🐠 Starry Blenny (Salarias ramosus)
A Dark Mottled Body Covered in White Star-Like Speckles • A Personable, Perching Character • A Valuable Natural Algae Controller
 
📋 The Starry Blenny, also known as the Starry Lawnmower Blenny or Snowflake Blenny, has a striking dark brown-to-mottled body covered in white-to-light-blue star-like speckles, with bushy cirri protruding between the eyes.
It comes from the Western and Central Pacific, inhabiting shallow, rocky reefs and crevices, often close to abundant algae growth. Every Starry Blenny we ship is feeding well.
This is one of the more valuable algae-grazers in the hobby, using its comb-like teeth to strip filamentous algae and film algae from rock and glass surfaces, and does best in an already well-established tank with natural algae growth present. It's a known jumper, so a tight-fitting lid is essential, and it can become territorial toward similarly shaped bottom-dwellers, particularly other blennies, in smaller tanks. It's considered reef safe with caution; it's excellent at controlling nuisance algae, but has been documented occasionally nipping at coral polyps and clam mantles, particularly if underfed, so a consistent, varied diet matters. It reaches up to 15cm, so a 115L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Dark Body With White Star-Like Speckles: A distinctive, characterful blenny
🌿 Valuable Algae Control: An excellent natural grazer for reef tanks
😄 Personable: Perches, watches, and interacts with its surroundings
⚠️ Reef Safe With Caution: May nip coral polyps and clam mantles if underfed
⚠️ A Known Jumper: A tight-fitting lid is essential