Acanthemblemaria spinosa
Encyclopedia
The barnacle blenny, Acanthemblemaria spinosa, also known as the tube blenny or spinyhead blenny, is a member of the blenny family native to the Pacific ocean
. It has a mottled black, white and red coloration over the entire body, which is rather elongated. As with most blennies, the head of this animal has small hair-like appendages over the eyes, which are large and red. It ranges in size from 0.75 inches (19.1 mm) to 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) in length.
A. spinosa prefers to inhabit the empty shells of barnacles, hence their name, but will also live in rock and coral
crevices. They are opportunistic feeders, preferring to quickly dart out and retrieve food bits from the water column, as opposed to engaging in active foraging and hunting behavior. They eat small crustaceans and other plankton
.
In the home aquarium
, they are entertaining and only require moderate care. They are reef safe
.
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. It has a mottled black, white and red coloration over the entire body, which is rather elongated. As with most blennies, the head of this animal has small hair-like appendages over the eyes, which are large and red. It ranges in size from 0.75 inches (19.1 mm) to 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) in length.
A. spinosa prefers to inhabit the empty shells of barnacles, hence their name, but will also live in rock and coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
crevices. They are opportunistic feeders, preferring to quickly dart out and retrieve food bits from the water column, as opposed to engaging in active foraging and hunting behavior. They eat small crustaceans and other plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
.
In the home aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
, they are entertaining and only require moderate care. They are reef safe
Reef safe
Reef safe is a distinction used in the saltwater aquarium hobby to indicate that a fish or invertebrate is safe to add to a reef aquarium. There is no fish that is completely reef safe. Every fish that is commonly listed as reef safe are species that usually do not readily consume small fish or...
.