Starry Blenny Starving?

[Reef By Steele]

So we have a Starry Blenny that we got in May of 2022. He has been a healthy fish the entire time, but about a week ago we noticed he looks really thin like he is starving. There is not any nuisance algae in the tank and has not been for a long time so he has not lost a food source, but I feed nori nightly and a customs frozen blend of seafood enhanced with spirulina powder. The tank has a great pod population. I have put a couple sinking algae wafers in the tank but he does not appear to be getting better.

Maybe it has reached its expected life span, but if not does anyone have any suggestions @Ocean_Queenie and I would appreciate it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So we have a Starry Blenny that we got in May of 2022. He has been a healthy fish the entire time, but about a week ago we noticed he looks really thin like he is starving. There is not any nuisance algae in the tank and has not been for a long time so he has not lost a food source, but I feed nori nightly and a customs frozen blend of seafood enhanced with spirulina powder. The tank has a great pod population. I have put a couple sinking algae wafers in the tank but he does not appear to be getting better.

Maybe it has reached its expected life span, but if not does anyone have any suggestions.

They're not big on pods and its a myth that they are algae eaters. In turn they get an improper diet and thin then weaken. The trickiest part about keeping a blenny is making sure it gets enough to eat. You can tell if its properly fed by looking at the abdomen, which should ball shaped. A blenny which isn’t finding enough food will be thin.
Although they need algae in their diet, they cant survive on algae alone. They hover on corals, rock and sponge scraping their way on these surfaces and pound and gnaw on the coral, ingesting detritus, or waste and particles from the coral. This includes coral skeleton, sand, gravel, and fish eggs and tiny crustaceans. If a blenny is not getting enough calcium carbonate in its diet, they will quickly deteriorate.

 

[Reef By Steele]

They're not big on pods and its a myth that they are algae eaters. In turn they get an improper diet and thin then weaken. The trickiest part about keeping a blenny is making sure it gets enough to eat. You can tell if its properly fed by looking at the abdomen, which should ball shaped. A blenny which isn’t finding enough food will be thin.
Although they need algae in their diet, they cant survive on algae alone. They hover on corals, rock and sponge scraping their way on these surfaces and pound and gnaw on the coral, ingesting detritus, or waste and particles from the coral. This includes coral skeleton, sand, gravel, and fish eggs and tiny crustaceans. If a blenny is not getting enough calcium carbonate in its diet, they will quickly deteriorate.

Is that the same with lawnmower blennies.

The issue I have is that we have had him for 1 1/2 years and he has been thick bodied and healthy the entire time. Not changes have been made to the tank I probably a year. No new additions, no one removed, just he is suddenly very thin.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is that the same with lawnmower blennies.

The issue I have is that we have had him for 1 1/2 years and he has been thick bodied and healthy the entire time. Not changes have been made to the tank I probably a year. No new additions, no one removed, just he is suddenly very thin.

Yes and more so with lawnmower version

 

[Reef By Steele]

Yes and more so with lawnmower version

So I need to look at my calcium levels. There haven’t been any stony corals in with him for that same year.

But I haven’t been doing a good job of testing or water changes for the last 7-8 weeks since my surgery, just got out of the sling Tuesday.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So I need to look at my calcium levels. There haven’t been any stony corals in with him for that same year.

But I haven’t been doing a good job of testing or water changes for the last 7-8 weeks since my surgery, just got out of the sling Tuesday.

These blennies can't extract calcium from the water, so only test for that if you need to for corals. They get calcium in their diets.

Skinny blennies are a common problem, what isn't common is how fast it came on with your fish. Now, I will say that fish can get skinny and sort of sneak up on people....they don't realize the fish is getting thin until it gets really bad and then they notice it. If that wasn't the case here, then there are few things that will cause rapid emaciation of fish.

I would think that internal parasites would not be a factor here - they don't cause the fish to become skinny in days, and you've had the fish long enough to rule those out.

A sudden rise in salinity will dehydrate fish overnight, but you would know if that had happened, and other animal would be affected.

Tumors and fish mycobacterium infections can cause fish to get skinny, but it takes weeks to develop.

Mechanical blockages will stop a fish from being able to swallow food (even though it may look like they are going after it). Again, it would takes weeks for a fish to get thin.

Here is a link to a thread about "skinny blennies":

Skinny Blenny issue

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...

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Jay