Best of Mike #143

The Red Lip Blenny is very common in the shallow waters of the Caribbean.... ranging as far north as Georgia and as far south as Brazil.

If you are diving the reefs off the west coast of Africa, you could run in to them there too.

They are named for their distinctive red lips.... but you may also see bright red markings on their fins and around the eyes.

They prefer flat coral heads and encrusting coral algae.... someplace where they can get up high to see what's going on around them.

Their place will also need at least one shelter hole where they can retreat, when necessary.

They are small with no real defenses.

So without quick movement and the ability to hide.... they are food for pretty much anything on the reef, with a mouth big enough to swallow them.

Blennys are a herbivore.... they feed, during the day, on the algae lawn where they live.

At night they retreat to their shelter hole to avoid the nocturnal predators.

But they are early risers.... up with the dawn for courtship and spawning as the sun rises.