Jewelled lawnmower blenny

The jewelled or lawnmower blenny is a marine combtooth blenny of the family Blenniidae, widespread across the Indo-Pacific on shallow reefs and rubble flats. It is a mottled brown, well-camouflaged fish with a blunt head, cirri above the eyes and large, expressive eyes, and it perches on rocks propped on its pelvic fins. It is mostly peaceful but can be territorial toward other blennies or bottom-dwellers competing for the same grazing turf, so one per tank is usual. A mature reef aquarium with plenty of live rock covered in film algae is important, because it grazes filamentous and microalgae from surfaces and can starve in a spotless tank. It is primarily herbivorous, and its diet should be supplemented with dried marine algae (nori), spirulina preparations and grazing pellets. It is fully reef-safe and valued as a natural algae controller.