Bluestripe Fangblenny Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Slender, eel-like elongated body
• Bold electric-blue stripe running from the snout through the eye to the tail
• Background body color varies by morph: black, yellow, or a blue-black combination
• Enlarged, fang-like teeth in the lower jaw, generally only visible up close
• Grows to about 10-12 cm (4-4.7 in)

Common look-alikes

• Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse: nearly identical blue stripe and body shape, which the fangblenny mimics; the wrasse swims with a distinctive undulating "dance," while the fangblenny swims in quick, darting bursts and shows no true cleaning behavior
• Other fangblenny species: similarly striped but usually lack the sharp black-to-yellow color division seen in some Bluestripe morphs
• Sabre-tooth blennies: closely related genus with a similar body plan, separated mainly by stripe placement and color morph combinations

Where you'll see one

Bluestripe Fangblennies are widespread across Indo-Pacific coral reefs, hovering near cleaning stations, coral heads, or in loose groups over reef flats, where they use their cleaner-wrasse mimicry to approach other fish before darting in to bite scales or mucus with venom-associated fangs.