Highfin Blenny

There are two subspecies of Atrosalarias fuscus: Atrosalarias fuscus fuscus and Atrosalarias fuscus holomelas. Atrosalarias fuscus fuscus is commonly known as the Black Benny while Atrosalarias fuscus holomelas is referred to as Highfin Blenny or Brown Coral Blenny.

Atrosalarias fuscus fuscus inhabits the Western Indian Ocean (Red Sea to Pakistan) and the Western Central Pacific (Australia). Atrosalarias fuscus holomelas lives in the Pacific Ocean, from Sumatra to the Society Islands, northwards up to the Japanese Ryukyu Islands, and southwards down to New Caledonia and Tonga. The geographical range of this subspecies also includes Palau, the eastern Caroline Islands, the southern Marshall Islands and parts of Western Australia.

This article will focus on the Highfin Blenny.

Atrosalarias fuscus holomelas has not been evaluated for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Geographical distribution and habitat

As mentioned above, Atrosalarias fuscus holomelas lives in the Pacific Ocean. It can be found in tropical marine environments from 30°N to 23°S. These fishes inhabit sheltered shallow reefs and spend most of their time among the branches of live and dead corals.   

Size and appearance

The largest scientifically measured Highfin Blenny was 14.5 cm / 5.7 inches.

Juveniles are yellow all over the body, but the coloration will change to dark brown and black as the fish grows bigger.

Highfin Blenny care

If you want to keep the Highfin Blenny you should wait until you have a stable and well-established aquarium to house it in. The aquarium size should be at least 50 gallons / 190 liters. Try to mimic the natural environment of the Highfin Blenny and include a lot of scattered rocks and live rock in the set up. This fish likes to stay perched on rocks looking for suitable prey, but it also wants to have hiding spots in the aquarium into which it can retreat. The aquarium should contain thriving populations of micro algae before you introduce the Highfin Blenny.

If you want to keep more than one Highfin Blenny, the safest course or action is to keep a compatible pair. Your Highfin Blenny may nip at or even eat clam mantles and stony corals with small polyps.

The recommended water temperature is 24-27° C / 75-81° F. The specific gravity should be 1.020-1.025 and the pH-value between 8.1 and 8.4.

Feeding Highfin Blenny

The Highfin Blenny must be provided with a lot of micro algae in the aquarium. The naturally growing algae can be supplemented with vegetables and algae based frozen and dried foods.

Breeding Highfin Blenny

Blenny articles

Bicolor Blenny – A guide to caring for Ecsenius bicolor
Midas Blenny – A guide to caring for Ecsenius midas
Redspotted Rockskipper – A guide to caring for Istiblennius chrysospilos
Redlip Blenny – A guide to caring for Ophioblennius atlanticus
Lawnmower Blenny – A guide to caring for Salarias fasciatus