Now the introductions are over, I will bring you up to date with what I’m up to. I spent most of the winter tucked up deep inside my crevice home. At the end of March, with the sea getting a little warmer, I got more active. I’m not the only tompot blenny on my reef and my male rivals started challenging me to take over my home and make it their territory.
A younger male came and tried to chase me out of my home. As you can see from the photograph above, we both stood our ground for a while and sized each other up. I opened my mouth in a threatening way and showed him my teeth and, when he didn’t back off, I darted at him and gave him a bite on his lip. He tried the same back and this is called ‘mouth fighting’. I was better at dodging his bites and managed to land a few nasty nips with my sharp comb-like teeth. He backed off and I showed that I’m the boss of my territory!
