Beloved Bicolor Blenny picking at Purple Frogspawn

TheBeta100

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Hey all!

One head of my favorite frogspawn/euphyllia is currently very small compared to what it used to be. I've had this coral for well over a year and it has survived and even thrived in less than ideal conditions. My params tested perfect (8.1 PH, 9.2 DKH, 1.026 SG, 429 PPM calc, nitrates and phosphates haven't been a problem in months), every other coral is thriving, and even the second head is very happy, but this one head is looking down. The top of it is fine, but the bottom is struggling. I thought it was my clowns hosting that were angering it, but they mostly host the second, more happy head, so it's not them. Then today I saw my bicolor blenny bite the angry portion of the coral. I've had this fish for over a year and I've never seen him do this. He might be getting defensive because this head was getting close to his favorite cave, and he is very territorial of his cave (He once harassed an emerald crab for hours to leave his cave). He also has finally acquired a taste for green foods. He never would eat nori if offered, and lately I've been giving some to my conch and the blenny has been taking a decent amount. I also feed the nori close to where this coral is so maybe he just looks for food in this area and sees the coral. I love this fish and I don't want to get rid of him but if this gets out of hand I may have to.

Anyone have any tips in persuading their fish to stop looking at corals? Or is it a taste he won't get rid of? If I increase nori feeding/do it in a different spot will that help?
 
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TheBeta100

TheBeta100

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Darn, since he's going to be a nightmare to catch I'll try feeding more nori and put it in a different spot first, and then try and catch him if he's still going at the frogspawn.

Any tips for catching him? Last time I moved this tank I had to tear the scape down to get him.
 
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TheBeta100

TheBeta100

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Last time I tried the bottle technique and he didn't take the bait. I ended up catching all of my crabs somehow though. My blenny loves to hide in my AI Nero when it's turned off so maybe I'll try catching him that way. I also just read that plugging up their hole or taping the picture of a blenny to the glass are also effective strategies.

It sucks though because I've had him for well over a year and he's grown on me. I'm also setting up a bigger tank so maybe he wont be such a pest in that tank. Live aquaria also says they're worse on corals in smaller setups.
 

Johniejumbo

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Yeah I love mine. Adds a lot of life to my 40b. I already banished my Valentini for nipping my corals. I have a second tank I used for qt at one point. It’s quickly becoming crowded with fish and crabs that ticked me off by picking at corals. Let me know what method works to catch him!
 
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