Skinny lawnmower blenny!

[TangerineSpeedo]

I have nothing to offer... My Starry eats like a pig, so does my lawnmower. My lawnmower is going on maybe three years now? I feed them three times a day. Formula 2 flakes in the morning, frozen for lunch and pellets for dinner. Nori is available throughout the day and he is always taking the algae film from the glass. They eat constantly, so maybe you need to up the amount. Also there is definitely a difference in Nori. Maybe try a different brand.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I was always under the impression that lawnmower blennies are easy to care for and their diet consists of algae and meat products. I have had this lawnmower blenny for over a year and a half and ever since moving him into my reef tank he’s gotten thinner and thinner. I feed him a mix of pellets and frozen foods. He didn’t seem interested in nori and unfortunately there’s not a lot of natural algae in the tank since it’s a mature tank and the urchin keeps it clean. What else can I do? Is he doomed? The other tank he was in had a ton of algae but even so I assumed that direct feeding would be enough for him. Anyone else have this happen? Did yours die of starvation?

Problem is likely diet also it can be feeding off its liver - Please post pics under white intensity. Its a misconception that these guys are algae eaters 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. To supplement, offer an occasional helping of algae-based wafers or pellets.

 

[tbrown]

Problem is likely diet also it can be feeding off its liver - Please post pics under white intensity. Its a misconception that these guys are algae eaters 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. To supplement, offer an occasional helping of algae-based wafers or pellets.

Right, but she said it's eating everything she puts in the tank EXCEPT algae.

 

[Dburr1014]

My little guy eats everything I put in the tank, including Nori sheets. He is so fat and I've had him 3~4 years now.

Have you tried different color algea sheets? My tang didn't like the red and is so so about the brown, but loves green. The blenny eats it all.

 

[Spare time]

How often do you feed it? If it eats other foods, just feed more. If you feed more and the fish is still very skinny, consider treating for internal parasites.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Right, but she said it's eating everything she puts in the tank EXCEPT algae.

I see that and im indicating it needs calcium followed by meats mainly. While it eats and needs algae in its diet , its not as important opposed to other foods mentioned but algae tabs make good supplement if not eating algae which occurs often when tank is too clean

 

[Dburr1014]

I think he posed for me when I got home today. He got a fat belly!

 

[AydenLincoln]

How often do you feed it? If it eats other foods, just feed more. If you feed more and the fish is still very skinny, consider treating for internal parasites.

Once a day although I’ve been feeding two and he wasn’t always this skinny either.

 

[tbrown]

Once a day although I’ve been feeding two and he wasn’t always this skinny either.

I feed 6 times a day. It keeps my fish fat and happy. I have wrasses so they need it but I've also successfully fattened up a skinny Clown Goby and a skinny Lawnmower Blenny.

 

[Jmcg89]

So I've had a lawnmower blenny in my 180 cor over 2 years now and he's fat as a cow.
But for the first 4 months it had to have been I didnt see him eat a thing, he would work the surfaces but wouldn't touch frozen or nori from the clip.
The turning point for me seemed to be attaching nori flat on the rock in front if his favorite spot to sit.
He started eating that and then realized what it was on the algae clip and now he sits on top of the algae clip waiting for nori.
Eventually after this he also started eating rods as well as mysis that I broadcast feed.
So I'd start with the nori and also try a couple really heavy feeds with thawed food so he has lots of pieces blowing by his face.
He still doesent eat pellets.
A side note though his belly can be huge some days and then he'll slim right down again.
Hopefully this gives you some hope!

 

[Spare time]

Once a day although I’ve been feeding two and he wasn’t always this skinny either.

I'd definitely feed twice a day minemum.

 

[DaJMasta]

Do you have a source of algae? A refugium, a scrubber, something else?

Mine have always had a pot belly, but I've also always had some degree of filamentous algae in the display. I was wholly unaware of their reputation to waste away, but it's likely for reasons similar to the reasons moorish idols are considered difficult - the fiber content of the plant part of their diet is critical to their long term success.

If not nori, and there's no source of algae, have you considered blanching vegetables to offer instead? Maybe lettuce leaves or cucumber slices. There's a chance they'd go after a macroalgae, too, but something like ulva is probably the easiest to bite and tear, but is invasive enough for me not to recommend trying to introduce it.