Lawnmower blennie dying on the sand bed

[Kade76]

An hour ago my lawnmower blennie was fine but suddenly I found him sideways on the sand breathing very heavy does he have any chance what do I do and are my other fish ok they all look perfect.

 

[Kade76]

An hour ago my lawnmower blennie was fine but suddenly I found him sideways on the sand breathing very heavy does he have any chance what do I do and are my other fish ok they all look perfect.

 

[Kade76]

An hour ago my lawnmower blennie was fine but suddenly I found him sideways on the sand breathing very heavy does he have any chance what do I do and are my other fish ok they all look perfect.

Please help I don’t know how long he has

 

[NonstopSoda]

#fishmedic @Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081

 

[William Chiavetta]

Please help I don’t know how long he has

Does he have any spots on him? What are the tank parameters? Have you ever noticed aggression in your tank? Maybe put him in a QT tank

 

[Kade76]

Does he have any spots on him? What are the tank parameters? Have you ever noticed aggression in your tank? Maybe put him in a QT tank

I can’t see any spots and there has been almost no aggrssion other than the royal gramma trying to intimidate him and the levels are all normal.

 

[Kade76]

Does he have any spots on him? What are the tank parameters? Have you ever noticed aggression in your tank? Maybe put him in a QT tank

I put him in a quarantine box so the crabs don’t try to get at him he had no obvious symptoms and seemed fine an hour and a half ago I left for an hour got back and he was on the sand

 

[vetteguy53081]

Based on pic, this fish is very thin and may have been feeding off its liver and gotten to this point of weakness.
What diet were you providing for it and has it slowed down on feeding the past couple of weeks?

 

[Kade76]

Based on pic, this fish is very thin and may have been feeding off its liver and gotten to this point of weakness.
What diet were you providing for it and has it slowed down on feeding the past couple of weeks?

I have been providing a diet of veggie pellets and he munches on a lot of algae around the tank and since the start he has also been eating frozen shrimp I have offered nori but he has never taken a bite I have some sitting in the box with him rn.

 

[Kade76]

Based on pic, this fish is very thin and may have been feeding off its liver and gotten to this point of weakness.
What diet were you providing for it and has it slowed down on feeding the past couple of weeks?

I guess feeding might have slowed a bit since he has ate most of the algae

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have been providing a diet of veggie pellets and he munches on a lot of algae around the tank and since the start he has also been eating frozen shrimp I have offered nori but he has never taken a bite I have some sitting in the box with him rn.

This may be part of the issue. It is a core belief that these fish are algae eaters but mainly need meat and calcium and the trickiest part about keeping a blenny is making sure it gets enough to eat which you can tell by looking at the abdomen, which should be ball shaped. A thin blenny with a pinched in belly isn’t getting enough food.
Although this blenny needs algae to survive, its a belief that it can survive on algae alone and actually need to pound and gnaw on coral, ingest detritus and waste from the coral which includes coral skeleton, sand, gravel, and for meats - fish eggs and tiny chopped foods.
If a blenny is not getting enough calcium carbonate in its diet, it will rapidly deteriorate.

 

[Kade76]

This may be part of the issue. It is a core belief that these fish are algae eaters but mainly need meat and calcium and the trickiest part about keeping a blenny is making sure it gets enough to eat which you can tell by looking at the abdomen, which should be ball shaped. A thin blenny with a pinched in belly isn’t getting enough food.
Although this blenny needs algae to survive, its a belief that it can survive on algae alone and actually need to pound and gnaw on coral, ingest detritus and waste from the coral which includes coral skeleton, sand, gravel, and for meats - fish eggs and tiny chopped foods.
If a blenny is not getting enough calcium carbonate in its diet, it will rapidly deteriorate.

But it does eat just as much frozen shrimp as the other fish

 

[vetteguy53081]

But it does eat just as much frozen shrimp as the other fish

Brine shrimp is not enough. It needs chopped clam, krill, plankton, fish eggs and even LTS fish frenzy as examples. How thin this fish in should offer a clue as to lack of diet and starving

 

[Kade76]

Brine shrimp is not enough. It needs chopped clam, krill, plankton, fish eggs and even LTS fish frenzy as examples. How thin this fish in should offer a clue as to lack of diet and starving

If he is able to make it through the night what should I buy is there any good brand names I thought I researched but I never heard anything about that thank you, I can’t believe I never noticed how thin he was he was just always moving or camouflaged I should have made sure he was ok.

 

[vetteguy53081]

If he is able to make it through the night what should I buy is there any good brand names I thought I researched but I never heard anything about that thank you, I can’t believe I never noticed how thin he was he was just always moving or camouflaged I should have made sure he was ok.

LRS fish frenzy is an excellent and healthy diet

 

[Jay Hemdal]

But it does eat just as much frozen shrimp as the other fish

There is a known issue with Midas and lawnmower blennies where they eat well enough but continue to get thin. This post discusses that issue:

Skinny Blenny issue

Skinny blennies: Midas blennies are much more difficult to maintain than their common presence in the pet trade would have you believe. They are very prone to starvation. It is unknown if this is due to not feeding them often enough, not feeding enough, feeding the wrong foods, or if internal...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Kade76]

LRS fish frenzy is an excellent and healthy diet

Hey I just wanted to ask you a quick question, I got a tail spot blenny yesterday and was wondering if he has any special diet or if he will be good with frozen mysis herbivore pelets the algae in the tank and nori sheets, thanks!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey I just wanted to ask you a quick question, I got a tail spot blenny yesterday and was wondering if he has any special diet or if he will be good with frozen mysis herbivore pelets the algae in the tank and nori sheets, thanks!

Like most blennies, tail spot very friendly and eats algae but also requires meats such as plankton or ideal - LRS nano frenzy

 

[Kade76]

Like most blennies, tail spot very friendly and eats algae but also requires meats such as plankton or ideal - LRS nano frenzy

Ok
I will make sure to grab that next trip to the fish store but for now will he be ok on the diet I listed?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ok
I will make sure to grab that next trip to the fish store but for now will he be ok on the diet I listed?

Mysis and herbivore diet will get it by for now