i would like to add either a scooter blenny or a lawnmower blenny to my 30 gallon fowlr tank. my main concern is my sand substrate. will either of these two eat algae on sand? i've heard lawnmowers will clean any surface, even glass. any personal experience with these two? thanks!
scooter vs. lawnmower
- Thread starter grim0822
- Start date
Amphiprion
Premium Member
Scooter "blennies" will not eat algae per se. They do feed off of the small benthic animals that associate with it and on the sand. They must have a reasonable population of these to live and thrive. They are actually a dragonet, similar to the mandarin fish. I cannot honestly recommend one for this size tank. Lawnmowers are true blennies and need algae in their diet. They will clean most surfaces, rasping algae from them. They are far more likely, however, to get algae from rocks and glass than they will sand. As long as there is ample algae and no other similar blennies, you should not have much of a problem with this one.
dwculp
New member
With that size tank I would recommend the lawnmower blenny. It is a peaceful fish that will spend most of its time searching around for algae to eat and hiding. When you first put the blenny in you probably wont see it for awhile, they are VERY shy fish and can take awhile to get used to their surroundings.
He wont bother any other fish or inverts and can be considered a member of the "clean-up crew" because be feeds on algae. Mine can be seen hopping and swimming bewteen rocks during the day cleaning any algae he can find off of them.
The "scooter blenny" will just starve and die in your tank
He wont bother any other fish or inverts and can be considered a member of the "clean-up crew" because be feeds on algae. Mine can be seen hopping and swimming bewteen rocks during the day cleaning any algae he can find off of them.
The "scooter blenny" will just starve and die in your tank
thanks for the advice. i'll cross the scooter off of my list.
any recommendations for getting my sand clean (in addition to water quality, which i am attempting)?
i currently have 3 red legged hermits, 4 astreas and 6 nassarius snails. they all pretty much stay on the rocks, although the nassarius will also get on the glass. i'm a little disappointed in the nassarius, because i read that they were good sand cleaners, but they pretty much go everywhere but the sand! i'm hesitant to put the astreas down there, because i've read that they're more used to rocky surfaces and don't necessarily like sand.
any recommendations for getting my sand clean (in addition to water quality, which i am attempting)?
i currently have 3 red legged hermits, 4 astreas and 6 nassarius snails. they all pretty much stay on the rocks, although the nassarius will also get on the glass. i'm a little disappointed in the nassarius, because i read that they were good sand cleaners, but they pretty much go everywhere but the sand! i'm hesitant to put the astreas down there, because i've read that they're more used to rocky surfaces and don't necessarily like sand.
nemofish2217
New member
tagging along....
Mish
New member
Give your nass snails time. They will move to the sand. (mine did) I have two different types of nass snails (black ones kinda big, and lighter colors white/tan) I like the lighter ones better they seem to take to the sand more.
As for a lawnmower blenny, they are great at eating algae, mine dosen't eat it off the sand though. I will warn you, Mine became very aggressive to his tank mates. He is famous for chasing a bi-color Pseudo (supposedly an aggressive fish)
Good luck!
As for a lawnmower blenny, they are great at eating algae, mine dosen't eat it off the sand though. I will warn you, Mine became very aggressive to his tank mates. He is famous for chasing a bi-color Pseudo (supposedly an aggressive fish)
Good luck!
dwculp
New member
Mish - your avatar makes me crave guacamole!!!
Keeping sand clean can be difficult, most of the cleanup crew spends its time on the rocks. However, I would suggest the following for keeping your sand clean and stirred:
A few morew nass snails
Get some mini brittle stars. I mean the dime sized ones not the big ones.
Get a some beneficial bristle worms and spaghetti worms.
Get a really good pod population going.
You can get all of that from ipsf.com. Great company with fast service!
Keeping sand clean can be difficult, most of the cleanup crew spends its time on the rocks. However, I would suggest the following for keeping your sand clean and stirred:
A few morew nass snails
Get some mini brittle stars. I mean the dime sized ones not the big ones.
Get a some beneficial bristle worms and spaghetti worms.
Get a really good pod population going.
You can get all of that from ipsf.com. Great company with fast service!
