Daveluce Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 3 weeks ago, I bought a bicolor blenny for my 18g cadlights mixed reef. The only other inhabitants are 2 hermit crabs and a pair of clowns. He was a very cool fish, but he nipped my favia, birds nest and green slimer constantly, so I decided to get rid of him. It took three hours, and I had to pull literally every single rock out of my tank to catch him. Yesterday, I took him back to the lfs and traded him for a small tiger blenny. He seemed physically healthy as far as I could tell, but he wasn't swimming around or anything. I floated his bag for 20 minutes, dumped his water into a Tupperware, netted him out and tossed him in. I was told not to drip acclimate him. He stayed in the same spot all day and night yesterday, which was halfway under a rock in the sand. This morning I woke up to a dead blenny, with his stomach ripped out and my two hermits feasting on him. I know the hermits didn't kill him, but I do have suspicions of something living under that rock killing him though. If a mantis shrimp was under there, and he decided to kill the blenny, would he pull the blenny in to eat him? Or just kill him? My parameters this morning- Ammonia-0, even with the dead fish surprisingly Nitrite-0 Nitrates-5 Temp 79 Salinity 1.025 5 gallon water changes weekly TL:DR- did a mantis kill my blenny? Or just coincidence? Please newborn sweet baby Jesus, please just be a coincidence. Link to comment
JavaJacketOC Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 What was the reasoning for not drip acclimating? Have you had any other signs that you may have a mantis? If you have other inverts (hermits) that have been alive in your tank for a while and you're not seeing (or hearing) any other signs of a mantis, it's unlikely you have one. There are several potential reasons the fish might not have made it, stress is most likely the reason. Wild caught fish go through a lot to get to our LFS's. I believe drip acclimation is the best process for introducing new livestock but will wait for others to comment as well Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Actually I think he died due to the stress and possible improper acclimation. Chances of having a mantis is rare, but I did wind up with one in my tank. Gentle as a lamb though, and sticks to his own cave and doesn't bother any of my fish. Of course, there are other reefers on here with an opposite experience. Link to comment
afyounie Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 It sounds like the blenny was already dying. If a fish isn't moving about in the tank, don't buy them. Blennies move constantly and if the guy was lethargic, that's an obvious sign of a sick or dying fish. Java is probably right about the stress being the cause. Most of these fish end up being wild caught because it is difficult to breed them in captivity. I'm sure you'd know it was a mantis because you wouldn't have living hermits. As for drip acclimating, I don't do that for fish. I float the bag then net them into the tank. Inverts, sessile or not, I always drip acclimate. Link to comment
masterbuilder Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Sorry about the Tiger Blenny. I agree that it was probably already on it way out. MAYBE you could have done something to prevent it, maybe not. On the upside....any comb-tooth blenny is a crap shoot when it comes to nipping corals, especially SPS. The Tiger may have had the same outcome as your bicolor. I have had two tailspots in the past that were model citizens but the last one wouldn't stop nipping at my SPS. I returned it and tried another...did the same. I have decided that its SPS corals or blennies. I chose the corals. Link to comment
Dr.Brain Coral Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Rest easy because you don't have a mantis. A mantis that isn't "trained" would drag the fish all the way into its lair. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Sorry about the Tiger Blenny. I agree that it was probably already on it way out. MAYBE you could have done something to prevent it, maybe not. On the upside....any comb-tooth blenny is a crap shoot when it comes to nipping corals, especially SPS. The Tiger may have had the same outcome as your bicolor. I have had two tailspots in the past that were model citizens but the last one wouldn't stop nipping at my SPS. I returned it and tried another...did the same. I have decided that its SPS corals or blennies. I chose the corals. Fang blenny won't bother your corals 3 weeks ago, I bought a bicolor blenny for my 18g cadlights mixed reef. The only other inhabitants are 2 hermit crabs and a pair of clowns. He was a very cool fish, but he nipped my favia, birds nest and green slimer constantly, so I decided to get rid of him. It took three hours, and I had to pull literally every single rock out of my tank to catch him. Yesterday, I took him back to the lfs and traded him for a small tiger blenny. He seemed physically healthy as far as I could tell, but he wasn't swimming around or anything. I floated his bag for 20 minutes, dumped his water into a Tupperware, netted him out and tossed him in. I was told not to drip acclimate him. He stayed in the same spot all day and night yesterday, which was halfway under a rock in the sand. This morning I woke up to a dead blenny, with his stomach ripped out and my two hermits feasting on him. I know the hermits didn't kill him, but I do have suspicions of something living under that rock killing him though. If a mantis shrimp was under there, and he decided to kill the blenny, would he pull the blenny in to eat him? Or just kill him? Sounds like sick fish already. I don't drip fish but I usually add a small cup of water to the bag every 10 min or so until full and then net them out. Some LFS here have very low salinitys. A dead fish doesn't mean = mantis. You would hear a lot of punching and your hermits crabs would die before fish. Link to comment
Daveluce Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Awesome. Thanks a lot everyone. I was pretty certain it wasn't a mantis, but you never know. The way the Benny's stomach was ripped apart had me wondering wtf happened. And my hermits are always in and out of the rock cave entrance where the fish was hiding and they're still alive, so a mantis in there doesn't make sense. I should have known better. I've had 3 lfs's tell me not to drop acclimate because it was more stressful. I've read up on it and there seems to be as many people that are for it as against it. I always drip inverts, but maybe I should start dripping fish too. I think this blenny maybe just wasn't healthy. I should have watched him more at the store. Lesson learned I guess. So, are there any blennys that are 100% reef safe? I like blennys because they perch on the rock work and they're always watching what's going on. Are there any gobys I should look into that act similar? I originally intended on a shrimp/goby, but decided against them because I thought I'd never see them. Fang blennys eh? I'll read up on them. Thanks! Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Awesome. Thanks a lot everyone. I was pretty certain it wasn't a mantis, but you never know. The way the Benny's stomach was ripped apart had me wondering wtf happened. And my hermits are always in and out of the rock cave entrance where the fish was hiding and they're still alive, so a mantis in there doesn't make sense. I should have known better. I've had 3 lfs's tell me not to drop acclimate because it was more stressful. I've read up on it and there seems to be as many people that are for it as against it. I always drip inverts, but maybe I should start dripping fish too. I think this blenny maybe just wasn't healthy. I should have watched him more at the store. Lesson learned I guess. So, are there any blennys that are 100% reef safe? I like blennys because they perch on the rock work and they're always watching what's going on. Are there any gobys I should look into that act similar? I originally intended on a shrimp/goby, but decided against them because I thought I'd never see them. Fang blennys eh? I'll read up on them. Thanks! Some combtooth blennies like clown blennies may nip at SPS polyps and clam mantles. Leopard blennies prey exquisitely on SPS and are therefore not-reef-safe even though they look beautiful. Link to comment
Formula462 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 It sounds like the blenny was already dying. If a fish isn't moving about in the tank, don't buy them. Blennies move constantly and if the guy was lethargic, that's an obvious sign of a sick or dying fish. Java is probably right about the stress being the cause. Most of these fish end up being wild caught because it is difficult to breed them in captivity. I'm sure you'd know it was a mantis because you wouldn't have living hermits. As for drip acclimating, I don't do that for fish. I float the bag then net them into the tank. Inverts, sessile or not, I always drip acclimate. That's backwards IME. I drip all fish unless they are already so stressed I make the split decision to just dump into a hypo quarantine tank. I dip and drop coral, (unless it's something you can't dip) and I drip starfish, shrimp and certain crabs. I guess to each his own really, and a lot of the times, it's situational. When buying blennies and gobies, stare at them real hard, and ask the store to feed them a little just to see. I never mind when people ask to see certain fish eat, (butterflies, angels, dragonettes, blennies and gobies) Although one time I had this weirdo lady want to see snails and hermit crabs eat... then wanted to pick the specific individuals...we're talking little blue leg hermits, not decorative or expensive ones. I told her she had to forgo the quantity discount if she wanted to pick out 36 individuals by hand. She thought that was wrong of me. Wow what a tangent lol. Link to comment
masterbuilder Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Yeah man...acclimate your fish to temp and water conditions. I do like Tamberav and adjust my creatures over a 20-30 minute period. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 So, are there any blennys that are 100% reef safe? I like blennys because they perch on the rock work and they're always watching what's going on. Are there any gobys I should look into that act similar? I originally intended on a shrimp/goby, but decided against them because I thought I'd never see them. Fang blennys eh? I'll read up on them. Thanks! Yup, fangs are reef safe and peaceful. There are some absolutely stunning variety's! Dripping can do more harm than good for fish, especially shipped ones since ammonia will rise quickly once the bag is opened. I try to have them in the tank in under 30 min by just dropping in small cup of water every 10 min-ish. Obviously sensitive inverts should be dripped. I don't acclimate coral at all. Dip and drop! Link to comment
Daveluce Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Awesome! Thanks a lot everyone! Link to comment
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