Diagnosing a thin lawnmower blenny with belly bulging and moving

[Fish_Fetisher]

Hi all, hoping to get some advice on my lawnmower blenny. I noticed today that his belly was moving in a strange way (see attached video). Almost like something is moving around inside (or maybe its just normal digestive movements?). I saw this thread from a few years back and I think my guy has the same issue, just now quite as bad. (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/blennys-belly-bubbling-and-wriggling.467430/).

I got him 3 months ago and had him in QT where I dosed Copper power for 1 month, then I did 1 week of PraziPro. I would have done another week of Prazi, but he'd been slowly losing weight in QT (likely due to not much algae to graze), so decided to move him into the main tank (a 28 gal cube) where he has been for now 6 weeks. There is plenty of live rock with algae and he grazes constantly. I've even been giving him some Repashy gel food, which he has slowly warmed up too. I think he's gained some weight, but its hard to tell. In the mornings, his belly is skinny and looks pinched in, but as the day goes by it gets slower larger and more full looking as he's been eating. He is pooping great (see attached video), which leads me to believe he's eating fine, but I am worried that he is not gaining weight back fast enough, and might have some internal parasites. But, he doesn't seem to have white stringy poop. The last thing I want to do is unnecessarily medicate him, but I'm curious if anyone has any advice? I think my plan for now it wait and monitor.

In case it's useful, the only other fish in the tank is a sixline wrasse, who was QTed with Copper a few months before I got the blenny. I also have a pincushion urchin, a few snails, and mushrooms and GSP corals.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi all, hoping to get some advice on my lawnmower blenny. I noticed today that his belly was moving in a strange way (see attached video). Almost like something is moving around inside (or maybe its just normal digestive movements?). I saw this thread from a few years back and I think my guy has the same issue, just now quite as bad. (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/blennys-belly-bubbling-and-wriggling.467430/).

I got him 3 months ago and had him in QT where I dosed Copper power for 1 month, then I did 1 week of PraziPro. I would have done another week of Prazi, but he'd been slowly losing weight in QT (likely due to not much algae to graze), so decided to move him into the main tank (a 28 gal cube) where he has been for now 6 weeks. There is plenty of live rock with algae and he grazes constantly. I've even been giving him some Repashy gel food, which he has slowly warmed up too. I think he's gained some weight, but its hard to tell. In the mornings, his belly is skinny and looks pinched in, but as the day goes by it gets slower larger and more full looking as he's been eating. He is pooping great (see attached video), which leads me to believe he's eating fine, but I am worried that he is not gaining weight back fast enough, and might have some internal parasites. But, he doesn't seem to have white stringy poop. The last thing I want to do is unnecessarily medicate him, but I'm curious if anyone has any advice? I think my plan for now it wait and monitor.

In case it's useful, the only other fish in the tank is a sixline wrasse, who was QTed with Copper a few months before I got the blenny. I also have a pincushion urchin, a few snails, and mushrooms and GSP corals.

This belly should be round. Problem is he is getting poor diet. Its a misconception that they are algae eaters when they actually need calcium and meats in their diet. You can tell this visually by looking at the abdomen, which should be golf ball shaped as a blenny with a pinched belly isn’t finding enough food. Dont get me wrong, blennies do need algae to survive, but again its a misconception is that they can survive on algae alone. Their feeding habit as you have noticed is to pound and gnaw on coral to ingest detritus, or waste material from coral, coral skeletons, and sand in search of fish eggs and tiny snails. If a blenny is not getting enough calcium carbonate in its diet, it will rapidly deteriorate swim erratic and weaken even further.

 

[Fish_Fetisher]

Thanks, I've also started to feed frozen spirulina brine shrimp.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I think that little guy needs to put on some weight probably. Mine eats almost a half sheet of seaweed per day, plus frozen food and some pellets. Here's a picture from today - he's definitely "rotund".

 

[Fish_Fetisher]

I think that little guy needs to put on some weight probably. Mine eats almost a half sheet of seaweed per day, plus frozen food and some pellets. Here's a picture from today - he's definitely "rotund".

Your little guy is quite the chunk! I'm feeding Repashy soilent green, and brine shrimp, and he's slowly gaining the weight back that he lost in quarantine.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Your little guy is quite the chunk! I'm feeding Repashy soilent green, and brine shrimp, and he's slowly gaining the weight back that he lost in quarantine.

He really is, lol. He runs the bottom of the tank too! His name is Lenny but it should be Oscar ("the grouch"), haha. He really started getting chunky after he discovered the tang's seaweed clip... and he's not shy about chasing the tang away from it.