New Tailspot Blenny MIA

[mess7777]

I added a tailspot blenny to the tank on Sunday, Oct 30. He went straight into the rockwork and now we are 4 days later and I have not seen as much as a head poking out.

Have any of you experienced similar situations with small fish like this. When I added my firefish it hid at first but would still show it's face at feeding time etc. The tailspot is even smaller so theoretically could remain fully hidden in my 90g rockwork if it chose to do so.

I am wondering how long to wait before considering that something happened and it didn't make it through the acimilation process, or got stuck in a rock, or just died.

 

[SecretiveFish]

I would not be worried yet, the poor guy has only been in your tank 3 days! I have had several small fish that hid for a few weeks before I started seeing them. Blennies are notoriously good hiders.

I have a fish (assume I still have, I never see him!) that I have only seen twice in the 6+ months I have had him. I saw him once when he was added to the tank and once when I moved the rock he was hiding in to another tank around 5 months later....

 

[mess7777]

Hope you are right! I wanted it because they are a great looking fish and I have read many claims of their great 'personality'.

 

[NatureNerd]

Give it a few more days. They can take awhile to get used to a new environment. A week is the longest I have ever heard of. Once comfortable, they are usually pretty active and visible. Note that sometimes, large tangs or conspecifics chase them and keep them in hiding.

 

[Southreef]

Agreed. I had the same experience, we even had a small ceremony for the death of our goby... a week later he popped his head out from under a rock that he had to burrow to get to.

 

[Lord Baltimore]

Added a new Lawnmower Blenny to my tank about a week ago, man, they can hide very well. I'm sure you'll start to see more and more of your Blenny, especially if you feed at a regular time. Mine knows when "breakfast" and "dinner" are!

 

[mess7777]

Nothing yet. We brought in 5 chromis yesterday and an exquisite wrasse. Perhaps the open water activity of the chromis will help draw it out. 1 clown fish is being pretty nasty to the new folks, other fish could care less.

Maybe the blenny poked its head out and the clown scared it to hiding.

I dunno, almost ready to write it off.

 

[mess7777]

Well, no show after 1 full week. Pretty sure it's a goner