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Home > Marine Fish > Blennies > Black Sailfin Blenny
Black Sailfin Blenny (Atrosalarias fuscus)
Black Sailfin Blenny
Please Note: Due to variations within species, your item may not look identical to the image provided. Approximate size range may also vary between individual specimen.
Please Note: Due to variations within species, your item may not look identical to the image provided. Approximate size range may also vary between individual specimen.
Black Sailfin Blenny (Atrosalarias fuscus)
Additional locales and sizes may be available!
Additional locales and sizes may be available!

Quick Stats

Care Level Moderate
Temperament Peaceful
Color Form Black
Diet Herbivore
Reef Compatible Yes
Water Conditions sg 1.020-1.025, 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4
Max. Size 4½"
Family Blenniidae
Minimum Tank Size 30 gallons
Compatibility View Chart
What do these Quick Stats mean? Click here for more information
Care Level Moderate
Temperament Peaceful
Color Form Black
Diet Herbivore
Reef Compatible Yes
Water Conditions sg 1.020-1.025, 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4
Max. Size 4½"
Family Blenniidae
Minimum Tank Size 30 gallons
Compatibility View Chart
What do these Quick Stats mean? Click here for more information

Overview

The Black Sailfin Blenny is prized for its voracious appetite for nuisance microalgae. But the Black Sailfin Blenny is most recognizable for its stark black coloration on both body and fins. Since the Black Sailfin Blenny eagerly perches upon live rock to feed, Atrosalarias fuscus truly creates an eye-catching addition to any saltwater reef system.

Native to the reefs of Java, the Black Sailfin Blenny requires ample live rock with microalgae growth on which it can forage for food. This member of the Blenniidae family is an obligate microalgae eater, which means it needs microalgae in its diet in order to survive. However, its diet can be supplemented with vegetable matter, including frozen and dried foods containing marine and blue-green algae (spirulina).

For the best care, house the Black Sailfin Blenny in an aquarium of at least 30 gallons. The Black Sailfin Blenny likes to hide amongst rockwork and inside caves, so offer a variety of locations in which the Black Sailfin Blenny can find solitude. When properly cared for, this species of Atrosalarias will consume mass amounts of hair or string algae. The Black Sailfin Blenny is peaceful towards tankmates of similar size and temperament. It may nip at some small polyp stony corals and clam mantles, however. Also, the Black Sailfin Blenny may be territorial towards its own species; therefore, if incorporating more than one Black Sailfin Blenny into an aquarium, it is best to acclimate them simultaneously.

The Black Sailfin Blenny is also known as the Dusky Blenny, Brown Coral Blenny, Black Blenny, Highfin Blenny, or Brown Combtooth Blenny. Males are generally larger than females and experience a succession of color changes when breeding.

Approximate Purchase Size: Small: 1" to 2"; Medium: 2" to 3"; Large: 3" to 4"

Customer Testimonials

Art W Enterprise , AL
Great fish!! The one I received is black with beautiful marble-like blue markings on the face. It has taken the rock in the middle of the tank as its home. Not really aggressive but greedily eats zooplankton.
Shawn L Crownsville , MD
I got two with an algae cleaner package I ordered. I knew that they might become aggressive so I acclimated them together. They still ended up fighting so I have had to separate them. Be careful about them picking on corals. Mine loves to steal food from my GBTA and readily picked on my beautiful orange/green fungia until extinction.
Tim C Arlington Heights , IL
My Black Sailfin Blenny is an eating machine! Greedily eats anything, but is especially fond of flake food and pellets. Also loves to eats algae off of decorations. When not chowing down, he hangs out in a large barnacle cluster and keeps an eye out on all the goings-on in the tank. A charming and comical addition to a community aquarium.
Eric P Kempner , TX
A constant and voracious algae eater with lots of personality. Great community fish that should do well with peaceful and more boisterous set-ups. Has been reef safe amongst SPS, LPS and softies and enjoys the shelter that the corals bring.
Woody B Fernandina Beach , FL
My black sailfin blenny has been in a 55-gal tank for over a year with a tiger-striped serpent star that I have had for more than four years. In the past month or two, the blenny has been relentlessly nipping at the serpent star, which reacts by retreating further under the rocks. Over the past week or two, the serpent star has been shedding arms, and is now down to five stumps. I would not put a sailfin blenny and serpent star in the same tank together again.
1-5 of 5 testimonials

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