BLENNIES

If you think you’re shy, compare yourself with the blenny! These little fish spend most of their lives ducking out of sight, even using empty bottles as hiding places.

‘Blenny’ is an ambiguous name given to many small, bottom-dwelling species in the perciform families. Six families are considered ‘true blennies’, in the suborder Blennioidei, with 360 species known worldwide of which 92 occur in Australian marine waters. Blennies possess elongated bodies and large eyes, and their blunt faces are often whiskered with delicate structures called cirri. Blennies are reclusive, and spend most of their time in burrows, crevices, or other hideouts including bottles and empty shells. Many blennies are detritivorous (consuming dead plant and animal matter), some are herbivorous, and others are carnivorous.