Tompot Blenny

Photo: philwilkinson · CC BY-NC

Tompot blennies are the clowns of the St. Abbs reef — small, big-headed fish with ornate eye tassels and vivid orange pectoral fins that peer from crevices with an apparently confrontational stare. They are highly territorial and hold the same crevice for months at a time, making individual fish recognisable by location across multiple dives. Males brood eggs in their crevice and become unusually bold toward approaching divers during this period, making May through July the best time for face-to-face macro portraits.