Bicolor Blenny killing my Foxface?

[Over_Engineered]

This all started out as funny a few weeks ago when we noticed the bicolor blenny would take little nips at our foxface as he swam by. The blenny is so small that the foxface hardly reacted. However, in the past few days I've noticed my otherwise active and social foxface hanging out on the sand bed much of the day and showing less interest in seaweed. The times that our foxface was acting more normal he would go back into lethargic mode right after the blenny took another nip at him. The bicolor blenny doesn't nip at any of the other fish.

While these fish have been coexisting for many months in my tank, I did add a set of new fish approximately 12 days ago. So it is possible a pathogen came in with those fish, but the store i bought them from does a full copper quarantine. All other fish look and are acting fine.

Any thoughts on this? It occurs to me that the blenny bite might be poisonous. With him biting the foxface easily 5-10 times a day maybe the poison is stacking up and slowly killing our large foxface.

I may trap and remove the blenny in the next few days just to see if it helps.

 

[Eva Rose]

The bite isn’t poisonous but the biting is stressing. Your Foxface could develop a bacterial infection from the bites or just be injured from the bites/attacks.
I would catch the Blenny asap. He sees the Foxface as competition for algae. Reintroducing Blenny later won’t work because he sees Foxface as food competitor.

Check your Foxface for wounds, infection etc. Keep water very clean. Use disease forum treatments if you notice infection.

But catch Blenny ASAP. Very bad for Foxface.

 

[01xp]

Your blennies a jerk

 

[Over_Engineered]

The bite isn’t poisonous but the biting is stressing. Your Foxface could develop a bacterial infection from the bites or just be injured from the bites/attacks.
I would catch the Blenny asap. He sees the Foxface as competition for algae. Reintroducing Blenny later won’t work because he sees Foxface as food competitor.

Check your Foxface for wounds, infection etc. Keep water very clean. Use disease forum treatments if you notice infection.

But catch Blenny ASAP. Very bad for Foxface.

ok the trap is set. I have a full set of disease and bacteria treatments ready to go. I sure hope our foxface is ok. he is my daughter's favorite fish.

 

[Over_Engineered]

Your blennies a jerk

yeah no kidding. our foxface is the gentle giant of our tank.

 

[01xp]

I loved my magnificent foxface to bad velvet happened. They are awsome fish good luck he'll pull through

 

[Eva Rose]

Does your Foxface eat nori only? Does it eat bites of mysis or frozen meaty foods in addition?

If so I would add some vitamins to its favorite meaty food (Selcon, Zoecon or Vitachem).

You could also an extra feeding spot for nori.
Example: So say if you have nori on clip on right side of tank. Add another nori clip on opposite side of tank. Or nori rubber banded to a rock on other side.

An extra feeding station lessens feeding frenzy you have with only one clip. Gives a stressed (or shy) fish an opportunity to eat with less anxiety.

 

[Over_Engineered]

Does your Foxface eat nori only? Does it eat bites of mysis or frozen meaty foods in addition?

If so I would add some vitamins to its favorite meaty food (Selcon, Zoecon or Vitachem).

Our foxface practically eats everything. Back when we had our battle with Ich I would make a frozen slurry of general cure, selcon, focus, and a cube of mysis and plankton cubes. I also sometimes took the same slurry plus gelatin and spread it over a piece of nori and folded it over to make a sort of sandwich. The nori sandwich seemed very effective at delivering the medicine.

 

[Eva Rose]

Great ! My Blonde Naso got startled & hit his side jumping into a cave. He got a fairly deep small abrasion. It never got infected, thank goodness. But I do think the vitamins are great to speed healing. I used them on ReefFrenzy & he healed quickly.

 

[Eva Rose]

Update us & let us know how he is doing. I love Foxfaces. They have a lot of personality like puffers do.

 

[Over_Engineered]

Update us & let us know how he is doing. I love Foxfaces. They have a lot of personality like puffers do.

Will do. I'm making him a sandwich right now.

Thanks all.

 

[najer]

How is it doing?

 

[Over_Engineered]

Poor Foxy didn't make it :-(

After talking with the friend who gave him to me I found out he was 14 years old, so possibly it was just his time. I knew something serious was up when he wouldn't touch his seaweed.

 

[01xp]

dang sorry to hear that

 

[fxfier]

hi greetings from Indonesia..

same here, my foxface was found dead at wave maker because Bicolor Blenny.
Then my Bicolor Blenny jump off from my tank the day after.