New Midas Blenny behaviour

seaofbytes

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Hey Reef!

My tank has been up for almost 2 months now and the only inhabitants were 2 hermits and a yasha/randalli pair, so last saturday I went to the LFS and picked up a Midas Blenny my wife fell in love with.

I read so much about Midas Blennies being like puppies, and one of the most active fish etc...well...apparently not my Midas Blenny.

I got him home from the store, and drip acclimated him and put him in the tank. He looked horribile, dark brown coloring with white spots all over, very stressed out. He paced around the tank until he found a hole at the back of the tank, and jammed himself in.

It's been 6 days, and he has not moved from his hole except on feeding time, and even then he is very hesitant to exit his cave even a few inches, at this point it's like I bought another shrimp goby. Not what I expected to be honest, I now have 2 fish, but you would not say that is the case when you look in my tank haha, everyone is in holes and caves.

The blenny eats like a pig tho (I have to drop the food near his cave tho), he will chow down whatever I throw at him..frozen, pellets, flakes...my Yasha is the same.

So how normal is this for a Midas Blenny? Can I expect him to ever come out and actually be active or am I stuck with a fish that I'll never see now haha?

Pretty bummed out it worked out like this. He is really cute, and I don't want to return him to LFS, but at this point it's like I don't have a fish in the tank at all.

Anyone have similar experience with Midas?

EDIT: Forgot to mention that his coloration improved in the 6 days that I've had him, but he still has a shade of brown. When he gets out of the cave to eat, he looks very yellow under the light, but he is still not a vibrant yellow that he was in the LFS.
 
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Eagle_Steve

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Hey Reef!

My tank has been up for almost 2 months now and the only inhabitants were 2 hermits and a yasha/randalli pair, so last saturday I went to the LFS and picked up a Midas Blenny my wife fell in love with.

I read so much about Midas Blennies being like puppies, and one of the most active fish etc...well...apparently not my Midas Blenny.

I got him home from the store, and drip acclimated him and put him in the tank. He looked horribile, dark brown coloring with white spots all over, very stressed out. He paced around the tank until he found a hole at the back of the tank, and jammed himself in.

It's been 6 days, and he has not moved from his hole except on feeding time, and even then he is very hesitant to exit his cave even a few inches, at this point it's like I bought another shrimp goby. Not what I expected to be honest, I now have 2 fish, but you would not say that is the case when you look in my tank haha, everyone is in holes and caves.

The blenny eats like a pig tho (I have to drop the food near his cave tho), he will chow down whatever I throw at him..frozen, pellets, flakes...my Yasha is the same.

So how normal is this for a Midas Blenny? Can I expect him to ever come out and actually be active or am I stuck with a fish that I'll never see now haha?

Pretty bummed out it worked out like this. He is really cute, and I don't want to return him to LFS, but at this point it's like I don't have a fish in the tank at all.

Anyone have similar experience with Midas?

EDIT: Forgot to mention that his coloration improved in the 6 days that I've had him, but he still has a shade of brown. When he gets out of the cave to eat, he looks very yellow under the light, but he is still not a vibrant yellow that he was in the LFS.
My little guys have always taken a few weeks to get comfortable and come out a lot. For the coloring, lights play a big part, but just give it tile to adjust. Glad it is eating though, always a good sign.
 

Andresnyc93

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Give them some time, midas blennies can be very shy and they’re not an aggressive fish. Mine took about 8 days to get comfortable in the tank and even then their ‘brown shade’ doesn’t go away right away. Try not to spoil him by spot feeding him and put the food somewhere else besides his sleeping spot so they can get more adventurous. Here’s mine after 2 weeks.
 

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seaofbytes

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My little guys have always taken a few weeks to get comfortable and come out a lot. For the coloring, lights play a big part, but just give it tile to adjust. Glad it is eating though, always a good sign.
That's good to hear. I'm happy to say that he's beed eating like a pig, so hopefully he will work up the courage to come out soon. Not sure what is freaking him out, maybe the pistol shrimp clicks at night...

Thanks for the response!
 
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Give them some time, midas blennies can be very shy and they’re not an aggressive fish. Mine took about 8 days to get comfortable in the tank and even then their ‘brown shade’ doesn’t go away right away. Try not to spoil him by spot feeding him and put the food somewhere else besides his sleeping spot so they can get more adventurous. Here’s mine after 2 weeks.
Hey, thanks for the response, appreciate it. I'll give him as much time as he needs. I am running without lights for now, so that plays a factor in his color for sure, even tho it got a lot better.

The thing about feeding....I only have a goby in the tank with him, and he will come out of his hole and pick out food from the water column, but there is no other fish to eat the leftover food. If I just drop the food in the front of the tank, he will not see it...even when he does he will not come out of his cave more than 4-8 inches...so I am not sure on how to feed him.

If I feed with the powerheads on, he will just pop his head out of the cave and wait for any food that flies by.

Any advice?
 

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i have a midas blenny never had trouble with him came out after a few hours but i have heard of people having alot of trouble with these guys what size tank do you have?
 
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seaofbytes

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i have a midas blenny never had trouble with him came out after a few hours but i have heard of people having alot of trouble with these guys what size tank do you have?
That's a cute little bugger.

My tank is a 35G cube (not AIO, so all the space is for fish) and he and the goby are the only ones in there. Looks like it's empty :p. Maybe that's what's freaking him out hah.
 

Dave1993

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That's a cute little bugger.

My tank is a 35G cube (not AIO, so all the space is for fish) and he and the goby are the only ones in there. Looks like it's empty :p. Maybe that's what's freaking him out hah.
i don't think so my midas blenny was the first fish i got and he was out and about
 
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i don't think so my midas blenny was the first fish i got and he was out and about
I guess there's nothing else to do but wait and see. The most important thing is that he seems healthy, so hopefully he will feel more comfortable soon.
 

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They take awhile to settle in. I have tried them a few times but after a year or two they would bully some of the other fish. Love the way they swim so too bad.
 

Andresnyc93

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What are you feeding them? They might not be seeing the food because of the lights off, I’d suggest turning on the lights little by little and turning powerheads off during feeding time.
Mine loves brine and mysis mixed up with reef frenzy soaked in selcom and garlic, he also goes nuts when I hatch my own brine shrimp and I let them sit on spirulina saltwater to let them get some nutrients with the snack.
 
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What are you feeding them? They might not be seeing the food because of the lights off, I’d suggest turning on the lights little by little and turning powerheads off during feeding time.
Mine loves brine and mysis mixed up with reef frenzy soaked in selcom and garlic, he also goes nuts when I hatch my own brine shrimp and I let them sit on spirulina saltwater to let them get some nutrients with the snack.
I am feeding frozen mysis/brine with spirulina/flakes/pellets. I'm trying to mix it up. I would say Mysis is the blenny's favorite.

I tried putting some food on top of the water, he 100% sees it and does not take his eyes off it, but won't get it, so I just end up droping food in his general direction. Maybe I should just stop doing that, but I don't want to starve him.

When I say no light, I mean no LED or light fixtures. I got a light coming in in 2 weeks. The room where the tank is in has plenty of natural light (no direct sunlight) so I don't think that's the issue here either.
 

Andresnyc93

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I am feeding frozen mysis/brine with spirulina/flakes/pellets. I'm trying to mix it up. I would say Mysis is the blenny's favorite.

I tried putting some food on top of the water, he 100% sees them and does not take his eyes off them, but won't get them, so I just end up droping food in his general direction. Maybe I should just stop doing that, but I don't want to starve him.

When I say no light, I mean no LED or light fixtures. I got a light coming in in 2 weeks. The room where the tank is in has plenty of natural light (no direct sunlight) so I don't think that's the issue here either.
Mine would hide on his cave for days and eventually started to build up their courage the more they saw food around them. Here’s a video of mine in my QT tank and this was around the week and half mark. You can tell he’s being really cautious but feeling adventurous with all the food around them. (Gave me a GHA breakout cause of excess nutrients but took care of it after the fish was finished being quarantined) I would also give them space while they’re eating so they don’t feel threatened.
 

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Mine would hide on his cave for days and eventually started to build up their courage the more they saw food around them. Here’s a video of mine in my QT tank and this was around the week and half mark. You can tell he’s being really cautious but feeling adventurous with all the food around them. (Gave me a GHA breakout cause of excess nutrients but took care of it after the fish was finished being quarantined) I would also give them space while they’re eating so they don’t feel threatened.
Thanks for the advice, will try feeding a bit more/giving him space. This is waaay more food than I usually put in the tank haha.
 

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Thanks for the advice, will try feeding a bit more/giving him space. This is waaay more food than I usually put in the tank haha.
I know, I started freaking out they weren’t eating and since it was only the QT I didn’t really mind getting the bloom, hope it all works out!
 
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seaofbytes

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No photos of the tank or of the blenny.

:face-with-spiral-eyes:
Not sure why would we need them in this case, the fish is not sick and is eating properly...I was just wondering on how long will it take for him to settle in, but here you go in any case :p

Top pic is today, bottom is day 1. Super stressed out. Ignore the media behind him, I was cleaning the hob filter and it fell out when I took the picture. ><

290778718_1129043264341373_1972442702262820492_n.jpg 290866516_2904757196489140_1275750829118311618_n.jpg
 

Dani305

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Not sure why would we need them in this case, the fish is not sick and is eating properly...I was just wondering on how long will it take for him to settle in, but here you go in any case :p

Top pic is today, bottom is day 1. Super stressed out. Ignore the media behind him, I was cleaning the hob filter and it fell out when I took the picture. ><

290778718_1129043264341373_1972442702262820492_n.jpg 290866516_2904757196489140_1275750829118311618_n.jpg
Because this is a fish tank forum and not posting your fish tank should be against the rules in my personal opinion. Lol

Your fish looks extremely stressed. You can get a barnacle cluster and put it in the tank for him and he would really like it if your rocks don’t have a lot of holes. He looks like he’s trying to find a hole to hide in in the last photo.

He’s just a new guy in the tank mine hides a lot too but also likes to float around a lot as well so it really just depends and I’ve had him for a few months now.

78515B0F-8729-4B34-B3C3-95CF9537634D.jpeg
 
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seaofbytes

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Because this is a fish tank forum and not posting your fish tank should be against the rules in my personal opinion. Lol

Your fish looks extremely stressed. You can get a barnacle cluster and put it in the tank for him and he would really like it if your rocks don’t have a lot of holes. He looks like he’s trying to find a hole to hide in in the last photo.

He’s just a new guy in the tank mine hides a lot too but also likes to float around a lot as well so it really just depends and I’ve had him for a few months now.

78515B0F-8729-4B34-B3C3-95CF9537634D.jpeg
As I said, the bottom pic is day 1 just after acclimation when I dropped him in...he looked even worse in the bag. :(
He moved from that spot to his now permanent home it seems, in the rock. His cave is pretty spacious, he can completely disappear if he wants to...
I got a cluster on the way, but he needs to come out to see it :p

Seems to be getting better by the day, but yeah, he still looks stressed.
 

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