At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Slender fang blenny
A slim, forked-tailed blenny that is a single bright yellow from nose to tail. Males tend to grow a little larger than females.3
Personality what they are like
Confident and a bit territorial. Like other fang blennies it carries venomous fangs for defence and may give a nip if it feels threatened, so hands in the tank deserve a little care.3
Daily activity how busy a day looks
Swims actively in the open water and around the rockwork, grazing and hunting as it goes.3
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Give it established live rock to explore and feed a varied mix of meaty and plant-based foods.3
Home where they are happiest
Minimum about 30 US gallons (114 L) with live rock. Saltwater at about 22 to 26 °C, pH 8.1 to 8.4, dKH 8 to 12, specific gravity 1.020 to 1.025.3
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Omnivore. Offer finely chopped seafood, mysis and enriched brine shrimp plus frozen herbivore foods.31
Company who they like around
Keep singly or as a mated pair; two unpaired fish may squabble over territory.31
The story where it all began
Albert Günther described it in 1880 under the name Petroscirtes oualanensis. It was later moved to the fang blenny genus Meiacanthus.2
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
In the wild it is found only around Fiji.1
- 2
Fang blennies like this one have venomous fangs they use to defend themselves.3
- 3
Pairs lay sticky eggs anchored to a surface by a small pad, and the young drift as plankton.1
- 4
Its old genus name Petroscirtes was swapped for Meiacanthus as scientists sorted out the fang blennies.2
Recognised by the official bits
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern (assessed 2009)1
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Canary Blenny. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- FeedingSmall amounts once or twice a dayevery day
- Temperature checkevery day
- Salinity checkevery week
- Top-upTop up evaporation with fresh RO water, not salt waterevery day
- Water testevery week
- Water changeAbout 10 to 20% of the waterevery 2 weeks
- Glass cleanevery week
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Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at support@furrydiary.app and we will fix it.
- FishBase: Meiacanthus oualanensis fishbase.seused for distribution, size, breeding, IUCN
- Wikipedia: Meiacanthus oualanensis en.wikipedia.orgused for history, synonyms, size
- LiveAquaria: Canary Blenny liveaquaria.comused for care, tank size, water parameters, diet, temperament, colour
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.