lawnmower Blenny

[igadget56]

Do these guys only eat during the day. In the evening before lights out, I can see patches on the back glass where he was eating. When the lights come on I can't see where he ate during the night?

 

[windyridge]

I am pretty sure mine eats at least some of the night as I have seen evidence of algae disappearing on a dead rock I have in the tank. BUT mine has started eating my corals so beware. He completely ate a new blue clove polyp frag and started in on my favia. Then he nipped a branch off my Kenyan Tree but spit it out and left it on the other side of the tank! I am suspicious of him in a few other disappearances. Once he stopped being shy and started eating like a pig the corals started to disappear. :-(

 

[igadget56]

Thanks I'll watch him close. How did you get him out or is he still there?

 

[windyridge]

He is still there and the corals he was eating are fenced off with tank separator screen. In a few weeks we are upgrading from this tank to a bigger one and that will be the opportunity to get him. I figure why bother chasing him if I don't have to. If I had to catch him, he is such a pig I think I could use the screen separator as a tool to snag him at suppertime. Those screen things come in very handy for catching fish because you can severely decrease the area they can run to.

 

[igadget56]

Thanks

 

[windyridge]

Blenny just started nipping at another coral! The Kenyan Tree piece I mentioned before, was glued onto a frag plug and he yanked that piece off the plug. So now I have a bunch of corals behind the screen. The rest I am not worried about because he has shown no interest at all in them, they are SPS or they are big enough that if he starts in on them I will have time to move them too. Ugh. A few more weeks and he is gone. It's not like he isn't getting food, he's getting plenty of greens on a clip, plenty of what I feed the other fish. My advice, get rid of him.

 

[igadget56]

Is this a common thing? Anyone have one that dose not bother corals?

 

[colesreef]

I have a lawnmower that never touches corals..he has been in my tank for 2-3 years and only eats algae. his lip marks are on the front glass when I dont clean it. When no algae is available I feed him and my yellow tang some nori{seaweed for sushi wrap}

 

[Khemul]

Mine hasn't bothered corals, but it has been known to upset them by grazing pretty close.