Lawnmower blenny eating sps?

[vivioo7]

today i saw mine picking at a orange plating monti and was amazed when i saw a polyp sticking out of its mouth and i was wondering has anyone else seen this? or anything similar? im not worried because the monti wasnt too stressed and all the other sps were fine just wanted to share, next time i go home ill try to get a video of it

 

[imnotanerd]

sometimes lepoard high fin blennys will nip sps so i wouldnt rule out him doing it.

 

[fishnut321]

i have heard about them doing this, too bad because they are great fish

 

[nikon187]

Some blennies nip SPS including the lawnmower. Not always though

 

[Toddrtrex]

Not doubting you at all, just showing how each fish is different.

I had a "normal" lawnmower for 6 years, and it never touched any of my SPS. My current "golden" lawnmower had been with me for about 2 years and hasn't touched any either -- granted it will perch on them.

 

[lordofthereef]

Are you sure he is actually "eating" and not just nipping at areas where he thinks he sees algae? In other words, is there actually damage being caused to the coral?

 

[vivioo7]

im pretty sure i saw a polyp in its mouth but the tank is at my parents so i dont get to see it very much, i thought this would be a very rare case but i guess not, either way the blenny and coral look healthy so im happy

 

[sjames]

I had a red lip that would occasionally hit a coral, i think its like a previous poster said, they are just looking for algae, not intentionally trying to eat coral.

 

[cbadrik]

I've had one for about 3 years now and he hasnt touched anything, well sometimes he sits on the coral but neve picks at anything except for hair algae.

 

[onionbagle]

I've had two and both have nipped but never done any damage

 

[therealkilo]

I just gave one to my LFS. I caught him tearing apart my umbrella leather. Literately taking huge chunks out. I have another thread that I am updating some pictures on soon to see what I should do with this Umbrella that has chunks out of it.

 

[sixpackgarage]

give him some dried seaweed on a clip.. get his mind off that monti. If that doesn't work, throw him in the sump, or back to LFS

 

[scooter31707]

I think in most cases their is not enough algae for them to feed on or there is algae on the coral and they go for it, not actually having the taste for the coral.

 

[BadgeNC]

I had a Molly Miller blenny that nipped at my zoas all the time and just recently started nipping at the mantle of my derasa clam...He was a fun fish, but did a lot of damage to my clam and corals.