Brachiosaurus Blenny

[Nick James]

Just wanted some opinions on this fish. Male or female?

[Dkuhlmann]

I've never seen this fish before and I think it's COOL!

But reading on Live Aquaria about it I believe it to be a male just from their description.

overview
The Brachiosaurus Blenny is an exciting new addition to the aquarium trade, generating buzz among hobbyists. It is easy to see how this blenny received its common name as the male Brachiosaurus Blenny sports a pronounced fleshy crest that gives it a distinct dinosaurian appearance. If that wasn't enough to capture your imagination, the male Brachiosaurus Blenny also sports very exotic-looking finnage (most notable is the sail-like dorsal fin) that enhances the "prehistoric" appearance of this buzz-worthy blenny.



http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...63&pcatid=3263

[ThRoewer]

Found a book about that genus in PDF form:
Revision of the blenniid fish genus Omobranchus: with descriptions of three new species and notes on other species of the tribe Omobranchini

Didn't read much of it but seems to be quite informative.

"Females: Similar to males except: head background
usually not as dark; dark bands and markings
on head more apparent; pale spaces between
dark bands slightly broader; body background
paler; body bands less distinct; usually 4th and
occasionally 5th horizontal series of intense, dark
spots present on body; spots in somewhat less distinctly
arranged rows; fins less distinctly pigmented;
dorsal fin often only with dark dusky blotches
along base above dorsal ends of body bands.
...

COMPARISONS.—Omobranchus anolius is unique
in Omobranchus in having the posterior segmented
dorsal-fin rays of larger males long and filamentous.
The 15th ray, for instance, may attain a length of
up to 31.9% SL, more than in any other species of
Omobranchus. In O. ferox and aurosplendidus the
15th ray may attain a length of 22-24% SL, but
none of the rays become filamentous or much exserted
beyond the margin of the interradial membrane
(the dorsal-fin spines of male aurosplendidus
do, however, become long and filamentous). In O.
anolius there are several series of small, dark spots
that appear to be superimposed on the color pattern
of the body. Omobranchus elegans, aurosplendidus
and, to a much lesser extent, meniscus also
have a similar spotting, but the spots are smaller,
more numerous, and more randomly distributed in
these three species. Some specimens of O. fasciolatus
appear to have a similar spotting, but the spots are
not so intensely dark and do not appear to overlie
other features of the color pattern."

[Nick James]

Thanks for the information Throewer! And DK you are right the LFS confirmed with me their mix up. Now I have to return a male to get the female so they don't battle for territory.

[Nick James]

Because I like to share..

[ThRoewer]

Let us know when they got babies

[Nick James]

.. The REAL female.. Now that I got her

[ThRoewer]

Picture is a bit fuzzy and not at an ideal angle, but it looks like the females don't have the Brachiosaurus head bump. In that case sexing these guys should be quite simple.

[Dkuhlmann]

Originally Posted by nallender

Thanks for the information Throewer! And DK you are right the LFS confirmed with me their mix up. Now I have to return a male to get the female so they don't battle for territory.

Awesome! Glad to hear it, and happy to see your little girl

[Nick James]

Originally Posted by ThRoewer

Picture is a bit fuzzy and not at an ideal angle, but it looks like the females don't have the Brachiosaurus head bump. In that case sexing these guys should be quite simple.

They are always moving when I want to take their picture! The female does not have the bump, which is why I originally suspected the smaller male to be a female.

[Nick James]

Originally Posted by Dkuhlmann

Awesome! Glad to hear it, and happy to see your little girl

Thanks! They get along much better.

[aussiemantis]

very very cool little fish, i have 3 males and 6 females. they are very social with each other
and with me. they have the cutest little face and mouth, they are comb toothed. they are known as the brachiosaurus blenny. in australia we call them oyster blenny and if you do a google search you should see that the pictures of the fish are recognizable in both the US and AUSTRALIA. this is because they share the same habitat, both the coast of australia and the coast of mexico. there are other species that look identical too, in other parts of the world (france and germany's coast). there version is the Salaria pavo or peacock blenny. it's basically the same thing but with different colouration. amazing how nature works. they are super interactive. watching them graze on algae is the cutest. the way they munch and look up at you and pause. then continue munching ahahaha. they follow your finger around. when they are hungry they will beg for food. i'm pretty sure they can be trained to eat from your hand as well, they are super interactive. i've got a picture of one when i took him out of the water to move to another tank while cleaning his holding tank. i have him in my hand and he's like a blob of blue jelly with a smiley face. ahahahahaha
anyways if anyone can provide details of their reproductive nature that would be awesome!