Dumaguete, Philippines ~ April 2015 A blenny guarding eggs! The last time I spent a dive watching a male blenny guarding a cache of eggs, was in freezing water with 3 feet of vis – in Florida, of all places! Since that dive (see Blenny Fever), I’ve seen quite a few different species of blenny spawn but their eggs are difficult or impossible to see because they tend to lay them in abandoned worm tubes, shells or crevices.
I think this blenny is Petroscirtes breviceps, but I can’t be certain because it stayed in the tube at eye level. It is interesting that the eggs are in different stages of development – you can see the eyes on the ones lower down in the tube. The eggs higher up are still reddish and yolk-filled.
Here is a very short video showing the blenny in the worm tube. The two tubes just behind him are still occupied by worms. To watch, click on the video below. You can watch other short videos of our marine life observations over on our BlennyWatcher YouTube channel.