Starry Blenny won't eat

Victoria M · Jan 3, 2018

got any tricks to getting a blenny in QT to eat something. Mysis - nope, nori- nope, NLS pellot- nope, nothing from an marine multipack either.

VietExtender · Jan 3, 2018

Try live brine shrimp or black worms. A local fish store should have them.

Victoria M · Jan 3, 2018

I was thinking about hatching brine shrimp. I am going to call Fish Doctors to see if they have black worms. Thank you.

VietExtender · Jan 3, 2018

Victoria M said:
I was thinking about hatching brine shrimp. I am going to call Fish Doctors to see if they have black worms. Thank you.

If you decide to hatch brine shrimp, I think it takes a few weeks for them to grow into adults.

Victoria M · Jan 3, 2018

VietExtender said:
If you decide to hatch brine shrimp, I think it takes a few weeks for them to grow into adults.

You want to feed the freshly hatched nauplii. They provide good nutrition whereas the adult brine shrimp offer very little in nutrition. They can help provoke a feeding response, however.

pugcrush · Jan 3, 2018

How long have you had it? Was it eating at the LFS? Try some LRS or Rod's. Plenty of a mix in those if he/she's being selective in his/her appetite.

wattson · Jan 3, 2018

my starry blennies love flake ,,I feed several different foods but go crazy for flakes,,dont ask why.bigger the flake the faster they go after them

Victoria M · Jan 3, 2018

pugcrush said:
How long have you had it? Was it eating at the LFS? Try some LRS or Rod's. Plenty of a mix in those if he/she's being selective in his/her appetite.

Been in QT just under 2 weeks. He ate mysis at the store, and I am all out of rods, and so is the LFS. sign. this weather makes shipping hard for the LFS.

Victoria M · Jan 3, 2018

wattson said:
my starry blennies love flake ,,I feed several different foods but go crazy for flakes,,dont ask why.bigger the flake the faster they go after them

So flake is one thing I have not tried. Thank you.

mtfish · Jan 4, 2018

Do you have any small rocks with film type algae growing on it? Mine eats everything but will graze on algae until it looks like its stomach is about to burst.

Victoria M · Jan 5, 2018

mtfish said:
Do you have any small rocks with film type algae growing on it? Mine eats everything but will graze on algae until it looks like its stomach is about to burst.

That is a good idea. There is one very large rock with algae in my 40B temporary tank. I wish I had a small one. I will ask my local club guys if they have a algae rock for me if he does not eat soon.

geniusgio · Jan 5, 2018

Have you tried anything soaked in Garlic ?

Victoria M · Jan 6, 2018

geniusgio said:
Have you tried anything soaked in Garlic ?

No, I have not.

geniusgio · Jan 6, 2018

Try soaking his good in either kents garlic solution or buy pellets like this with garlic already infused. Garlic helps open their appetite.

Stigigemla · Jan 7, 2018

They can be difficult in the beginning. All its life it is only been looking for algae on rocks. It is something totally different to eat something freeflowing.
If you have it together with damsels or clowns or other hungry fishes in a small tank it will see how the other fishes are eating and in one or two weeks learn from them.
If you give it a stone with a lot of algae on it will it directly. I have fun to watch when i feed new fishes because suddenly one day they take one frozen artemia and after that they know and just continue to chase the artemias. And a few days later they suddenly realize that flakes are food too. Frozen artemia is often the first food the fishes take but plankton feeders like Chromis usually take cyclops first.

Victoria M · Jan 7, 2018

geniusgio said:
Try soaking his good in either kents garlic solution or buy pellets like this with garlic already infused. Garlic helps open their appetite.

Thank you so much. I do feed the NLS A+ pellets.

geniusgio · Jan 7, 2018

Victoria M said:
Thank you so much. I do feed the NLS A+ pellets.

Any updates ? Is he finally eating again?

Victoria M · Jan 7, 2018

Stigigemla said:
They can be difficult in the beginning. All its life it is only been looking for algae on rocks. It is something totally different to eat something freeflowing.
If you have it together with damsels or clowns or other hungry fishes in a small tank it will see how the other fishes are eating and in one or two weeks learn from them.
If you give it a stone with a lot of algae on it will it directly. I have fun to watch when i feed new fishes because suddenly one day they take one frozen artemia and after that they know and just continue to chase the artemias. And a few days later they suddenly realize that flakes are food too. Frozen artemia is often the first food the fishes take but plankton feeders like Chromis usually take cyclops first.

I was really hoping he would learn from the yellow tail damsel...he watches though.