What would cause a blenny to jump?

[Sitarangi]

Found my midas blenny dead this morning about 4' away from my tank this morning (on a positive note, he did get some serious distance).

I kept him in a 29g tank, well fed on mysis and brine shrimp. Nitrates and ammonia were pristine, temp about 78 degrees, PH I didnt check but it was at roughly 7.9 a week ago.

His tankmates are a blue damsel, yellowtail damsel, 2 O. Clowns, a peppermint shrimp, an emerald crab, and misc snails and hermits.

My first guess was to blame the damsels, I got them when the tank was very young and they've killed fish before in the past. However, they've lived peacefully for months and the blenny was not a push over. He jumped at night, which is wierd because during the night he finds a place to hide and never moves a muscle.

What could be the culprits. If you think it was the damsels, then thats the last straw. Im gonna get rid of them for some more peaceful tankmates.

 

[DevilBoy]

i would also pin blame on the damsels... any fish when spooked is capable of jumping....

 

[Sitarangi]

Im gonna get rid of the damsels. Either return them to an LFS, see if Birch Aquarium Scripps will take them, and if worse comes to worse ill craigslist them for free or..... flush them......

Now what else to put in the tank?

Because it would then be a pretty gentle enviroment, heres what im thinking....

- Pair of pinkbar gobies, maybe with a pistol shrimp

- Another Blenny?

- Grammas

- Small firefish

- Cardinals

- Im currently converting my BW filter into a fuge to breed copepods and Im going to get a mandarin

 

[Big L.E.E.]

The Damsel may or may not have been to blame. I had a Midas who jumped out of the QT tank a couple of times, at night, and it was the only fish in the tank. Fortunately, each time I heard the splash, and was able to save the fish. Unforunately, a couple month later, the eggcrate on top of my tank was not enough the stop the Midas from jumping on final time.

So, if you do get another Midas, make sure the tank is well covered.

 

[Sitarangi]

Well I bought a new lid. The back is still uncovered by about an inch so the filter and skimmer can poke through, maybe a problem for an eel or an octo, but not for me. Im gonna get rid of the damsels as early as tonight, so far their (alledged) deathtoll is:

- 2 Grammas
- Valentini Puffer
- 1 Blue Damsel
- Midas Blenny

I would never ever ever ever ever reccomend a damsel for a reef tank, unless it was a bigger FOWLR tank, then you can have them school and they'd be with some nastier tankmates. Sure their hardy and could survive a nuclear blast, but they make keeping peaceful reef fish impossible.

I also think I found my next buy....

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+3&ddid=42452

I dont want another midas, though they may be amazing fish, the markup in SD is ridculous ($50), also I just don't think I can have the heart to get another one. I felt the same way after losing hte grammas.

Then after him ill start working on my mandarin setup, maybe some cardinals or some other friendly fish and we'll be in buisness....

 

[Packersfan21]

i wouldn't reccomend a mandarin in a 29 gallon. Even w/ a refugium and a lot of liverock i still don't think there would be enough copepods. once you get rid of the damsels, you're looking at probably two more fish. I would go w/ maybe a jawfish, if you have a deep enough sandbed and a flasher wrasse.

 

[chrisstie]

Speaking just to the midas - they come with a built in jumping function. The best solution is an impervious lid. I love these fish but unfortunately they are skiddish at darn near anything.

The goby/shrimp pair is a great idea for a tank that size. I have a yellow watchman with a shrimp and they are just a hoot. Careful again with the lids- I find when gobies don't have a "shrimphole" to guard they get mischevious and want to find every nook and cranny twice over and will find their way into overflows, floors, etc.

 

[Sitarangi]

UPDATE:

I lost one of my clowns today. Found him in the bottom and he was already hermit food for the most part. I've noticed him losing color for the past couple of days and some nipping on the fin areas. Today he looked like death and completely pale. Even though there was a pretty big size difference between them, the bigger one killed the little one. I did get them a few months apart.

2 fish in 2 days.... it seems like it more than a coincidence. This is good though because it has helped alot with the aggression. I think ill try the 2 goby/pistol combo, I guess these little buggers can hold their own and won't take crap from nobody.