New lawn mower blenny not eating

[Trever]

What are some things I can feed this guy? He's been in the tank almost 2 days, but he doesn't eat much of anything. I have algae I was hoping he'd munch, but so far, I've seen him bite at it and then stop (so, not consuming). Tank is 5 months old.

Yeah I can google, so I see what people say, but thought I'd also try a direct line.

He was immediately getting along, at least better than any other fish I've introduced, quite remarkable actually. But I'm worried about his eating (or lack there of). All my other fish are pellet eaters (TDO Chroma Boost), with occasional frozen mysis. I tried the mysis yesterday, no response from the blenny. I've always gotten fish to eat first day, most are quite hungry from their journey to my tank.

 

[Jerid]

What are some things I can feed this guy? He's been in the tank almost 2 days, but he doesn't eat much of anything. I have algae I was hoping he'd munch, but so far, I've seen him bite at it and then stop (so, not consuming). Tank is 5 months old.

Yeah I can google, so I see what people say, but thought I'd also try a direct line.

He was immediately getting along, at least better than any other fish I've introduced, quite remarkable actually. But I'm worried about his eating (or lack there of). All my other fish are pellet eaters (TDO Chroma Boost), with occasional frozen mysis. I tried the mysis yesterday, no response from the blenny.

I had success by tucking pieces of nori in between the rocks to get my little fella started. Good luck.

 

[Trever]

@Jerid this is my first herbivore. Is this

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/omega-one-super-veggie-green-seaweed

a close enough approximation to what people are calling "Nori"?


I want to pick up some up today. Petco is my only option to get something today.

 

[Jerid]

@Jerid this is my first herbivore. Is this

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/omega-one-super-veggie-green-seaweed

a close enough approximation to what people are calling "Nori"?


I want to pick up some up today. Petco is my only option to get something today.

Yep, that should do it.

 

[PooseReefer]

Ive had the least success with lawnmowers of any fish. Most types I've never lost and most of those have been jumpers. Part of me wonders if they are captive bred and have just "lost their instinct" for algae and the fauna that live on it and are outcompeted by the fish established in our tanks.

I also think the Algae we have in our relatively low nutrient systems SEEMS like a lot and we want to get rid of it, but the filamentous variety we often battle is really very minimal in terms of overall mass. I'm just not sure there is enough to sustain a species like this unless nitrates are running wild and/or there is supplement feeding.

 

[vetteguy53081]

There is a myth with lawnmower blennies as the belief is they will munch down algae and be happy ever after
This species will also consume fish eggs, sponges, and small snails. They ingest a significant amount of calcium carbonate as they feed, which is not uncommon for herbivores with less selective feeding tactics.. They hunt all day, so be prepared to have food source for them

 

[Trever]

@vetteguy53081 I was (psychologically) prepared for him not eating my algae, have heard very mixed reports.

I am optimistic will figure something out for him. He's cute little guy for such an ugly creature. We call him Oscar, because he looks just like Oscar The Grouch and he eats trash. Not pretty but a very interesting fish and a welcome addition. He has indeed eaten some algae, but ignores the hair I was hoping he might avail himself of.

 

[Trever]

Well drat he's not touching the Nori so far.

 

[Trever]

I just did the evening feeding (TDO Chroma Boost pellets)... he actually came to the ring with the other fish, right away.

I feel like this fish is used to some of the rhythms of a tank. I can call my LFS, but it seemed like he was expecting something and not finding it. He seemed to have some idea of what was going on.

Would they eat flake food? I dunno. Wondering what he is looking for. He shows an interest in the pellets, but doesn't eat them.

He is scraping the feeding ring, but I don't see that as being able to sustain him- the ring does grow an algae film that presumably has detritus, which supposedly they are mostly using as food, have read 15% is algae, rest is garbage- i.e. Oscar food .

 

[saltyfins]

I just did the evening feeding (TDO Chroma Boost pellets)... he actually came to the ring with the other fish, right away.

I feel like this fish is used to some of the rhythms of a tank. I can call my LFS, but it seemed like he was expecting something and not finding it. He seemed to have some idea of what was going on.

Would they eat flake food? I dunno. Wondering what he is looking for. He shows an interest in the pellets, but doesn't eat them.

He is scraping the feeding ring, but I don't see that as being able to sustain him- the ring does grow an algae film that presumably has detritus, which supposedly they are mostly using as food, have read 15% is algae, rest is garbage- i.e. Oscar food .

my blenny eats EVERYTHING. he's FAT. Nori, Mysis, Formula 1/2, flakes, fingers...keep trying. he'll eat it if you keep offering. but try just throwing it in the tank. (food, not fish lol)

 

[Chrille26]

I bought a Lawnmower blenny recently to help with my hair algae outbreak. It took him a few days to get comfortable, but now he is constantly ripping out tufts of algae.
Maybe give him another day to feel more at home in your tank?
Also I noticed I triggered his appetite and got him eating after I ripped out algae manually.

 

[Trever]

He is starting to eat quite regularly. i'm not convinced my 5 month old tank has substantial enough algae for him, as the brown hair algae type stuff (and possibly Dinos but I doubt it) while plentiful, doesn't strike me as a nutricious enough. But I'm not a fish. I also of course worry about him pecking at stuff that might be laced with Dinos, but again it's not clear I have Dinos (i suspect the long brown strings are some other kind of algae).

He pecks at algae discs placed in the tank, but it doesn't amount to eating, instead my Diamond Back goby gobbles it up, then spits it out later. Now there's a fish (goby) that eat anything and everything!

 

[Bossman]

Ive got a blenny in each one of my 5 tanks. Three Lawn Mowers, a Yellow sailfin and an Orange Spotted. A new blenny will sometimes take a while to eat, just like any other fish may. All of mine eat added nori whether on a clip or rubber banded to a rock. I add nori 2-3 times a week. A couple of them will eat flakes, pellets and frozen. But the rest do not. Only nori and what they graze from in the tank.

It sounds like he's on the right track. Keep adding nori and he'll come along.

 

[CRath]

What are some things I can feed this guy? He's been in the tank almost 2 days, but he doesn't eat much of anything. I have algae I was hoping he'd munch, but so far, I've seen him bite at it and then stop (so, not consuming). Tank is 5 months old.

Yeah I can google, so I see what people say, but thought I'd also try a direct line.

He was immediately getting along, at least better than any other fish I've introduced, quite remarkable actually. But I'm worried about his eating (or lack there of). All my other fish are pellet eaters (TDO Chroma Boost), with occasional frozen mysis. I tried the mysis yesterday, no response from the blenny. I've always gotten fish to eat first day, most are quite hungry from their journey to my tank.

I have a lawnmower in my 17 gallon and I originally had the same problem with him not eating anything. All the forums I read told me that other people's ate like pigs which made me nervous. Nori seemed to scare him and flake/pellet/algae wafer/frozen didn't work. I did see him picking at the glass, so I knew he was getting something. I used his belly to indicate if the algae was enough. A fat belly meant he had enough algae. I was feeding his clown tankmate flake food and decided to stop adding anything to specifically target him. It took him about 4 weeks without the extra food, but I finally caught him one morning (he likes the bigger pieces). Now he eats flake in the morning and is given an algae wafer or a couple sinking pellet in the afternoon. He will eat anything I put in the tank as well.
I think that the key to getting them to eat is having a comfortable spot to perch while also getting used to your presence next to the tank. Once they start worrying more about what is in the tank they should see the food being put in. My blenny started eating around the time I could slowly walk up to the tank without him darting away into the rocks. He is a total pig now.

 

[Trever]

My lawn mower blenny died after 1 month, apparently from starvation. Tried everything I could to no avail. It also began to appear that he was fine and eating stuff in the tank. But when he died, I realized he had been wasting away slowly. It was hard to see until too late.