Bicolor blenny dead with mucus cacoon all around him

[tomas]

My tank has been running for 2 years and my bicolor blenny was about 1.5 yrs old. I did a 20g water change yesterday and woke up this morning to an unpleasant site. My bicolor blenny was stuck to the side of my lr with a white mucus looking film all around him. When I pulled him off there was a little hitchhiker anemone that looks like he may have been trying to eat.

In the tank I also have 2 clowns, 1 ywg, 1 coral beauty, tiger pistol shrimp, nass, astrea, scarlet hermits, and emerald crab. About 4 weeks ago I came back from a 3 day vacation and found my cleaner shrimp missing.

I'm going to setup a bristle worm trap but I really doubt I have a bristle worm in my tank. Does anyone have and idea what caused the death and or mucus?

Also in the tank (gsp, candycane, flowerpot, rbta, leather, mushrooms, and some zoos)

Thanks

 

[boxer85]

have you observed this fish "sleeping" at night?

i know 6-line wrasses build a coccoon to sleep in.

 

[Amphiprion]

Hmm. May have been severely stung by the BTA, which would leave a lot of slime. Also, depending upon how long the fish was dead, it may have had a bacterial film around it.

 

[hgbarwick]

I think it was stung by ann anenome. What are your params?

 

[Sk8r]

I'd say an anemone tried to eat it. The bristleworms are innocent, but may dispose of the body.

Sometimes too in a biologically 'hot' tank, the decomposition itself creates a bubble of what looks like mucus around the corpse.

 

[tomas]

Parameters:
Temp: 82
ph: 8.2
salinity: 1.023
nitrate: 20

Now that everyone says the rbta could have stung it here is what I think could have happened. I fed the rbta a 2in silverslide last night. It was sticking out of the rbta when I went to bed so maybe the blenny got curious and got stung?

 

[Sk8r]

Possible. There is also a giant 'elephant ear' mushroom that can produce this kind of death. It partially digests a fish that attempts to perch on it, and this can happen once the 'shroom reaches critical size. The rbta is the logical suspect, however, and it may have happened as you suggest.

Small perching gobies are often at risk either with elephant ears or large anemones in the tank. Mandarins, algae-eating blennies, and the like are all vulnerable to this kind of accident.

 

[hgbarwick]

The mucus thing on him. I read that in the ocean fish will cover themselfs in it to keep their chemicals and scent from spreadung at night. That way other fish might not detect them.

 

[Sk8r]

Some wrasses do it, for sure. I've never known it in blennies, however.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

dead fish dont cover themselves with mucous- they're dead. This is almost certainly from the BTA. It happens to mandarins all the time. Whwen the fish gets stung by the anemones nematocysts, the body secerete massive mucous films to try to protect and slough the stingers, to no avail.

 

[hgbarwick]

I have never had blennys wiht mucas. BTA sting buddy. The anenomk is the culprite.

 

[tomas]

Thanks for all of the responses.. I guess for now I will claim the rbta as the reason for death/mucus surrounding my bicolor blenny. I also set my bristle worm trap last night and look what I found this morning...

 

[Sk8r]

Yeah, but you need those bristleworms. They're essential for a healthy tank. Don't trap 'em, feed 'em.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

I agree. they get a bad rep, and make your skin crawl when you see them, but are almost always beneficial.

 

[sixliner6]

My 6 line never had a cocoon when it slept.