Scooter blenny

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Western Pacific: from Indonesia and the Philippines to the Marquesas and the Great Barrier Reef. Inhabits sandy reef flats.

Taxonomy and Morphology: Member of the Callionymidae family. Mistakenly called a blenny. Scaleless body with large protruding eyes. Grows to 8 cm (3.1 inches).

Social Behavior: Peaceful bottom-dweller. Hops along the sand and rocks. Males display territorial behavior towards other males by raising their large dorsal fin.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Cryptic coloration patterned with grey, white, and brown spots. Males possess a much larger, sail-like first dorsal fin with dark spots.

Aquarium Setup: Minimum aquarium size of 120 liters (30 gallons). Must have a well-established live rock ecosystem and a sandy bottom to foster microfauna.

Diet and Feeding: Extremely difficult. Feeds almost exclusively on live copepods and amphipods. Needs to be trained to accept frozen baby brine or cyclops.

Water Quality: Keep standard marine parameters stable: temperature 22-26°C (72-79°F), pH 8.1-8.4, specific gravity 1.020-1.025, and KH 8-12.

Compatibility and Cohabitation: Exceptionally peaceful. Avoid keeping with active wrasses or competitor fish that deplete the copepod population. Reef safe.

Aquarium Breeding: Spawning pairs perform a vertical rise at dusk. Larvae are pelagic and difficult to feed in captivity.

Risks and Diseases: Starvation is the primary risk factor. Hardier against skin parasites due to its thick, toxic mucus layer.