Midas Blenny

About

The Midas Blenny (Ecsenius midas) is one of the more behaviorally fascinating fish you can keep in a reef tank. Found across a vast stretch of the Indo-Pacific, from the Gulf of Aqaba and the East African coast all the way out to the Marquesas Islands, it lives on coral reefs ranging from clear coastal shallows to outer reef walls with moderate current. What sets this fish apart is its remarkable social mimicry: when in its golden-orange phase, it will join schools of Pseudanthias squamipinnis, matching their color and even copying their swimming style so convincingly that it blends right in. It can shift colors rapidly depending on whether it's hovering near the bottom or drifting up into open water. A trick it uses to blend with whatever fish it's mingling with. In the wild it feeds on zooplankton, picking meals from the water column a couple of meters above the reef rather than grazing the rocks like many other blennies. In the aquarium it develops a real personality, quickly learning to recognize its keeper and showing up at the glass at feeding time. Keep in mind it can be territorial toward similar-looking fish, so tank mate selection matters.