Algae Benny question

[TREXRC]

I purchased an algae benny (3-4") to control my algae problem in my reef tank. I have never seen him eat the food I give. I feed mysis and brine shrimp which are the ones they fed at the LFS. He as been in the tank for 6 weeks now. What do these guys eat and are they picky eaters? Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[stykthyn]

algea hence the name. they rarely eat frozen foods and are poor candidates for tanks that do not have a constant supply of hair and macro algea for them to graze on.

 

[Gwynhidwy]

I'm going to have to disagree with Stykthyn based on my own experiences. I have had several algae blennies over the years, from the genus Salarias and Crossosalarias, and they have all taken to frozen foods and pellets. They also have eaten nori on the clip. Mine seem to especially like garlic soaked foods (particularly nori and frozen mysis) and Hikari S pellets, but maybe I've just been very lucky and this isn't the norm.

However, if you have an algae problem, your blenny may be eating the algae, and not be hungry for anything else. If he's not getting too thin, I wouldn't worry about it until you run out of algae.

 

[A sea K]

I had mine for 17 months until he started getting skinny and died.
He never accepted any foods or nori I offered.

 

[TREXRC]

Although I have never seen him eat hair algae etc., I have a hunch that the algea levels have come down a bit in the last few weeks. May be this fellow is eating them when I am not watching.

 

[yahutch]

I guess I got lucky for once . Mine will eat anything I feed the tank ( including nori from the clip ). Does not eat any type of green algae that grows in the tank though .Loves the brown film algae off the glass and new life spectrum pellets are his favorite.

 

[stykthyn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12692801#post12692801 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by A sea K
I had mine for 17 months until he started getting skinny and died.
He never accepted any foods or nori I offered.

I kept two and this happened with both of them.

 

[sean48183]

These fish should be banned from the hobby. There are a few people that have gotten their's to eat prepared foods but most will not. AND THEY DO NOT EAT HAIR ALGAE. Mine did the same as A sea k's did. It sat literally on top of the hair algae and slowly died of starvation. They eat brown filamentous algae that you see in the ocean when your diving.

 

[ssavader]

These fish have typically poor outcomes due to starvation- only a handful out of a hundred will take to feedings (I am one for three so far and he is the last I'll ever get). Those that due take to aquarium feedings, like the one I have now, may die slowly from poor assimilation of nutrients in the foods we feed. A well established tank wth brown filamentous algae is you best hope.

 

[pontiac2002gtp]

I must be lucky my lawnmower blenny will eat anything that fits in his mouth even my small fish loves formula 2 flake food this thing is so fat looks like hes going to explode i've seen him eat hair algae and he is always mouthing the tank putting lip marks all over it looks funny. I am trying to catch mine I want him gone he ate a small black sailfin blenny and I am pretty sure he ate my catalina goby last week my big purple tang had a set of his lipmarks on its side for several days. I'm going to relocate hiom to the porcelain tank.

 

[sean48183]

Pontiac Are you sure we are talking about the same fish. They are herbiverous. Eating fish is not on the menu. Maybe you have a mantis.

 

[lowincwrx]

i have a starry blenny that eats whatever i feed him mostly brine and especially flake he loves flake even comes up and bites my finger for flake. i guess i'm just lucky he will also eat algae in the tank and on the tank walls