Tripterygion tripteronotus (Risso 1810)
Written by Saturday, 29 June 2002 00:00
Common name: Red triplefin.
One of the most beautiful and colourful blennies you may find along the coasts of the Mediterranean. This species was collected by John who found a colony of them in a large rock pool. After making several attempts and releasing all the wrong animals we managed to get 3 males and 7 females (as always, going by the book: first we collect the animal, make sure it is what we want and then either release it or keep it). Since one of the males was much smaller than the others we decided to keep it separately. In contrast to most marine species we have kept or seen up to now, this is the first species that will change its colouration within seconds (like my beloved African cichlids). Starting from a ground colour (the one shown on the body) will soon show the red colours everywhere and - if displaying to a female or a rival male - will finally show an intense blue black colour on its face. The transition from one colour scheme to the next takes a few seconds.
This species will feed on frozen brine shrimp, finely chopped mussels and small pieces of frozen shrimp. Individuals vary a lot in this respect. Some of them will rush to the food from the very first day while others may take a while to acclimatize. They eat in the usual blenny manner: they rush to the food, stop just some millimetres away and then attack it in a quick move. This species is supposed to reach a final size of 8 cm - the dominant male is already about that size. The dominant male will not chase or harass the subdominant ones. Occasionally you will see the displaying colours of the male which is characterized by a blue-black face - a spectacular fish indeed. Usually the fish will be seen in the normal mood and colours. Although I am just experimenting for the moment, I find the luxury of having two tanks very convenient. You can never know how the fish already in the tank will react to the addition of a new individual of any species. When this male was added in the "anemone" tank, the male Salaria pavo attacked it immediately and almost killed it on the spot. After a mere 40 seconds we had to remove it and place it in the other tank. However, the S. pavo never attacked or otherwise harassed the smaller male which is still staying with it.
A note on collection of live rock and other organisms: After reading Bob Fenner's book we take extra care to collect all organisms without exposing them to the air - this is very important for all collectors.
I have watched many fish forming pairs, spawning and releasing their fry in my tanks. However, when I started this experiment with marine fishes I was afraid of many things. This fear grew larger when I decided to go for a "cold" marine tank with Mediterranean species. Very little information is available so you have to be very careful and always alert. Many questions were always puzzling me. Would they eat (live food has never been an option for me)? Would they like their "small" environment or feel strange about it - although completely natural and carried from their original habitat ? When you see that after 10 days a pair is formed the feeling is unbelievable. I can only compare it with the feeling I had when I witnessed the first spawning of my African cichlids.
The male (red) over the female (olive green). I spend many hours daily searching for them. I don't know how they feel, but I know how I feel - happy. The pair can spend hours together, often changing to a head to tail position.
Read the article on Starting a marine (Mediterranean) tank.
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