Midas Blenny Conundrum

AWIL57 · Dec 22, 2019

Hello all!

I have a bit of a situation that I could use input on. My dear significant other surprised me with some fish for Christmas. One of which was a 2.5 inch Midas blenny, which is freaking awesome. However, I already have a 4.5" one in my 125. I've read a lot of mixed reviews on whether or not you can keep two and it seems hit or miss. I can't tell the sex of either but based on what I was able to read it seems that they may both be male based on the dorsal fin size. I have the new smaller one in an acclimation box and while the big one hasn't paid a lot of mind to it when it first saw it it got dark and did some darting and dashing towards it. The smaller one hasn't shown colors but does dance around inside the box when seeing the other. I can't really afford to let it loose in the tank because my scape won't allow me to go altering to get him out if it doesn't work.

So.... anyone have any guidance, suggestions, or input on this would be greatly appreciated. I know I could resell him quickly but I don't want to give up such an awesome and thoughtful gift.

Thanks!

Rjramos · Dec 22, 2019

I will say this about my own personal experience with Midas Blennies many years ago. To my knowledge and this date, I am the only one to ever spawn Midas blennies in captivity successfully. Although I was not able to keep the larvae alive past day 8 post hatch. Even tried a smaller rotifer and got a friend clownfish breeder involved without success. To my knowledge, not ORA, sustainable, or any of the big breeders has succeeded with Midas larvae. I have several threads with pictures here, and a journal with pictures and videos in MBI ( marine breeders initiative) . The behavior of the larger fish darkening you describe is typical of what I saw in the male during the spawns. The smaller female always remained yellow. Initially I bought 2 Midas and placed them in 120 gal tank together. After weeks one of the fishes disappeared. So I bought another one and these ended up making the pair. After about a year of spawning, the female got skinny and died on me. They male disappeared about a month after that. I have never gotten another Midas after that, although I’ve always thought of reattempting what I did. If I were you, I would give it a try and see what happens. Keep us posted.
Here is my link

https://www.reef2reef.com/dbtech-usertag/thread-tags/is-my-midas-blenny-guarding-eggs.121804/