Salarias fasciatus

Lawnmower blenny
File:Cricket (Salarias fasciatus).jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Blenniidae
Genus:	Salarias
Species:	S. fasciatus
Binomial name
Salarias fasciatus (Bloch, 1786)

The jewelled blenny, Salarias fasciatus, is a popular marine aquarium fish species in Australasia. Despite being also known as the lawnmower blenny due to its propensity to consume algae growth from rocks and glass, it is principally a detritivore, with plant material making up only 15% of its diet. This species reaches a length of 14 centimetres (5.5 in) TL. The lawnmower blenny is generally regarded as compatible with most other marine fish species and as a group with other lawnmower blennies.

• Lawnmower Blenny Smile.jpg
• Algae blenny.jpg
• Salarias fasciatus Aquarium DG.jpg

The lawnmower blenny has the capability to blend it with its surroundings to hide itself from predators. It stays mostly on the ocean or aquarium floor or on any rock or corals.

Description

A small fish, with maximum recorded size of about 14cm. Body depth about 3.7 to 4.2 in length, head small, branched supraorbital and nuchal cirri. Lip margins smooth. No notch in dorsal fin, dorsal and anal fins attached to base of caudal fin by a membrane. Adult males have elongated anterior rays on the anal fin. Colour variable. Usually olive to brown with dark bars and a large number of round or elongated white spots of different sizes. There are usually dark longitudinal lines on the front part of the body, and small bright blue spots with dark outlines along the rear part of the body.

Distribution

East Africa and the Red Sea to Samoa and the Islands of Micronesia

Habitat

Usually seen on shallow reef flats with heavy algal cover.

References

• Algae-Eating Blennies of the Genera Salarias and Atrosalarias
• Lawnmower Blenny, Rockskipper Blenny
• Salarias fasciatus