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Lawnmower Blenny
Blenny

Lawnmower Blenny

Salarias fasciatus

A mottled, jewel-flecked blenny named for the way it mows algae off rock and glass with a comb-like grazing mouth — a genuinely useful cleanup fish with loads of personality. It is peaceful toward unrelated tankmates but territorial with other blennies and similar bottom-shapes, and it needs an established tank with real algae growth or supplemental veggie feeding, since a too-clean tank will starve it. Reef-safe, though a hungry one may sample fleshy LPS or a clam mantle.

Temperament
Peaceful
Max size
5.1"
Min tank
30 gal
Reef-safe
Reef safe
Diet
Herbivore
Zone
Rockwork, Sand bed, Bottom
Keep just one per tank — two will fight.
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Tankmates

How Lawnmower Blenny gets on with the rest of the reef, checked pair by pair by the same engine as the live pre-flight.

Best kept apart

A real clash — aggression, predation or a same-genus fight.

Purple TangPurple Tang (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Lawnmower Blenny and may harass it.Starry BlennyBoth are Salarias algae grazers with the same body shape and the same perch-and-hop feeding, so they read as direct rivals and compete for the same limited algae film. Care guides name the lawnmower blenny as the species to avoid alongside a starry.Picasso TriggerfishPicasso Triggerfish (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Lawnmower Blenny and may harass it.Redlip BlennyTwo territorial algae-grazing blennies competing for the same grazing surfaces; the fanged Redlip is the aggressor.Volitans LionfishVolitans Lionfish has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Lawnmower Blenny.Snowflake MoraySnowflake Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Lawnmower Blenny.Zebra MorayZebra Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Lawnmower Blenny.Chainlink MorayChainlink Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Lawnmower Blenny.Rectangle TriggerfishRectangle Triggerfish (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Lawnmower Blenny and may harass it.Clown TriggerfishClown Triggerfish (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Lawnmower Blenny and may harass it.Miniata GrouperMiniata Grouper (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Lawnmower Blenny and may harass it.Panther GrouperPanther Grouper (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Lawnmower Blenny and may harass it.Dogface PufferDogface Puffer has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Lawnmower Blenny.Lunare WrasseLunare Wrasse (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Lawnmower Blenny and may harass it.Spanish HogfishSpanish Hogfish has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Lawnmower Blenny.

Keep an eye on these

Usually fine, but worth watching in a smaller tank.