Blenny Attacking Tang

[tdileo]

I bet nobody has heard of a blenny attacking a tang before lol. Today I rescued some fish from a really gross, neglected tank and one of them was a blue tang like 3" long. I put her in my tank and my starry blenny has just become crazy and will not leave her alone any time she is within 5" of the rocks. She is now covered in bruises from him and I can't catch and remove either. For now I have the lights off and tank covered with a towel for blocking window light. Is there anything else I can do? I mean the tang doesn't even try to fight back, she just sits there and takes it and the blenny won't let go until I intervene.

 

[GHsaltie]

I have heard of starry blennies getting into spats with tangs before, mostly with kole tangs though not acanthurus.

 

[leahfiish]

I've heard of that too. Try offering algae on opposite sides of the tank so they can both eat. If you can catch the blenny put it in an acclimation box for a few days.

 

[tdileo]

Thanks guys, I have tried to catch the blenny but he is just too fast and hides immediately. Neither of them will eat the nori I put in and I have never seen the blenny eat, but the tang will go after any pellets that are sinking.

 

[leahfiish]

You could try putting the tang in the acclimation box instead but it might still be stressed and might not reduce aggression.

 

[tdileo]

You could try putting the tang in the acclimation box instead but it might still be stressed and might not reduce aggression.

Yeah that was another idea but I figured all that would do is let him get used to the tank and not explore the surroundings or work out any possible beef. I am still hopeful the blenny was just saying that he's the boss and will leave her alone from now on but I am going to be careful until I'm sure. Going to leave the lights off all of tomorrow too since I don't want any fights that might get out of hand while I'm at school. I actually got cut pretty bad catching a yellow tang today, do you know why the blue tang doesn't just cut the blenny and tell him to you know what off?

 

[Renelope]

My starry blenny is a jerk, and turns white when he's mad, he's also adjusting to a kole and yellow tang- just some mild chasing right now, but I've got lots of nori up for him and I've been feeding extra

 

[tdileo]

My starry blenny is a jerk, and turns white when he's mad, he's also adjusting to a kole and yellow tang- just some mild chasing right now, but I've got lots of nori up for him and I've been feeding extra

How do you get him the eat the nori? Mine hasn't eaten anything since I got him but he doesn't seem skinnier so he must be eating something right? I even tried soaking the nori in garlic and he won't go near it

 

[oceanfreak09]

Blennies are territorial and should be One of the last fish to be added. When added last, they have way better personality and are a really cool fish to watch. [emoji16](whe added first they have problems with new fish mates coming threw there Territory)

 

[Waters]

I have the opposite issue...my Kole tang chases my Starry Blenny constantly.

 

[4FordFamily]

They compete for food, this is not unheard of. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do if it doesn't dissipate in a week or so.

Acclimation box and two algae sheets on opposite sides of the tank are good suggestions in the interim.

 

[DracoKat]

My starry and bristletooth dont get along too well either. The tang is the one that chases the blenny

 

[tdileo]

Blennies are territorial and should be One of the last fish to be added. When added last, they have way better personality and are a really cool fish to watch. [emoji16](whe added first they have problems with new fish mates coming threw there Territory)

He was the last fish added and I was done adding fish but when I saw the condition of those tangs and chromis I couldn't bear to leave them there. Fortunately the blenny got over himself and they are very peaceful and made friends already! The blue tang actually taught him that he can eat nori off of the clip which is great.

 

[oceanfreak09]

He was the last fish added and I was done adding fish but when I saw the condition of those tangs and chromis I couldn't bear to leave them there. Fortunately the blenny got over himself and they are very peaceful and made friends already! The blue tang actually taught him that he can eat nori off of the clip which is great.

I don't blame you , you did a good thing! Glad to hear they are getting along, and learning from each other. :-)

 

[Renelope]

How do you get him the eat the nori? Mine hasn't eaten anything since I got him but he doesn't seem skinnier so he must be eating something right? I even tried soaking the nori in garlic and he won't go near it

The blenny? He's a pig and eats anything in the tank... they pick at the rocks and sand too so I wouldn't worry about him not eating. You could try wrapping the nori around a rock with a rubber band and sinking it... sometimes fish don't like the clip.

 

[Renelope]

Blennies are territorial and should be One of the last fish to be added. When added last, they have way better personality and are a really cool fish to watch. [emoji16](whe added first they have problems with new fish mates coming threw there Territory)

+1 to this. I wish someone had told me early on and I would have waited to get a blenny!

 

[Scott Campbell]

My Sailfin Blenny frequently goes after my Foxface Rabbitfish. Which seems insane to me.

And he always attacks my hand if I get too close to his barnacle. No fear on his part. But I have to admire his chutzpah.

 

[bif24701]

That's crazy, my med size powder brown chases the heck out of my lawnmower blenny. The powder brown tang is a poo poo head.

 

[Rob77]

Im having kole tang and starry issues myself at the moment ......the blenny seems to win the battles but the tang refuses to leave the guy alone .......I hope they work their issues out soon ......no way I can catch them !

 

[tdileo]

Im having kole tang and starry issues myself at the moment ......the blenny seems to win the battles but the tang refuses to leave the guy alone .......I hope they work their issues out soon ......no way I can catch them !

My Blenny sleeps in the open, whether on a powerhead or on the algae scrubber magnet. I considered just picking him up at this point and when I did pick him up he was so deeply asleep he didn’t move a millimeter. Decided to let him stay though and it cleared up on its own.
I would recommend trying to feed nori more. These fish will compete for food and if they have a steady supply of it aggression should die down. Maybe not stop, but get better.