Tailspot Blenny

[fishwife]

Once again, I'm following in your footsteps SH. LOL. I just added a tailspot to my 10 gallon. It's the first time my LFS ever got one in - irresistable!

 

His little Dr. Suess head is peeking out of a hole in the rock right now. Maybe I'll try to get a pic after he's had a chance to get adjusted.

 

Yay!

[CrazyAggie05]

yeah my tail spot is so awesome. so full of pep and personality... my fish are like the 3 stooges. the tailspot is always perching somewhere looking goofy. my sixline has add or is hyperactive i think... esp when he feeds he likes to hide, then dart out and get a piece of food, like its a game lol... and the clown is an attention whore. but anyways back to the tail spot:

 

mine easts more meat than alage i think. when i feed nori, he will pick at it, but when i feed cyclopeeze or mysis, or my "seafood cocktail" that has all sorts of meaty stuff, he goes nuts! he is always grazing alage though, so maybe he gets enough of it there. if you can find one, i highly reccomend it! they stay nice and small so they dont put off much of i bioload i dont think, get along with everyone expect the hermits it headbuts off the rocks near its favorite hole, and is a cute little bugger.

[fishwife]

Mine seems to eat whatever I put in the tank, and he's also been pecking away at the algae on the glass. Judging from his green poop, I guess he's eaten a LOT of algae since Sunday.

[kinetic]

looks like a little bug! really cute though.

 

are they reef safe? I heard blennies sometimes nip all sorts of softies and LPS? some even go after SPS?

 

how big do they get? Would one be OK in a small 4-5 gallon? (as the only fish in the tank).

[Fish Stick]

..how big do they get? Would one be OK in a small 4-5 gallon? (as the only fish in the tank).

 

 

I ahve the same question. I'm on the verge of getting one for my NC6.....And am worried there won't be enough room....or will there be?

[steelhealr]

The one I have now is 2-21/2 inches. I don't think they get much larger than 3 inches. My impression is that they are reefsafe. I have not seen my tailspot near the corals except to squat on them. SH

[CrazyAggie05]

yeah ive never seen my nip on any corals, just algae on the rocks and glass... and when he wants to ### off the hermits he nips the algae off their shells. only thing he uses corals for is a perch just like steelhealr said. i think tail spots are totally reef safe, so i say go for it!

[jafoca]

I have also heard of blennies (bicolor more specifically) nipping at both SPS polyps and clam mantles.

 

I have a bicolor, and he might have eaten a piece of SPS I had.. It eventually looked like it was shaved. It could also have been my newness to the hobby that killed it, im not entirely sure.

 

I also have a crocea clam, and the blenny hasn't touched it.

 

It does fine with zoos and LPS (trumpet) tho.

[CrazyAggie05]

hey steelhealr how come your tail spot is not listed in your signature!!?

[kinetic]

very cool. will it live in a 5 gallon system?

 

I will only keep softies with it.

[steelhealr]

Crazy aggie..noted. Repaired. SH

[CrazyAggie05]

haha just wanted the little guy to get due credit!

[kinetic]

very cool. will it live in a 5 gallon system?

 

I will only keep softies with it.

[kinetic]

liveaquaria has them in stock again

[steelhealr]

They go like hotcakes. SH

[kinetic]

so can anyone answer my question?

 

will it be ok in a 5 gallon tank with softies?

[Fish Stick]

I just got mine from liveaquaria.com yesterday. He is shy right now. He has been movin from hideout to hideout....I can't wait until he comes out of hiding.

 

[steelhealr]

I think he'd be OK..but...the real question is it fair to the fish? Minimal tank req is 10 gallons. People do worse. SH

[Fish Stick]

I was thinking the same thing SH...about fair to the fish. After looking at all the "nano" fish on liveaquaria.com I found they all say 10g min. Even the neon gobies and clown gobies...After the hour long moral debate I had with myself, I ended up buying the tailspot. I am convinced that with my diligent water changes and dedicated maintenance my new little buddy should be okay. And like you said people do much worse. Only time will tell.

[Caesar777]

We've been getting these fellas from one of our wholesalers at my work, and MAN are they cute! I think a 5 would be too small, although they do tend to stay in one small area anyway. Crazy thing... We put one in our 20-long display nano, and he eats cyano! I stood and watched him as he nipped the slime off the bottom side panel of the tank, and by the next morning, the entire 1" tall by 4" long area was gone. Fabulous.

 

Anyway, yeah, I'd say 10 min. And even that's questionable...Not sure whether I'll be putting one in my ten or not.

[fishwife]

I've got mine in a 10 and he seems pretty happy so far. He's been cleaning my glass really well, so I've stopped cleaning anything but the front. He's got a fat little belly.

 

I'll prolly move him to my 20L when I move my mean fish to their new bigger home.

[steelhealr]

I noticed my tailspot blenny starting to look thinner this week. I'm now trying to spot feed him with flake. He is eating, tho', small amounts, including the flake and Cyclopeeze. but, his breathing is pronouncedly faster. He is not in extremis, but, I fear I'm going to lose him. SH

[fishwife]

So sorry to hear it, SH. I'm assuming all your other fish are ok? The breathing thing sounds like a water problem, rather than an illness. Hope he makes it.

[steelhealr]

Well..I don't think it's the water. My nitrates are at 0 for the first time since setup, all params are satisfactory, a surface skimmer aerates the tank as does a Hydor Flo and all other fish are doing great. The fish has lost weight..you can see the outline of his spine along the sides. I think the fish maybe starving, although, I see him eat when I put food in.

 

I think perhaps that either he is not getting enough, not enough to graze on, but, I seriously doubt it's the water. My most sensitive corals are open todayand they are EXCELLENT barometers for water quality. I haven't had to scrape diatoms in almost 3 weeks.

 

I did make one discovery today. I would put a piece of nori in a clip for the tailspot. It would be gone the next day...caught my urchin eating it.

 

I'm feeding the blenny by hand now and he is taking small amounts out of a long forceps I use to do maintenance in the tank. I may try to pick up the frequency for the blenny. I would feel horrible to think that there was not enough food for him. He has no other criteria for illness except for the wasting...he is still perching and coming to the front of the tank when 'it heres me' arrive. SH

[fishwife]

Well..I don't think it's the water. My nitrates are at 0 for the first time since setup, all params are satisfactory, a surface skimmer aerates the tank as does a Hydor Flo and all other fish are doing great. The fish has lost weight..you can see the outline of his spine along the sides. I think the fish maybe starving, although, I see him eat when I put food in.

I'm sure you're right about the water (not impuning your housekeeping). The wasting thing could be some kind of parasite, but I think he'd be spitting food if that was the case. The hard breathing just seems a little weird, although if he's under enough stress, I guess it would make sense.

 

I wonder about these guys and their dietary needs. If they're really herbivores, I wonder if feeding them meaty things is actually harmful. I know that some FW herbivores (like tropheus or some Mbuna) will eat high-protein foods even though they can't really digest them. The result is that they can get bloated or wasted. Other foods (bloodworms) can be really hard for fish to digest because of their internal structure. My FW dwarf puffers gobbled up bloodworms and mysis, but were starving until I started feeding them live snails and blackworms.

 

Sorry, I'm just rambling at this point. Hope he pulls through.