Feeding My Lawnmower Blenny

[Petunia]

How often should I be putting a piece of the veggie on a clip for my lawnmower blenny? Everyday? Every other day?

It seems like he wants it all the time. I don't really have anything on the rocks for him to eat. I have a nine gallon tank with 2 damsels, an emerald crab, a peppermint shrimp, 6 hermits, and 3 snails in it; including an assortment of corals.

The last few days I have put a piece of the veggie in everyday and it disappears. I don't think that I should be feeding everyday. I had cut back to once a week but Spot was getting very thin. I'm not sure how often to feed him.

[VWD]

try every other day.

[ChrisPrusha]

Spot is eating it though? That's good news in itself...it's often hard to get these guys to eat!

[Caoineag]

My algae blenny eats everyday, multiple times a day but I have multiple types of algae for him to eat. As long as they want food, you should have it available because they are grazers and they will starve very quickly in a barren system. (This is the second time I have had one, my last was doing great for six months until my entire tank was wiped out by a power outage.)

[Caoineag]

You really need to get spot fattened back up, I have already heard from three different people on this forum that they starved theirs to death in a barren system because they didn't feed often enough...

[dobejazz]

LMB like to graze constantly they can also get to 6"

[Cylenchar]

With what you have in your tank, I'd recomend a sheet at algae a day.

[skeety]

Not really sure I agree. Unless it's a FO tank...or you have a really kick butt skimmer....you could be adding fuel for some problems down the road.

I think every other day is the MOST your should feed him with the nori sheets. My LMB did starve...but that's after a year of being fed every 3 days, and me making some major upgrades to my tank resulting in tank that was too clean for him (suited for SPS's).

My point being...I think he was fine until the last 2 months when I really started skimming more and reducing feedings. But for 8-10 months prior to that, feeding nori every 3 days kept him fat enough.

Those algae sheets are LOADED with phosphates. While necessary for certain fish...they shouldn't be overdone.

I can't find the thread...but I once did a test where I let a small bit of nori soak overnight in some tank water...and an equal amount of food soak in another cup of tank water. 24 hours later, I tested the water for phosphates, and while the food was showing a pretty good amount, the nori was off the chart!!! Good stuff...but use it carefully!

[Caoineag]

Originally Posted by skeety

Not really sure I agree. Unless it's a FO tank...or you have a really kick butt skimmer....you could be adding fuel for some problems down the road.

I think every other day is the MOST your should feed him with the nori sheets. My LMB did starve...but that's after a year of being fed every 3 days, and me making some major upgrades to my tank resulting in tank that was too clean for him (suited for SPS's).

My point being...I think he was fine until the last 2 months when I really started skimming more and reducing feedings. But for 8-10 months prior to that, feeding nori every 3 days kept him fat enough.

Those algae sheets are LOADED with phosphates. While necessary for certain fish...they shouldn't be overdone.

I can't find the thread...but I once did a test where I let a small bit of nori soak overnight in some tank water...and an equal amount of food soak in another cup of tank water. 24 hours later, I tested the water for phosphates, and while the food was showing a pretty good amount, the nori was off the chart!!! Good stuff...but use it carefully!

Actually that is why I like doing an algae biotope with them, the nori is like any other dead food, it will decay. Whereas if you have lots of different types of living algae, the blenny gets variety and nutrients without furthering the pollution of your water and the algae will help lock up the mess that your other food makes of your tank( I am really beginning to hate frozen food).

[wharyat]

Originally Posted by Cylenchar

With what you have in your tank, I'd recomend a sheet at algae a day.

This is about how much they need to be happy; but is obviously impossible in such a small tank without huge nuisance algae problems.

1/2 sheet daily would be good, but this is still obviously too much.

We don't actully notice much macroalgae missing in our tanks since they are primarily consumers of microalgae (light green stuff that grows after a few days).

They also love to eat meat, but it will actually cause problems and significantly shorten their lifespan in aquaria. This is why it is recommended to feed the herbivores first.