Blenny Lifespan Survey

[Zionas]

I’ve heard of a number of people who’ve kept Watchmen Gobies for over a decade, but I’ve never really heard much about the lifespan of Blennies. For those of you who own blennies, how many years / months have you had yours? If it’s deceased, how did it die?

[seabass]

I kept a bicolor blenny for more than 5 years.  I can't say for sure how it died, I assume it was some sort of intestinal issue.  No new fish were introduced for years prior to the death, and no other fish were affected.

[Zionas]

5 minutes ago, seabass said:

I kept a bicolor blenny for more than 5 years.  I can't say for sure how it died, I assume it was some sort of intestinal issue.  No new fish were introduced for years prior to the death, and no other fish were affected.

How big was it when you got it?

[Cannedfish]

I had the OG Blenwood (tailspot blenny) for a little over 2.5 years. I'm not sure how he died, but I can only assume it was saving a puppy from a burning building while simultaneously fighting off a ragtag group of Somali pirates and international terrorists. RIP Blen-daddy.

[Zionas]

2 minutes ago, Cannedfish said:

I had the OG Blenwood (tailspot blenny) for a little over 2.5 years. I'm not sure how he died, but I can only assume it was saving a puppy from a burning building while simultaneously fighting off a ragtag group of Somali pirates and international terrorists. RIP Blen-daddy.

Sorry to hear about your loss. 😞 Any other fish harassing it?

[Clown79]

Blennies that require algae in their diet don't last long if they don't have algae to graze so nori supplements are needed if they eat, that will help.

 

Not all blennies are grazers, like the midas who mostly eats meaty foods.

 

 

[seabass]

2 hours ago, Zionas said:

How big was it when you got it?

Full grown, so no idea how old it might have been when I got it.

[Zionas]

34 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Blennies that require algae in their diet don't last long if they don't have algae to graze so nori supplements are needed if they eat, that will help.

 

Not all blennies are grazers, like the midas who mostly eats meaty foods.

 

 

What about the Bicolor, Tailspot etc? I think the genus Ecsenius are more generalized feeders?

20 minutes ago, seabass said:

Full grown, so no idea how old it might have been when I got it.

Ahhh. Could have been approaching 10 years old IMO.

[seabass]

18 minutes ago, Zionas said:

What about the Bicolor, Tailspot...

They are both considered herbivores.  Mine would feed off of algae in the tank, but I also supplemented spirulina and chlorella flake (as well as Formula Two).  It did, however, like to feed on the mysis that I fed the cardinalfish.  Not that I would purposefully feed it mysis, but you really can't help it if they decide to feed on another fish's food.  If you feed the algae first, it will be more likely to eat more algae (the other fish, like banggai cardinalfish, tend to ignore the aglae).

[Clown79]

My bicolors lasted 2 yrs, my tailspots a few mnths.

 

I fed frozen veggie, nori strips, algae pellet, and mysis.

 

Tsb has a tiny mouth sometimes hard to feed. Mine would eat the frozen veggie but not nori

 

My bicolors ate anything i fed and a bit of nori but the nori often ended up wasted.

[Zionas]

8 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

My bicolors lasted 2 yrs, my tailspots a few mnths.

 

I fed frozen veggie, nori strips, algae pellet, and mysis.

 

Tsb has a tiny mouth sometimes hard to feed. Mine would eat the frozen veggie but not nori

 

My bicolors ate anything i fed and a bit of nori but the nori often ended up wasted.

How did they die? 😞I think the Tailspot’s just really small. How big were they when you got them?

14 minutes ago, seabass said:

They are both considered herbivores.  Mine would feed off of algae in the tank, but I also supplemented spirulina and chlorella flake (as well as Formula Two).  It did, however, like to feed on the mysis that I fed the cardinalfish.  Not that I would purposefully feed it mysis, but you really can't help it if they decide to feed on another fish's food.  If you feed the algae first, it will be more likely to eat more algae (the other fish, like banggai cardinalfish, tend to ignore the aglae).

I see. I’ll be feeding some of the same foods you mentioned.

[Zionas]

Can I add any of these blennies as among the first fish in a tank?

[seabass]

Yep.  Add your most aggressive fish last if possible.  If it's a new tank, realize that it will rely on you more for its algae, as there may be very little in your tank to graze on.

[Zionas]

1 minute ago, seabass said:

Yep.  Add your most aggressive fish last if possible.  If it's a new tank, realize that it will rely on you more for its algae, as there may be very little in your tank to graze on.

Great! I’ll be having a selection of Herbivore foods for it. 

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, Zionas said:

How did they die? 😞I think the Tailspot’s just really small. How big were they when you got them?

I see. I’ll be feeding some of the same foods you mentioned.

Tailspot stays small, it wasn't a baby.

 

No way of knowing how old it was, they weren't tank bred.

 

Bicolors were also not babies.

 

None had diseases. 

Tsb was hard to feed and my tanks don't have a ton of algae and the supplement algae feeding wasn't enough.

 

The last bicolor, probably from starvation. He was slower than the clown and damsel so would only get a bit of food even though i fed him with pipette and he didn't really like nori, he'd pick at it and then leave the rest.

[Zionas]

5 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Tailspot stays small, it wasn't a baby.

 

No way of knowing how old it was, they weren't tank bred.

 

Bicolors were also not babies.

 

None had diseases. 

Tsb was hard to feed and my tanks don't have a ton of algae and the supplement algae feeding wasn't enough.

 

The last bicolor, probably from starvation. He was slower than the clown and damsel so would only get a bit of food even though i fed him with pipette and he didn't really like nori, he'd pick at it and then leave the rest.

I see. Sorry for the losses. 😞 Was your Bicolor otherwise picky?

 

    What happened to your previous Bicolors?

[Clown79]

14 minutes ago, Zionas said:

I see. Sorry for the losses. 😞 Was your Bicolor otherwise picky?

 

    What happened to your previous Bicolors?

Thank you 

 

No he wasn't picky with any food besides not really loving nori.

 

Great fish otherwise. Was best buddies with my clown.

 

My previous bicolor, also best buds with another clown, he went missing 1 day and was dragged out of a rock by a pom pom crab.

 

I suspect the pom pom as i found him going after other things as well. 

 

Otherwise the fish was healthy, not a picky eater but was a bit skinny.