🐠 Hancock's Blenny (Acanthemblemaria hancocki)
A Tiny Body Marked in Black, White and Red With a Striking Red Iris • A True Tube-Dwelling Nano Species • Needs Small Tubes or Holes to Call Home
 
📋 Hancock's Blenny, also known as the Panamic Barnacle Blenny, is a tiny, charming fish with a body and fins marked in black, white, and red, a dark charcoal spot behind the eye, red lips, and a striking red iris.
It comes from rocky coral reefs across the Eastern Pacific, from El Salvador and Panama south to Ecuador, living almost its entire life tucked inside empty barnacle shells, worm tubes, or mollusk tubes on the reef, with just its head poking out to watch for passing food. Every Hancock's Blenny we ship is feeding well.
This is a true nano species, one of the smallest blennies available, and it has a real housing requirement worth knowing about: it needs small tubes or holes to call home, and if your rockwork doesn't naturally provide these, small PVC tubes make an effective substitute. It's entertaining to watch, darting out in a flash to snatch food from the water column before hurrying straight back to the safety of its burrow. It's fully reef safe, and won't harm corals or invertebrates. It reaches up to 4.5cm, often sold around 5cm, so a 40L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Striking Red-and-Black Detailing: Red lips and iris against a black-and-white body
📏 A True Nano Species: One of the smallest blennies available, perfect for small reef tanks
🏠 Needs Tube-Style Housing: Lives in empty barnacle or worm tubes; PVC tubes work as a substitute
🌿 Fully Reef Safe: Won't harm corals or invertebrates
👀 Entertaining: Darts out to grab food, then retreats instantly to its burrow