since relying on algae alone won't fully meet its nutritional needs. It's generally peaceful, though it can become territorial toward conspecifics or similarly shaped blennies, and males are typically noticeably larger than females with more pronounced colouration during breeding.
With established live rock, a varied diet, and appropriate tank mates, it thrives as a Warmly Coloured Reef Grazing Display Fish.
 
🔴🟤 Highlights
🎨 Warm Reddish Spotted Colouration: Genuinely glowing appearance against rockwork
🍽️ Mixed Diet Grazer: Needs both algae and meaty foods, unlike most blennies
🌿 Reef Safe: Generally won't harm corals if consistently well-fed
🧠 Beginner Friendly: Hardy and peaceful with appropriate tank mates
👀 Inquisitive Personality: Frequently visible, perching to survey its territory