Lawnmower Blenny Feeding Suggestions

[jhuntstl]

As my tank matures, my algae levels continue to decrease. I can tell my Lawnmower Blenny is struggling to find plentiful sources of nutrition off the aquascape and glass. Honestly the biggest indicator is the lack of giant Lawnmower turds.

I've been attempting to feed Julian Sprung nori sheets. My first attempt was wrapped around a small rock with a rubber band. Did not touch it. Resident turbo snail was happy to eat it, though.

Second attempt was on a clip. I put it in the back corner, in a lower flow, more secluded area that I know it frequents. Still nothing.

Looking for suggestions as I continue to make attempts. I've read about stuffing it in the aquascape. This will probably be my next move.

Oddly enough, I did happen to spot him take a giant gulp of fish poop one day. So I'd say he's open to new foods.

How have you successfully fed a Lawnmower Blenny?

 

[Difrano]

Mine doesn't touch Nori, Yellow Tang and YWG love it. Mine love vegetarian sinking pellets and eat a lot of LRS frozen food. As you said mine is also suffering of lower algae levels and is not as chunky as before.

 

[jhuntstl]

Mine doesn't touch Nori, Yellow Tang and YWG love it. Mine love vegetarian sinking pellets and eat a lot of LRS frozen food. As you said mine is also suffering of lower algae levels and is not as chunky as before.

I've got some Hikari Seaweed Extreme pellets. I feed them pretty sparingly, but I'll give them another go. What LRS are you feeding? I have reef frenzy, but I'd imagine you're using a more algae based variant?

 

[Difrano]

I've got some Hikari Seaweed Extreme pellets. I feed them pretty sparingly, but I'll give them another go. What LRS are you feeding? I have reef frenzy, but I'd imagine you're using a more algae based variant?

That are the ones I use, I feed them heavy because everyone in the tank loves them I also use reef frenzy and he goes crazy for the meat... what can I say, every fish has it's own mind

 

[jhuntstl]

That are the ones I use, I feed them heavy because everyone in the tank loves them I also use reef frenzy and he goes crazy for the meat... what can I say, every fish has it's own mind

Innnnnteresting. That gives me hope he'll come around eventually. I left the seaweed out over night and it's hard to tell if he ate it or not. I'm not seeing a million pieces of it stuck to the power heads, nor do I see any in my filter floss. Last time it was pretty much a blizzard of Nori. I'll keep at it. Thanks for the response!

 

[Cell]

Hikari Seaweed extreme pellets work very well for my algae eaters.

 

[jhuntstl]

Just spotted him eating what was left on the nori clip! Woohoo!

 

[Pistondog]

Starry blenny eats frozen mysis etc and nori scraps that fall from the clip, but I never see him at the clip.

 

[jiffyjhn]

I had one. After all the algae is gone. He would not eat any prepared food no matter what I tried. He died eventually.

 

[Roca1357]

Glad you see it eating. My starry blenny goes crazy when I put some Nori in there. A few minutes later and you would think it ate a marble or something.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Eating algae only is actually a myth and seldom do they pay attention to GHA. The trickiest part about keeping a blenny is making sure it gets enough to eat. You can tell this visually by looking at the abdomen, which should be a healthy rounded shape. A blenny with a pinched midriff isn’t finding enough food.
Although a blenny needs plenty of algae to survive, a common misconception is that it can survive on algae alone. Since blennies frequent shallow tropical waters, they find their sanctuary within the coral reefs. They circle areas with coral branches and sponges, scraping their way along the diverse sea bottom. Their feeding techniques are to pound and gnaw the coral, and as a result, they ingest detritus, or waste material primarily, from the coral. This includes bits of coral skeleton, sand, gravel, and other organic matter, such as fish eggs and tiny crustaceans.
Since a blenny in the wild does not subsist on solely algae, it stands to reason that their captive diet must be supplemented. If a blenny is not getting enough calcium carbonate in its diet, its condition will rapidly deteriorate. Therefore, it is important to offer an occasional selection of commercial algae-based wafers or pellets.

 

[jhuntstl]

Eating algae only is actually a myth and seldom do they pay attention to GHA. The trickiest part about keeping a blenny is making sure it gets enough to eat. You can tell this visually by looking at the abdomen, which should be a healthy rounded shape. A blenny with a pinched midriff isn’t finding enough food.
Although a blenny needs plenty of algae to survive, a common misconception is that it can survive on algae alone. Since blennies frequent shallow tropical waters, they find their sanctuary within the coral reefs. They circle areas with coral branches and sponges, scraping their way along the diverse sea bottom. Their feeding techniques are to pound and gnaw the coral, and as a result, they ingest detritus, or waste material primarily, from the coral. This includes bits of coral skeleton, sand, gravel, and other organic matter, such as fish eggs and tiny crustaceans.
Since a blenny in the wild does not subsist on solely algae, it stands to reason that their captive diet must be supplemented. If a blenny is not getting enough calcium carbonate in its diet, its condition will rapidly deteriorate. Therefore, it is important to offer an occasional selection of commercial algae-based wafers or pellets.

Thank you for the detailed response. Very helpful information! I won't stop at nori and call it a success just yet. I'll keep at it with the pellets and grab some wafers too.

 

[jhuntstl]

New favorite spot. Ordered some wafers today too.

 

[jhuntstl]

Eating the wafers! Thanks again everyone.

 

[zimmer]

My lawnmower blenny loves mysis!