Skinny Blenny issue

Jay Hemdal

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Skinny blennies:

Midas blennies are much more difficult to maintain than their common presence in the pet trade would have you believe. They are very prone to starvation. It is unknown if this is due to not feeding them often enough, not feeding enough, feeding the wrong foods, or if internal parasites compete with the blenny for food energy. This species lacks a swim bladder, so they must expend quite a bit of energy just to maintain their location on the water column. This must be offset by a huge amount of calories. Aquarists often miss the fact that their Midas blennies are becoming gradually thinner – as the fish still feeds ravenously, and the progression of the problem is fairly slow. At some point, the fish begins to utilize their liver for food energy. Once this point is reached, the liver damage is irreversible and death is inevitable. A similar issue is also seen with algae blennies, Salarias fasciatus. In these cases, the problem is often tied in to the fish eating all available algae in an aquarium and subsequently starving.

A means to resolve this problem is unclear, since the actual cause is unknown. The best option may be to feed these fish to satiation four times per day, and offering less brine shrimp, and more high fat mysid shrimp. If the blenny takes food in but spits it back out, try dicing the food into smaller pieces. Clearing these fish of possible internal parasites is not an easy task. Praziquantel is often suggested as a cure, but in reality, this drug is only effective against monogeneans (external flukes) and cestodes (tapeworms). If internal parasites are indeed the issue, they may well not be of these two groups. Still, it may be a good idea to dose the tank with praziquantel at 2 mg/l twice, 10 days apart, just in case that will clear the issue. Medicated foods may also be of benefit, but only if properly dosed as mentioned elsewhere. Soaking the food in medication is a useless endeavor, as the medication dose is completely unknown, and then, the amount of medications that washes off the food makes the issue even worse. Medications must be bound into the food items and dosed at a proper level.
 

vetteguy53081

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Great post as there has been a recent array of problematic issues with midas blennies
 

Gobi-Wan

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Skinny blennies:

Midas blennies are much more difficult to maintain than their common presence in the pet trade would have you believe. They are very prone to starvation. It is unknown if this is due to not feeding them often enough, not feeding enough, feeding the wrong foods, or if internal parasites compete with the blenny for food energy. This species lacks a swim bladder, so they must expend quite a bit of energy just to maintain their location on the water column. This must be offset by a huge amount of calories. Aquarists often miss the fact that their Midas blennies are becoming gradually thinner – as the fish still feeds ravenously, and the progression of the problem is fairly slow. At some point, the fish begins to utilize their liver for food energy. Once this point is reached, the liver damage is irreversible and death is inevitable. A similar issue is also seen with algae blennies, Salarias fasciatus. In these cases, the problem is often tied in to the fish eating all available algae in an aquarium and subsequently starving.

A means to resolve this problem is unclear, since the actual cause is unknown. The best option may be to feed these fish to satiation four times per day, and offering less brine shrimp, and more high fat mysid shrimp. If the blenny takes food in but spits it back out, try dicing the food into smaller pieces. Clearing these fish of possible internal parasites is not an easy task. Praziquantel is often suggested as a cure, but in reality, this drug is only effective against monogeneans (external flukes) and cestodes (tapeworms). If internal parasites are indeed the issue, they may well not be of these two groups. Still, it may be a good idea to dose the tank with praziquantel at 2 mg/l twice, 10 days apart, just in case that will clear the issue. Medicated foods may also be of benefit, but only if properly dosed as mentioned elsewhere. Soaking the food in medication is a useless endeavor, as the medication dose is completely unknown, and then, the amount of medications that washes off the food makes the issue even worse. Medications must be bound into the food items and dosed at a proper level.
I was literally about to post about my midas blenny and saw this. He seems to have a stuffed belly but has been getting thinner and thinner. should i think about treating for parasites? i have prazipro under the tank i believe. he doesn't seem distressed and eats well at feeding time. try to target feed him a couple more times a day?
 

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Jay Hemdal

Jay Hemdal

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I was literally about to post about my midas blenny and saw this. He seems to have a stuffed belly but has been getting thinner and thinner. should i think about treating for parasites? i have prazipro under the tank i believe. he doesn't seem distressed and eats well at feeding time. try to target feed him a couple more times a day?

Prazipro only treats one type of internal parasite - cestodes. We just don't know what the cause(s) of this is. Your fish may be too far gone (sorry!). Try feeding 4x per day, as much as it will eat.

Jay
 

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Great writeup, thanks Jay! Recently got a Midas Blenny, will pay extra attention to his appearance.
 

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I was literally about to post about my midas blenny and saw this. He seems to have a stuffed belly but has been getting thinner and thinner. should i think about treating for parasites? i have prazipro under the tank i believe. he doesn't seem distressed and eats well at feeding time. try to target feed him a couple more times a day?
The one i recently purchased unfortunately looks similar to yours and seems to be on his way out even though it eats like a pig. Sad to see a fish slowly deteriorate
 

Gobi-Wan

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The one i recently purchased unfortunately looks similar to yours and seems to be on his way out even though it eats like a pig. Sad to see a fish slowly deteriorate
It's pretty sad. For years I've been walking past them, usually the LFS has like 10 of them. No one has ever mentioned how much they need to eat to survive. I've had this one maybe 2 months.
 

907_Reefer

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Good to know as I have been interested in a Midas Blenny as well. Love all the info available on this forum!
 

Dburr1014

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Skinny blennies:

Midas blennies are much more difficult to maintain than their common presence in the pet trade would have you believe. They are very prone to starvation. It is unknown if this is due to not feeding them often enough, not feeding enough, feeding the wrong foods, or if internal parasites compete with the blenny for food energy. This species lacks a swim bladder, so they must expend quite a bit of energy just to maintain their location on the water column. This must be offset by a huge amount of calories. Aquarists often miss the fact that their Midas blennies are becoming gradually thinner – as the fish still feeds ravenously, and the progression of the problem is fairly slow. At some point, the fish begins to utilize their liver for food energy. Once this point is reached, the liver damage is irreversible and death is inevitable. A similar issue is also seen with algae blennies, Salarias fasciatus. In these cases, the problem is often tied in to the fish eating all available algae in an aquarium and subsequently starving.

A means to resolve this problem is unclear, since the actual cause is unknown. The best option may be to feed these fish to satiation four times per day, and offering less brine shrimp, and more high fat mysid shrimp. If the blenny takes food in but spits it back out, try dicing the food into smaller pieces. Clearing these fish of possible internal parasites is not an easy task. Praziquantel is often suggested as a cure, but in reality, this drug is only effective against monogeneans (external flukes) and cestodes (tapeworms). If internal parasites are indeed the issue, they may well not be of these two groups. Still, it may be a good idea to dose the tank with praziquantel at 2 mg/l twice, 10 days apart, just in case that will clear the issue. Medicated foods may also be of benefit, but only if properly dosed as mentioned elsewhere. Soaking the food in medication is a useless endeavor, as the medication dose is completely unknown, and then, the amount of medications that washes off the food makes the issue even worse. Medications must be bound into the food items and dosed at a proper level.
Thank you for this info.
I have red recently acquired one and he eats like a pig. I have been feeding 2/3 times a day but will step this up. Still in qt, 2 weeks copper, two weeks more to go. Then 2 rounds of prazi.
Great post as there has been a recent array of problematic issues with midas blennies
What problems? What issues?
I need to know.
 

vetteguy53081

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Thank you for this info.
I have red recently acquired one and he eats like a pig. I have been feeding 2/3 times a day but will step this up. Still in qt, 2 weeks copper, two weeks more to go. Then 2 rounds of prazi.

What problems? What issues?
I need to know.
Pinched bellies or skinny
Loss or no appetite
Lethargic behavior
Wasting away
 

Han

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A bit off topic, but how long do these guys typically live? I’ve had my midas over 4 and a half years now, and I only feed every other day. Though it does seem to be frequently hunting/grazing around the tank (lots of pods) so I think it gets plenty of food.
 

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I noticed right away my new Midas blenny is my most ferocious eater. He aggressively chases all food he can get a fin on. It has been surprising he hasn’t gotten more fat yet. But now it makes sense. Maybe I just underestimated how much food they need. Although I’ve been feeding quite a bit 2 times a day and he does look a little thicker than when I got him. He was pretty thin at first. Still a little thin for my liking. I treated in QT with prazi and metro.

What is a good way to try and feed him more while not letting other fish get it or over feeding the tank? Thanks for the info!
 

blaxsun

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I've had reasonably good success with my midas blenny. Other than the surprise spontaneous color change from orange to purple, he's been growing and thriving. He gets fed 6x daily (4x daily, 2x frozen) and spends most of his time in his barnacle.

With the energy expenditure aspect, in hindsight it makes perfect sense why he seems to spend 23/7 in his lair. I've had him for over a year and a half, and he's probably doubled in size from when I first got him (from about 2.5" to 4.25").
 

MyFirstCar

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I've had reasonably good success with my midas blenny. Other than the surprise spontaneous color change from orange to purple, he's been growing and thriving. He gets fed 6x daily (4x daily, 2x frozen) and spends most of his time in his barnacle.

With the energy expenditure aspect, in hindsight it makes perfect sense why he seems to spend 23/7 in his lair. I've had him for over a year and a half, and he's probably doubled in size from when I first got him (from about 2.5" to 4.25").
Just a random question, how are you managing to feed 6x a day? Autofeeder?
 

Roatan Reef

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I feed twice a day...frozen and Pellets each time...had my Midas for 6 months now...dude is a pig! He eats and eats non stop...always looking for more food. Very healthy and great color. He is the least of my concerns In my tank.
 

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The ones that's starving to death definitely have some kind of internal parasite, there are plenty of Midas that did perfectly fine on a normal feeding schedule.
I wonder if anyone can do a autopsy to figure out what kind of parasites inhabit their guts?
 
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