New Lawnmower Blenny feeding

[DrBoxedWine]

Hi all,

My 20g quarantine just finished cycling, and I just got my first saltwater fish :bounce2: , a lawnmower blenny. He's been hiding mostly, but I'm worried about him eating. I got some frozen food from the LFS, and they said to just put 1/4 cube or so in twice a day, and that he'll get it on his own. I haven't seen him go for it, but i don't know if that's cause he's spooked when I'm in the room. The food breaks up pretty quickly, so it's hard to really tell if he's eating it or not.

Am i being a paranoid freak?

 

[lagatbezan]

He might need some time to adjust. Was it eating at the store?

 

[pyithar]

it depends on your lawnmower blenny. if you are lucky, he will eat frozen/pellets. but some of them only eat algae in the tank and if there're no more algae available, they starve and die. try some algae sheets, nori, formula 2, and seaweed extreme. mine ate hikari seaweed extreme after a day or two in qt. when he's moved to the main tank, he learned from other fish and ate everything.

 

[DrBoxedWine]

I didn't ask them to feed him at the store . I'll get some nori sheets tomorrow

 

[lagatbezan]

Always ask to see if a fish is eating before you buy. This way you'll know for sure that it's eating as well as what it's eating. If it doesn't eat at the store, I would pass on the fish. hopefully it will start eating. Give it a couple of days. Don't over feed as it might cause water quality issues and keep an eye out for ammonia.

 

[lagatbezan]

Double post.

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Thanks, yeah I'm skipping the feeding this morning to make sure ammonia stays at 0. Thanks everyone, i'll try again tonight. I'd read to have them eat at the store, but when I was there I was getting all my plumbing as well and I forgot, whoops. Lesson learned.

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Well, he's dead pretty bummed. Right before I added him, I took a few of the rocks from the qt I had just cycled and put them in the display tank. I'm wondering if that made a big dent in the bacteria population. I think I was getting some slight ammonia readings, but I chalked it up to the api test being hard to read at low levels. Clearly that was a mistake. I just added ammonia to bring the tank to 3ppm, i'll see how long everything takes to get back to 0. And I'll take everyone's advice about watching him eat when I get another.

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Bummed, fatalities were rare in my cichlid tanks. This is a Bummer of a way to start

 

[pyithar]

i'm sorry for your loss. that was so fast. you have some kind of filter set up on your quarantine tank right? if so, taking a few rocks out shouldn't be a problem imo. well next time wait till ammonia reach zero, and get easy to keep fish first. fish that are not very aggressive and that will eat prepared foods. good luck.

 

[kw22]

I wouldn't recommend an lawnmower blenny as the first fish in the tank,the need well established tanks of 75 gallons + and set up for at least 12 months.Try something like a fire fish.

 

[kw22]

a**

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Thanks. I have an Aquaclear 50 or 70 running on the 20g QT. I wouldn't think removing rocks would really affect the bacteria, either. I don't have a light on the tank, however, so there's nothing in the way of algae really. Here's my eventual stocklist, any suggestions on which to get first?

Kole Tang
2 Ocellaris Clowns
Flame Hawk
Lawnmower Blenny
Diamond Goby
African Flameback Angel (or perhaps a coral beauty)
Midas Blenny

My fear with getting the clowns now, is that if i'm going to quarantine every fish in there, by the time the last fish are added, the clowns will be bigger and may be more dominant by then. Think that'll be an issue? The last fish i'd add would be the Kole Tang, most likely, maybe he could take care of him himeself?

Maybe I could add a trio of Chromis to the group? The guys at the LFS were pushing that, but i didn't want to use of up tank space in the 75 on them so i resisted. But perhaps a resilient fish would be a good one to get for my first go at this.

 

[shesacharmer]

If you are getting Chromis only get one as they are murderers and you'll end up with one eventually. My lawnmower blennie eats nori until his belly swells. It's pretty comical actually, he is such a pig. Don't be afraid to get another one later. You might try posting your stocking list in the 'post here before you buy stickie' and get snorvich opinion on your choices. He's the expert on that stuff.

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Thanks, I ran a couple ideas past Snorvich and i'm going to go with a firefish.

Also, the qt tank is cloudy and has been for a few weeks (since before I added the LM blenny), is that just a harmless bacteria bloom?