The mysterious Midas Blenny sudden death syndrome

[GoodKat]

Hi Everyone,

I lost one of my favorite fish today, my midas blenny. He went from active, healthy and eating, to breathing heavy and dying on the sand bend in less than 24 hours.

Unfortunately, it seems like others have had similar experiences. It also seems like when these fish go downhill, they go downhill fast. I had the fish for about a year, and *poof* overnight he was gone. My other fish, two clowns, two yasha gobies, and three lime green banded gobies are all fine. Even my acropora are fine.

Excluding those who've lost the fish a few days or even weeks after adding to their tank or QT, I was hoping to source some anecdotal knowledge from the community to see if we can figure out some commonality and help others keep these fish in the future. These fish are clealy sensitive to something that a lot of reefers keep in their tanks.

If you have had a similar experience with a Midas Blenny, post here with your best guess of what happened. Below is some additional information about my specific situation.

Thanks Everyone!
_________________________________

I keep a 20 gallon tank well stocked with acropora, LPS, and zoathains. I run carbon periodically mixed with GFO. I dose two part to keep Alk levels between 8-9dkh. I also dose carbon in the form of Nopox. I feed very heavy 2-3 times a day, and add Reef Chili a few times a week. However, my nitrates are always below 5ppm.

The blenny typically perched on a monti shelf next to my desk. Last night he was swimming and eating until lights off. This morning I noticed he was not actively swimming and breathing heavy. He got progressively more latharic through out the day and died by the evening. I dropped the body in some fresh water and was able to rule out flukes. There were no noticable signs of injury or infection.

I am wondering if due to their curious nature, midas blennys are prone to sticking their heads in corals that might sting or poison them. The day before he died, I cleaned out some pulsing xenia and ball aneones. Other than that there were no significant changes to water parameters, diet, or other additions. I am wondering if he caught a piece of floating debris and that is what did him in. He was only 3-4 inches so I don't think he died of old age.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Not sure if this would be the issue here, but it may be helpful for someone who looks at the thread:

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

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi Everyone,

I lost one of my favorite fish today, my midas blenny. He went from active, healthy and eating, to breathing heavy and dying on the sand bend in less than 24 hours.

Unfortunately, it seems like others have had similar experiences. It also seems like when these fish go downhill, they go downhill fast. I had the fish for about a year, and *poof* overnight he was gone. My other fish, two clowns, two yasha gobies, and three lime green banded gobies are all fine. Even my acropora are fine.

Excluding those who've lost the fish a few days or even weeks after adding to their tank or QT, I was hoping to source some anecdotal knowledge from the community to see if we can figure out some commonality and help others keep these fish in the future. These fish are clealy sensitive to something that a lot of reefers keep in their tanks.

If you have had a similar experience with a Midas Blenny, post here with your best guess of what happened. Below is some additional information about my specific situation.

Thanks Everyone!
_________________________________

I keep a 20 gallon tank well stocked with acropora, LPS, and zoathains. I run carbon periodically mixed with GFO. I dose two part to keep Alk levels between 8-9dkh. I also dose carbon in the form of Nopox. I feed very heavy 2-3 times a day, and add Reef Chili a few times a week. However, my nitrates are always below 5ppm.

The blenny typically perched on a monti shelf next to my desk. Last night he was swimming and eating until lights off. This morning I noticed he was not actively swimming and breathing heavy. He got progressively more latharic through out the day and died by the evening. I dropped the body in some fresh water and was able to rule out flukes. There were no noticable signs of injury or infection.

I am wondering if due to their curious nature, midas blennys are prone to sticking their heads in corals that might sting or poison them. The day before he died, I cleaned out some pulsing xenia and ball aneones. Other than that there were no significant changes to water parameters, diet, or other additions. I am wondering if he caught a piece of floating debris and that is what did him in. He was only 3-4 inches so I don't think he died of old age.

Was/did fish get skinny or show weight loss?
They are susceptible to starvation even when eating and will start to feed off their livers and then show signs when its too late. They utilize a bit of energy to swim as they do not have swim bladders and therefore need to restore this energy as much as possible. They need fatty foods several times daily to keep up with these needs such as LRS nano frenzy and mysis shrimp

 

[Jay Hemdal]

While you would most likely see if the blenny had gotten skinny, I have seen that sneak up on people, where they didn’t realize it was getting thin over time.
Other causes of sudden death of a single fish include strike injuries and some lesser known internal problems.
Jay

 

[GoodKat]

Was/did fish get skinny or show weight loss?
They are susceptible to starvation even when eating and will start to feed off their livers and then show signs when its too late. They utilize a bit of energy to swim as they do not have swim bladders and therefore need to restore this energy as much as possible. They need fatty foods several times daily to keep up with these needs such as LRS nano frenzy and mysis shrimp

This was helpful, and I think you might me correct. The fish didn't show signs of becoming skinny, but I am wondering if over time he wasn't getting enough fatty food and the liver decay started. He was plump along the dorsal fin, but fat doesn't always mean healthy. I feed heavily twice a day, but one of those feedings is always "enriched" brine shrimp. The other is one of mysis shrimp, fish eggs, or cyclopods. Based on the nutrient facts the fat content should have been comparable, but I think generally brine shrimp is considerably less fatty.

I thouhgt variety was good.... then again I've been feeding my dog the same food for years and hes still alive.....

 

[GoodKat]

While you would most likely see if the blenny had gotten skinny, I have seen that sneak up on people, where they didn’t realize it was getting thin over time.
Other causes of sudden death of a single fish include strike injuries and some lesser known internal problems.
Jay

Thanks Jay, this was very helpful. The diet for Midas Blennies seems more complex than I orginally thougt. I think since my other fish are more "hardy" I over looked this.