Blenny, Jawfish, Goby???

[tygger]

What's the difference between these guys? I searched and know that they have different fins, but other than appearance, what are their characteristics like? ie. Do they mainly hang out in a hole, on rocks or swim around? Are certain ones particularly shy and hide most of the time? Do they all eat the same thing?

 

Any info would be great. I'm looking for one with lots of character

[rocko918]

I have 2 blennies and 2 gobies in my tank.

 

Both Blennies swim around and perch on rocks or corals. They both have great personalities but can be aggressive towards each other.

 

My 2 gobies have homes in the sand under rocks and stuff. They hang out and watch everything. When food goes in the tank they come out of their holes more.

 

Jawfish are similar to gobies in that they hang our near their home and pop out for food. They too have great personalities. I don't think my watchman like the jaw fish I had. I lost the jaw fish when my tank over heated.

 

they have all eaten what i put in the tank, but i know my biocolor blennie likes algea.

[dmward99]

I have only had Lawnmower Blennies and a Black Sailfin Blenny (I think they were the same but different colors) both had great personalities and liked to watch the room and TV.They would perch on a rock and just watch everything.They didn't seem shy at all about coming out and hopping from rock to rock watching the room.Never had any experiences with gobies or jawfish.

[davelin315]

There's quite a few differences between each, and even within each subheading you're looking at. The jawfish themselves are probably the most similar within the taxonomy. They tend to live in holes and stay at the bottom of the tank. That said, different jawfish act differently. Pearly jawfish tend to hover in the water just above their holes while the other types of jawfish tend to stay in their holes and just let their head stick out. They all, however, do live in burrows and need some sort of substrate that will allow them to burrow and create their homes which means you will need some larger chunks of substrate for them to arrange into holes.

 

Blennies get a bit more diversified within their taxonomy. Two examples that are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum are the herbivorous blennies that graze a lot, like the lawn mower blennies as compared to a fang blenny such as a midas or canary blenny, both of which tend to be more free swimming and which do not rely on algae. Even within similarly shaped blennies there are many differences in their habits and what they do. For instance, the barnacle blennies live in barnacles and will congregate together in small colonies, while most other blennies are very territorial and don't like blenny company.

 

When you get to gobies, that's where the differences really are obvious. Take, for example, a firefish and a mandarin goby. Two very different fish which both have very different lifestyles. Look at the clown gobies, too, and see how very different they are from the two aforementioned gobies. Then you've got countless other fish that fall under the goby name.

 

Long story short, there are tons of differences between each of the three you mentioned as well as tons of differences within each group you mentioned. Really, the only common thread between them all is that they are really fun and cool to have in your tank!

[rrubberbandman]

There's quite a few differences between each, and even within each subheading you're looking at. The jawfish themselves are probably the most similar within the taxonomy. They tend to live in holes and stay at the bottom of the tank. That said, different jawfish act differently. Pearly jawfish tend to hover in the water just above their holes while the other types of jawfish tend to stay in their holes and just let their head stick out. They all, however, do live in burrows and need some sort of substrate that will allow them to burrow and create their homes which means you will need some larger chunks of substrate for them to arrange into holes.

 

Blennies get a bit more diversified within their taxonomy. Two examples that are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum are the herbivorous blennies that graze a lot, like the lawn mower blennies as compared to a fang blenny such as a midas or canary blenny, both of which tend to be more free swimming and which do not rely on algae. Even within similarly shaped blennies there are many differences in their habits and what they do. For instance, the barnacle blennies live in barnacles and will congregate together in small colonies, while most other blennies are very territorial and don't like blenny company.

 

When you get to gobies, that's where the differences really are obvious. Take, for example, a firefish and a mandarin goby. Two very different fish which both have very different lifestyles. Look at the clown gobies, too, and see how very different they are from the two aforementioned gobies. Then you've got countless other fish that fall under the goby name.

 

Long story short, there are tons of differences between each of the three you mentioned as well as tons of differences within each group you mentioned. Really, the only common thread between them all is that they are really fun and cool to have in your tank!

i thought a mandarin was a dragonette?

Bryan

[davelin315]

It is, but I've seen them listed under the "goby" category. I don't know if this is simply a trade name or if it's based on classification, but I've seen it happen! Kind of like "scooter blennies" - not sure that this label is based at all in science, or if it's simply the name that was assigned to it at some point.

[rrubberbandman]

It is, but I've seen them listed under the "goby" category. I don't know if this is simply a trade name or if it's based on classification, but I've seen it happen! Kind of like "scooter blennies" - not sure that this label is based at all in science, or if it's simply the name that was assigned to it at some point.

i was just kiddin' ya!

i call em' gobies also :wink:

Bryan

[davelin315]

I figured out that you were kidding around right after I posted, but then I looked at the time and realized that I was up way past my new revised bedtime so didn't change it.

 

By the way, have you ever noticed how some Atlantic Cod, the 4'+ varieties, look an awful lot like either blennies or jawfish?

[rrubberbandman]

I figured out that you were kidding around right after I posted, but then I looked at the time and realized that I was up way past my new revised bedtime so didn't change it.

 

By the way, have you ever noticed how some Atlantic Cod, the 4'+ varieties, look an awful lot like either blennies or jawfish?