Red Scooter Blenny

The Red Scooter Blenny, despite its common name, is actually a dragonet rather than a true blenny. It is a charming and colorful species that displays a warm reddish to orange-red body covered in intricate mottled patterns of white, cream, and darker red. Males are particularly striking, with a larger and more ornately patterned dorsal fin that is raised in dramatic display during courtship and territorial interactions. At around 3 inches in maximum size, this is a compact species that fits well in smaller reef aquariums, provided its dietary needs can be met.

In the wild, Synchiropus moyeri is found across the Western Pacific, from the waters of Japan south through Indonesia and the Philippines. It inhabits shallow reef areas, rubble zones, and sheltered lagoons, where it hops and scoots across the substrate in the characteristic dragonet fashion, constantly picking at the surface of rocks and sand for tiny copepods and amphipods. Its common name derives from this scooting locomotion, which gives dragonets an endearing, almost comical movement style.

The Red Scooter Blenny is considered somewhat easier to maintain than the more demanding Mandarin Dragonet, as many specimens will more readily learn to accept frozen foods in addition to live copepods. However, a well-established aquarium with a healthy microfauna population remains important for long-term success. An intermediate-level aquarist with a mature 30-gallon reef tank containing abundant live rock and, ideally, a refugium producing copepods can successfully maintain this species. Its attractive red coloration, entertaining behavior, and reef-safe nature make it a popular choice for aquarists looking to keep their first dragonet.