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Tailspot Blenny


steelhealr

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DogfoodEnforcer
Yeah, I have been lookin at one of the tailspots for about a year now but am up in arms because no one can seem to tell me wether or not they eat SPS. I got a black combtooth blenny recently and had to fish him out of my tank because he was devouring any SPS he came in contact with. BLAH! It sux cuz I love the blennies that perch in rocks and stuff but I can't find one that doesn't eat SPS, other than the midas and some of the more aggressive venemous ones. DOes anyone here have actual experience with a tailspot and SPS?

 

i have a bimaculatus blenny. cute little guy. i have a couple of SPS in my tank and he doesnt touch them. just perches on rocks, in rocks, on the algae clip... minds his own business

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"xADUBx--didn't this thread express concern about meaty items in tsb diets?"

 

Diane--

Yes it absolutely did...I think my TSB is hooked on meaty foods, this was what the LFS was feeding it. I tried Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Frozen Food at first and nori but he wouldn't eat it. I'm trying to switch over to just herbivore types of food, just haven't found anything he'll eat as of yet. Maybe I should have included this info in my previous post :D

 

I have some time this weekend so I'm going grocery shopping...for a TSB :lol:

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thanx for the info psam i think i will just have to wait on these guys then. i just hate to see my corals eaten by anything. darnit i really liked them :(

 

Believe me, if it were doing visible or serious harm to my coral, MF would be out of the tank pretty quick. It's not eating the polyps, just poking around for food.

 

psam--how long have you had yours?

 

Bought it in July or August.

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"xADUBx--didn't this thread express concern about meaty items in tsb diets?"

 

Diane--

Yes it absolutely did...I think my TSB is hooked on meaty foods, this was what the LFS was feeding it. I tried Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Frozen Food at first and nori but he wouldn't eat it. I'm trying to switch over to just herbivore types of food, just haven't found anything he'll eat as of yet. Maybe I should have included this info in my previous post :D

 

I have some time this weekend so I'm going grocery shopping...for a TSB :lol:

 

 

:D My shopping cart never looks better than when I'm buying for my tortoises--tons of greens!

 

 

Believe me, if it were doing visible or serious harm to my coral, MF would be out of the tank pretty quick. It's not eating the polyps, just poking around for food.

Bought it in July or August.

 

Sweet! Maybe you'll be the first to refute the conventional wisdom--and experience--with these wonderful little fish!

 

--Diane

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Just an update on my Tailspot. I have had it for about 6 months now and it is doing just fine.

 

Feeding: For the most part it eats pods and algae that is in the tank. I only supplement its diet when I feed my clown and cleaner shrimp with ORA pellets, Ocean Nutrition Formula Two frozen food, and sometimes it will snag some frozen mysis shrimp.

 

Health: Active, colors are bright, no signs of malnutrition or wasting away like some have had problems with.

 

So, I'll continue to do what I am doing as the Tailspot appears to be doing great. :)

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If yours is still going strong when I ever get around to setting up a new tank, I'm going to take that as the OK to go ahead and try one myself!

 

--Diane

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I've had my tailspot for about 2 months now and it went from strictly grazing on the algae in the tank to eating cyclopeeze (took a couple of weeks for this transition to happen). Now, it takes pellet food that the firefish and goby eat! It's so cute when it takes the pellet and carries it to its eating ledge...like a dog!

 

It's always fat to the point that its belly is round and the poo color switches from green to reddish brown depending on day (i feed my tank every other day). Tailspots are such great fish with great personalities :)

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Hey I just wanted to jump into this thread too! I brought home a Tailspot on Thursday to put into my BC14 with my clown and Clown Goby, and so far it's doing GREAT! It didn't eat for the first day, so I went out and bought some Ocean Nutrition Spirulina flakes and it gobbles them up! It also picks at New Life Spectrum pellets too, so it may decide to actually eat them at a later time. So I jsut wanted to tell you my experiences with feed it, after only two days.

 

Lenny the Blenny is his name. Along with Toby the Goby and Thomas the Clown.

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  • 3 months later...

Hello! New owner of a TSB too....i got it today...i got him from an amazing LFS..the owner is a member of WAMAS and takes his business very seriously. He highly recommended the little Blenny for my Nano so we shall see how it goes...looks like mixing up the diet to keep him fat will be best..but mostly herbivore food..my nano has been up for 3 years so with just some coral and a peppermint shrimp so there should be plenty of food...if i have to overfeed and do more frequent water changes, i am up for it. I also have a 72gl aside from the nano...the TSB is about 1.5inches...my daughter named it Star =)

I will keep you posted...but to start off, he ate right after acclimation...i mixed some flake with garlic and some frozen formula one or two..i forget..she does have the white spots...anyone know how long it takes for those to go away or what the deal is?

THANKS!

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masterbuilder

They spot up when they are scared or sleeping. Its a camo thing. Anywho...they cant chew their food like some fish and have very small throats. So make sure your food is in tiny peices. Mine loves New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula and any flake crumbled up into small bits. Anything any bigger is spit out. Good luck....they are my favorite fish.

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Anywho...they cant chew their food like some fish and have very small throats. So make sure your food is in tiny peices. Mine loves New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula and any flake crumbled up into small bits. Anything any bigger is spit out. Good luck....they are my favorite fish.

 

Is this just the case for tailspot blennies or all blennies? I have a bi color and I've never noticed him spitting out food, then again I might have just missed it.

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Not sure if that's for all blennies...but i do notice my tailspot spitting out pieces that are too big...i have taken all the foods that would give it a balanced diet and mushed them and grinded them altogether...then i froze it...i put little scrapings in several times a day...nori, pellets, flakes and it eats really well so far...SUCH a beautiful fish...so fun to watch...you can see the spots change back and forth when it's in 'camo' mode or on the prowl...i hope and pray i don't fall victim to the 'only 5 months' group. Water quality is great and i if i have to overfeed to keep it plump i will do so and follow the omnivore guidelines...weird thing is, 2 sites said different things..one says herbivore and the other omnivore...i will just feed a mix of it all at this point...i just want it to eat and be happy =)

This was taken with my point and shoot so not the best quality..also pardon the watermark..i am a photographer by trade and watermark all my web postings just by habit.

post-37976-1218077751_thumb.jpg

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TheCurriculum

Glad to see this thread is still around, it was the first place \ time where I had seen a tail spot, took me long enough to get a couple.

 

Question for you guys? How do you tell Male from Female :huh:

 

 

 

I picked up 2 small tank raised tail spots from the LFS, the LFS dropped some food in so I could see them eat the pellets, seeing is believing -_- . On day two I dropped a few pellets in and 1 of them went right up and grabbed it, the other didn't go for it. After a few more days they have both gone after pellets and grazing all over the tank. They seemed to go into turbo mode this morning after I added a few drops of Roti Feast for the zoos \ shrooms. Hopefully this becomes the norm and they will graze and munch on pills and mysis.

 

They are currently in a 3g picotope desktop work tank. Once they start to get larger 1 will be moved to my 14g at home.

 

I'm going to keep up with all the params of the tank, and if they params stay ok and the fish are healthy and active I may leave them both at work, but most likely do to bioload, one will go home.

 

It's neat to watch them float \ hover in 1 spot watching what's going on around them and every now and then the move like lighting. My new yuma and green ric don't really seem to mind them perching, the zoa aren't thrilled but they should get used to it.

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Mine is doing well..but i keep reading that 10gl is the minimum so i think mine will have to be moved at some point since i only have a 6gl. It eats very well. I mix up the diet but it takes in whatever i feed, thankfully. I feed at least 3 times a day but am diligent about water changes...so far so good...it loves to hang out inside my hairy green mushroom and sleeps underneath my galaxea coral.

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  • 3 months later...

I got a tail spot blenny just over a week ago (in my 5 week old 16 gallon tank) ... it took a couple of days before the white spotted stress colouring completely disappeared although it still shows spots in the morning after the nights sleep ... I often find it at the bottom of the tank in the morning dotted... I wonder why it isn't on its favorite rocks but at the bottom where it normally never goes?

 

Feeding ways the LFS gave it brine shrimp so it eagerly eats enriched brine shrimp varieties ( garlic, omega 3, spirulina ) that I feed twice a day and also sometimes little bit of "Tetra marine granules XS" although it eats these so slowly that most of the granules sink to the bottom uneaten. I also have nori seaweed in a clip but so far it hasn't shown any interest, however eats little bit of naturally grown algae on the tank. I know brine shrimp isn't the best of food so trying to get hold of mysis shrimp, the marine variety. I'm really hoping it would learn to eat some seaweed so that the diet would be more balanced. Its a lovely little fish hopefully having a long life ahead.

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Knock wood mine is still going strong a few months later...mine gets the spots first thing in the morning when it comes out of the cave...EATS LIKE A PIG...interestingly enough though it doesn't touch the algae! Eats a bit of nori but not off a clip..i just tear teeny bits off...eats mostly forumula flake food and some pellets i can't think of the name of them...seems very happy...i know i have read some have had them for only 4mo and then they die and i am around that timeframe..so i am a bit nervous but hopeful. Good luck with yous, blennydad =)

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Numerous sites say that they must get a mix of algae in their diet or else their stomachs bloat and harden up. I fed mine only mysis before I knew about this and it died within 3 months. :angry:

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do you know specifically which kind of algae? i know the flake food i give has some in it and it does eat nori...i have both culpera (sp?) and some other kind of algae growing that i can't think of the name..but i don't see it eating any at all.

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Thanks lisajulia. Interesting to know that they really have to have algae in their diet. Mine is occasionally nibbling some algae in the tank ( I have an algae bloom, mostly hair algae though and he doesn't eat that since I have seen him spitting it out after trying) He also still hasn't touched the nori, not in clip or shredded in tiny bits. I have tried formula two flakes but he only goes for the smallest bits and doesn't act very keen so when I give it it mostly goes into waste.

 

Lisajulia how do you give formula flakes ( formula one or two?), crushed in tiny bits?

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I think it's formula 2 with the algae...the nori i give is seaweed selects..i make it super tiny...he totally spits out bigger bits..i feed several times a day..small amounts at a time.

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