Fun Midas Blenny Facts For Kids

The Midas blenny (Ecsenius midas), commonly known as Lyretail blenny and Golden blenny, is a species of primarily bottom-dwelling saltwater fish, mostly found in Indo-Pacific reefs. The range of this marine fish includes Fiji, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, the Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, and Madagascar.

They are popular aquarium fish as well, and even compatible with reef tanks. They are not aggressive with other fish in the tank. However, they can show an aggressive side when a smaller fish dares to enter their territory.

This marine fish has a stretched-out body, with beautifully colored scales in shades of yellow with orange hue. They have blue-colored highlights around their eyes. This blue highlight makes them more pleasing to look at.

Based on their colors, there are different types of Midas blennies such as a golden Midas blenny and a bi-color blenny. They follow an omnivorous diet that includes brine shrimp and mysis shrimp.

In the ocean, they eat plant-based foods such as algae. In captivity, their diet includes foods prepared with brine shrimp, algae, and seaweed. This diet is not so complex to prepare, giving enthusiasts another reason to buy them.

To learn more, we have collected a set of interesting facts about Midas blennies for you to read. For more relatable content, check out our articles on bluegill and mahi mahi.

Midas Blenny Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a Midas blenny?

Midas blennies (Ecsenius midas) are a species of saltwater fish from the Ecsenius genus of the Blenniidae family. They are commonly known as golden blenny,  lyretail blenny, and Parsian blenny. They primarily reside in Indo-Pacific reefs. This species is popular across the world as a stunning aquarium fish.

What class of animal does a Midas blenny belong to?

Middas blennies belong to the Actinopterygii class of the Animalia kingdom.

How many Midas blennies are there in the world?

Being both a saltwater fish and a popular reef tank-compatible fish, it's difficult to have an exact count of their population in the world. According to the International Union For Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, they have a stable population.

Where does a Midas blenny live?

Midas blenny fish live in shallow marine waters of Australia, Fiji, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, the Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, Madagascar, the Philippines, the Marquesan Islands, the Gulf of Aqaba, and American Samoa. They prefer the Neritic zones of the ocean. In captivity, this saltwater fish requires an aquarium with certain specifications.

What is a Midas blenny's habitat?

Midas blennies are commonly found at neritic zones of the ocean. They are spotted swimming in 39.3-59 ft (12-18 m) underwater.  They are found in coral reefs as well. They often allow themselves to get along with sea goodies or pink bar anthias.

In households, they prefer an aquarium with live rock and a capacity to hold 30 gal (113.5 l)  of water or more, with a pH level of 8.1-8.4 and the desired temperature is 73-84 F (22.8-28.8 C). They are reef tank compatible as well.

Who do Midas Blennies live with?

Midas blennies can blend well in groups both in the wild and in an aquarium, depending on their size. In saltwater, they often mimic and blend with sea goldies. In fish tanks, they prefer to swim in their territory. Midas blennies are gentle, however, they can turn out to be highly territorial as well.

In large tanks, they don't portray aggressive behavior. In a small tank, there's a chance to observe the exact opposite when a smaller or same-sized fish enters its territory.

How long does a Midas blenny live?

In the wild, the lifespan of a Midas blenny ranges between two to four years. However, in well-treated conditions, they can live up to five years in households. Their lifespan mostly depends on the water condition and diet.

How do they reproduce?

Similar to many other aquatic species, Ecsenius midas also practices the spawning method. After releasing the eggs, only one male blenny fish will incubate batches of eggs from different females. Not only do they perform the incubation duty but they also perform the duty of a guard as well.

What is their conservation status?

Midas blennies are listed as a Least Concern species by the International Union For Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Their population trend is pretty stable.

Midas Blenny Fun Facts

What do Midas blennies look like?

Midas blenny (Ecsenius midas) fish are one of the most popular reef tank fishes. They are known for their bright coloring.

This fish can be the shining star of the aquarium because of their bright golden yellow color or rose gold shade, amplified with an orange hue, and stunning highlights in blue surrounding their eyes. Their coloration depends on their range.

For example, Ecsenius midas from the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean are more brightly colored compared to the Pacific Ecsenius midas. They can mimic other fish as well and this is one of their adaptive abilities. They can even change colors according to their mood.

They possess dorsal fins on their stretched-out body. Similar to others from their genus, they too have a set of canine teeth as well.

*Please note that this is an image of a Mauritius Blenny FIsh, not Midas Blenny. If you have a royalty-free image of a Midas Blenny, please let us know at hello@kidadl.com

How cute are they?

A Midas blenny fish looks stunning because of its bright color. However, it is the blue highlights on their eyes which compliments their appearance and makes their face cute.

How do they communicate?

Most species of fish communicate through sound, vibration, visuals, and body movements. Unlike many species, Ecsenius midas doesn't have any swim bladder making them unable to communicate by sending signals through vibration. They rely on their vision and make various sounds like 'pops' and 'grunts'. Researchers have found out that they can communicate through pheromones as well.

How big is a Midas blenny?

A Midas blenny typically grows 4-5.1 in (10.1-13 cm) in length. In the right conditions, they can grow up to 6 in (15.2 cm) as well. In comparison, a hairtail blenny is the largest of the blenny species and it is more than three times in length, with an amazing size of 20.8 in (53 cm).

How fast can a Midas blenny swim?

They prefer swimming in rock pools in the ocean. During high tides, they prefer to reach dry land. Similarly in an aquarium, they prefer swimming around a live rock. However, the exact speed at which they swim is yet unknown.

How much does a Midas blenny weigh?

Since they are so small, there is no information available regarding their exact body mass.

What are the male and female names of the species?

There is no particular name given to this fish distinguished by its gender.

What would you call a baby Midas blenny?

A baby Midas blenny is called a 'fry'.

What do they eat?

They prefer to follow an omnivorous diet. While living in an aquarium, their food chart includes types of frozen foods and flake foods such as brine shrimp and mysis shrimp. Shrimp is the preferred food for them. It is best to prepare their foods with a balancing ratio of meat and plant-based foods such as algae.

Outside of the aquarium, they consume various marine algae and seaweeds. They also feed on zooplankton and copepods.

Are they dangerous?

They are fairly gentle-natured. However, when a smaller fish or a goldie enters their territory in an aquarium, they take no time in switching their personalities to become aggressive.

Would they make a good pet?

They can turn out to be exceptionally great saltwater aquarium fish. They can be taken care of pretty easily, with minimum hustle.

Their foods are easy to prepare and they are compatible with swimming in reef tanks, or an aquarium with live rock. They are not bothered by other fish swimming in the same aquarium unless one enters their territory.

Did you know...

Blennies can consume hair algae. It is also advisable to keep the aquarium full of microalgae. Their aquarium should have adequate sand and a strong base.

An African Midas blenny has more saturated golden yellow colored scales compared to others.

A golden Midas blenny is one of the most sold blenny fish to keep in an aquarium.

A blue Midas blenny is one of the rarest fish of this species.

Does a Mida blenny change color?

The saturation of their colors depends on their territory and surprisingly on their mood as well, ranging from shades of golden yellow, rose gold, and more similar shades. They have stunning blue highlights located around their eyes.

What are the different types of Midas blenny?

There are various types of Midas blenny in our oceans, such as the bi-color blenny, the canary blenny, and the orange-spotted blenny. Each of them has a unique appearance.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other fish including lined seahorses or rainbow trout.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Midas blenny coloring pages.