Starry Blenny losing weight

[deputydawg88]

As the title says, basically. I feed flakes daily and once or twice a week I put a bit of mysis in. I have observed my blenny eating so I can't understand why he's losing weight and getting so thin... The only thing I can think of is I changed the kind of flakes I have been using from these: https://vitalisaquatic.uk/blog/products/marine-flakes/ to these: https://vitalisaquatic.uk/blog/products/platinum-marine-flakes/

I tried a bit of nori the other day but he seemed to turn his nose up at it. Is there anything I can do?

 

[ROlympia]

Mine eats purple and green seaweed like it's going out of style. Also eats algae off the rocks. Also eats squid, Rod's carnivore, flakes, poop.

 

[accel]

Maybe it's not the food. Did you check your water parameters? Or another fish causing stress to him.

 

[deputydawg88]

Maybe it's not the food. Did you check your water parameters? Or another fish causing stress to him.

Water params have been fine, I check weekly and they have been stable in the time that I have noticed him losing weight.

I'd also like to add I have had him for about 10 months now and as I say I have had no issues with his feeding until now. Has grazed on the grass and rocks, eaten flakes, pellets, mysis and cyclops.

He still eats the flakes and I observe him eating but after a short while spits a lot of crunched up flake out. I don't think he spits the amount he ate out so I think he must be getting something but I don't understand what's going on.

His tankmates are a cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, two clowns and a flame angel. I haven't once seen any kind of bullying of him or aggression from any of the other fish to him, in fact the only behavioural change in the last few months beyond his weight loss is he has started attacking my hand when I am cleaning and doing water changes.

 

[Icewing726]

Im gonna preface this by saying I have no idea how worms or other internal parasites get in fish in the first place.

With that being said my dumb question is have you considered this? Im dealing with a foxface that eats voraciously and isn't gaining. Not quite the same as spitting but may have a similar cause. Also, have you tried garlic to entice an appetite, or anything like it? I've seen somewhere that long term garlic may cause damage to either the kidney or liver, don't remember which, but short term shouldn't.

 

[Sk8r]

Get some Formula One flake: feed that. he depends on film algae, and if you don't have any, he can starve. Formula One flake will feed him, and won't hurt the others either.

 

[deputydawg88]

Im gonna preface this by saying I have no idea how worms or other internal parasites get in fish in the first place.

With that being said my dumb question is have you considered this? Im dealing with a foxface that eats voraciously and isn't gaining. Not quite the same as spitting but may have a similar cause. Also, have you tried garlic to entice an appetite, or anything like it? I've seen somewhere that long term garlic may cause damage to either the kidney or liver, don't remember which, but short term shouldn't.

It's something I have considered and I haven't necessarily discounted it, given the suddenness of the weight loss. However, if there is some kind of worm or internal parasite, or even blockage in his stomach/intestines, I have no idea what I can do about it so I am sort of hoping there's nothing of that kind in there really. I haven't tried to use garlic to entice an appetite because unfortunately he doesn't seem to have a lack of appetite, he is always the for one to swim manically at the glass when I walk past the tank, or walk up to it to feed them.

Get some Formula One flake: feed that. he depends on film algae, and if you don't have any, he can starve. Formula One flake will feed him, and won't hurt the others either.

Thanks Sk8r, I had considered that my tank may be 'too clean' for him and have purposely let it get a bit of a coating of film algae to see what happens and he seems to be grazing more regularly now, though I haven't yet noticed a weight gain; hopefully that will follow.

Is this the kind of flake you are recommending? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ocean-Nutr...=1528718352&sr=8-1&keywords=Formula+One+flake