Lawnmower Blenny looking skinny!

[ameares8]

So, my Lawnmower blenny that I have had for about a year and a half has gotten deathly skinny over the last few days. He was very "plump" and now I can see almost every bone in his body. He eats when I feed the other fish, and is not showing any signs of stress. I placed some Nori in there tonight to see if he will munch on that or not. I tested my water, checked the other fish for signs of disease or stress and came up with nothing. I finally got my filtration setup how it needs to be last week (i.e. sump is now working effectivly with skimmer, cheatomorpha, and refugium setup properly) which has caused a decline in my algae. This is the only thing that I could that would "starve" him, although he eats the mysis, spirulina, and other miscellaneous things that are in the food that I feed. Any suggetions, comments, or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Anthony

 

[NeveSSL]

Wow... that doesn't sound good. If he's eating and still skinny, maybe its a disease?

Keep us updated!

Brandon

 

[ameares8]

I looked it up on about 8 other boards and apparently I am not the only one with this issue with that particular fish. Not a real wide spread problem, but I got more google hits on this than I thought I would. It seems that he needs more algae, because my emerald crab is also starting to turn white as well. That's what I have gathered anyway. Hopefully the nori will fix the issue.

 

[NeveSSL]

Wow... interesting. Never knew that!

Brandon

 

[MVlk]

Hmmm... My two Emerald's have gone white as well. What feeding method are you going to try?

 

[poolkeeper1]

You can just put some Nori on a clip and put It In the tank down low where all can get to It. After 24 hrs what has not been eaten remove and add again when you feel you need to. Or you can just put some on a rock with a rubber band, It's not rocket science. A piece about the size of 1/2 of a dollar bill will feed all for a day or so.

 

[andywe]

My tangs shred it and small peices drif t off that I know the crabs get. If anything is left on the clip the snails eat it up.

 

[ameares8]

I am doing exactly what Bill said. Everything in the tank loves the nori. I play a game of tug-o-war with the crab. I will dangle a strip of nori in front of him and he bombards my hand for it and tugs on it until I give up or he eats it all. I have yet to see the blenny eat it, but he swims for the mixed food that I throw in there. We will see what happends over the next few days. If this does not work, off to get some Selcon/Garlic or something of that nature.

 

[TomStill]

i had the same exact problem with my lawnmower blenny. He used to be very fat and happy, and then he just started getting skinny even though I still witnessed him eating regularly. I am sorry to report, he eventually died. I hope that dosnt happen to yours. Good luck!

 

[ameares8]

Thanks for the input Tom. That is what I have read on some other boards. It was more or less a 50/50 split on the survival rate after they lost the weight. I hope he does not decide to kick the bucket for apparent reasons, but he is also my wifes favorite fish (which is why she noticed how skinny he was before I did).

 

[Mikeyjer]

My last two blenny and goby die exactly the same way. Had them for a long time and they all eat great until one day they started to thin down and eventually die from starvation. I just recently lost a blenny like that. No way I can do the clip thing, either the tangs would rip it apart or the crab will get to it and fetch it back into the rock work where it can never be found again. I guess the blenny and goby requires more feeding then I can give.

 

[BeachedMermaid]

maybe you could take some of the live chaeto from you refugium and add to your tank (same aforementioned feeding methods). If he is used to eating live algae and this was removed he may need to be weened, or just regulary fed live.

 

[Mikeyjer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15175002#post15175002 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeachedMermaid
maybe you could take some of the live chaeto from you refugium and add to your tank (same aforementioned feeding methods). If he is used to eating live algae and this was removed he may need to be weened, or just regulary fed live.

That makes absolutely no difference plus chaeto is a harder algae that blennys will NOT touch. My tangs and foxface on the other hand will gobble them up. From owning so many tanks or help with them, you need to check your advice a bit..... Just from the past few I've read from you.....

 

[ameares8]

Sad to report, the blenny did in fact die. Thanks for all of the input.

 

[NeveSSL]

Sorry to hear that, Anthony.

Brandon

 

[Mikeyjer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15188906#post15188906 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ameares8
Sad to report, the blenny did in fact die. Thanks for all of the input.

Sorry to hear that! When I get another blenny or goby, I think I'm gonna setup a automatic feeder when it feeds multiple times through out the day to keep them well fed cause I think they need a lot of food since they burn right through them like no tomorrow....