Blenny - Your Experiences

[Eva Rose]

So I want a peaceful blenny that will nibble on algae on rocks . Omnivore blenny that likes meaty also is fine. Definitely avoid blennies that tend to snap or bite fish that get too close.
It would be great to find blenny that prefers rock to sleep in like a Midas.

Important: I want it NOT to bother or evict my jawfish & YWG from their established caves.

Options I like:
Molly Miller is a top contender.
Like Tailspot (but I have a Midas --- so don't know if it would be compatible).
Seen Tiger Blenny (Ecsenius tigris) & really like it but need more information on this option.

I had an Ember Blenny (my very favorite) . Ember it ate very well in QT. It hardly ate in display. Lost him because I couldn't catch it. So I am hesitant to try another one.

Will follow your advice. While cute I don't want a lawnmower or starry blenny - too territorial with my current YWG & jawfish.
Thx

 

[MicroPico]

With blennies, its the luck of the draw. You can have the most peaceful kind of blenny end up being a rogue and the most aggressive kind of blenny being gentle & peaceful for it's entire life.
I don't know the size of your tank or how long it's been set up but all blennies need an aged tank. The larger the tank, the better it will be to dilute any aggressive tendencies. This goes with any fish.
I am leary of adding any new blennies in with your Midas as they have been known to harass fish even bigger than themselves into jumping out of the tank to escape the bullying. They have even bitten people. Then again, some can be model citizens.
If you did not have the Midas, I would recommend the Tailspot which you would need plenty of vegetation for. Barnacle Blennies are another small, very comical blenny which live in rocks or shells and you could keep several together as they are social. Barnacle Blennies hang out at their cave entrances & watch the world go by. When food goes past, (meaty---pods, mysis, brine shrimp etc.) they dart out at warp speed to grab it & zoom back home.
I cannot recommend anything with that Midas being there first though. Whatever you do, if you add another fish, after quarantine, I would put the Midas in the QT and the new fish in your DT for a few weeks til the new one gets comfortable with it's new surroundings. Then I would add the Midas back into the DT and watch the interactions carefully. This way, the new fish is settled and will be better able to hold it's own in case the Midas looks at the newcomer as a trespasser. Maybe move the rockwork around so the Midas sees it as new territory instead of his territory. Please do some research on what fish you already have, as well as what fish you are interested in adding. Good luck.

 

[Eva Rose]

With blennies, its the luck of the draw. You can have the most peaceful kind of blenny end up being a rogue and the most aggressive kind of blenny being gentle & peaceful for it's entire life.
I don't know the size of your tank or how long it's been set up but all blennies need an aged tank. The larger the tank, the better it will be to dilute any aggressive tendencies. This goes with any fish.
I am leary of adding any new blennies in with your Midas as they have been known to harass fish even bigger than themselves into jumping out of the tank to escape the bullying. They have even bitten people. Then again, some can be model citizens.
If you did not have the Midas, I would recommend the Tailspot which you would need plenty of vegetation for. Barnacle Blennies are another small, very comical blenny which live in rocks or shells and you could keep several together as they are social. Barnacle Blennies hang out at their cave entrances & watch the world go by. When food goes past, (meaty---pods, mysis, brine shrimp etc.) they dart out at warp speed to grab it & zoom back home.
I cannot recommend anything with that Midas being there first though. Whatever you do, if you add another fish, after quarantine, I would put the Midas in the QT and the new fish in your DT for a few weeks til the new one gets comfortable with it's new surroundings. Then I would add the Midas back into the DT and watch the interactions carefully. This way, the new fish is settled and will be better able to hold it's own in case the Midas looks at the newcomer as a trespasser. Maybe move the rockwork around so the Midas sees it as new territory instead of his territory. Please do some research on what fish you already have, as well as what fish you are interested in adding. Good luck.

Thanks for your feedback. I have a 300 gall tank. My Midas is peaceful/model citizen to all my other fish, including the ember blenny I once had. Probably big factor is that Midas are more likely to show aggression in a small tank.
I thoroughly researched all my fish before adding them including Midas. So my tank is peaceful. Just wanting to get feedback on possible blennies that would be compatible.

 

[MicroPico]

Good to hear on all counts. Check out the Barnacle Blennies. I love them. I call them 'the condo aggregation' because of how they present themselves together in the tank. I also love the tailspots because of their antics. Your tank is certainly big enough. These blennies are full of personality and are two of my favorites.

 

[eatbreakfast]

In a tank that size blenny aggression should be minimal.

Although I love barnacle blennies, I would not recommend them for a 300g, they won't be very visible, and also don't eat algae.

In that size tank starry and lawnmower blennies will ignore the watchman and jawfish.

Orange-spotted blennies are peaceful and a good algae eater.

I've found ember blennies to be very aggressive toward other similarly shaped fish.

 

[CindyKz]

I have a Molly Miller in my 75 gal and he is a territorial butthead. He is agressive toward anything on the sand bed - I've even seen him knock over corals until he gets used to them - and I've seen him go after my other fish when they swim too low as well (clowns and wrasse). They avoid him pretty easily so it isn't an issue, but still. And your tank is far bigger.

That having been said, he was second into the tank after the clown pair so he thinks he's king of the hill LOL.

He doesn't eat much algae either. He's cute and a lot of fun to watch (when he isn't trying to knock over my acans that is)

 

[Eva Rose]

In a tank that size blenny aggression should be minimal.

Although I love barnacle blennies, I would not recommend them for a 300g, they won't be very visible, and also don't eat algae.

In that size tank starry and lawnmower blennies will ignore the watchman and jawfish.

Thanks! Do the starry & lawnmower ignore other fish like tangs/hawks (no fin nipping) well? I have a naso with streamers.

 

[Eva Rose]

I have a Molly Miller in my 75 gal and he is a territorial butthead. He is agressive toward anything on the sand bed - I've even seen him knock over corals until he gets used to them - and I've seen him go after my other fish when they swim too low as well (clowns and wrasse). They avoid him pretty easily so it isn't an issue, but still. And your tank is far bigger.

That having been said, he was second into the tank after the clown pair so he thinks he's king of the hill LOL.

He doesn't eat much algae either. He's cute and a lot of fun to watch (when he isn't trying to knock over my acans that is)

Thank you. I want an algae eater. I don't have a algae problem , but when I'm out of town my husband sometimes overfeeds a bit. He is getting better but it would be nice to have a little help (i.e. blenny) instead of snails that topple corals.

 

[Dash]

Love my tailspot. Model citizen & tons of character. Chose a tiny hole to live in but he grew quite quickly so I put an empty snail shell in there & he loves it. He cleans it and knocks off anything that I put right next to it

 

[Eva Rose]

Love my tailspot. Model citizen & tons of character. Chose a tiny hole to live in but he grew quite quickly so I put an empty snail shell in there & he loves it. He cleans it and knocks off anything that I put right next to it

Great pic! What kind of snail shell's this?

 

[Dash]

I think it's a turbo snail shell? Looked like this when dry.

It was too big & heavy (2.5") for even for my electric blue leg hermit. My crummy cellphone pic doesn't show it but he keeps the inside snow white clean. I had to glue it down cos he kept knocking it over cleaning it & would sit sadly next to it on the sand.
I tried a lawnmower blenny last year & it lasted a couple of months before dying (wouldn't eat offered foods) & I swore never again. This guy doesn't eat my stuff either but gets enough from foraging. He even eats the brown patches that crop up on the sand from time to time. Has grown quite fat