Harptail Blenny Questions

[tylerczubachowski]

Hi!

I hope everyone had a fantastic holidays! So the reason I am writing my post is because I have a couple questions regarding my Harptail Blenny that I purchased yesterday.
The first question is regarding aggression. I have a royal gramma who has been bullying my HB since yesterday. I never seen this aggression before from the RG. It will open its mouth and go in and “strike” the HB. When I say strike it will swim up to it fast but not bite it. Has anyone had any experience with an aggressive RG and a new fish and how did they handle it?
My second question is more aimed at the HB behavior. When I put it in the tank, he was swimming around and then I noticed he stuck itself to My overflow box. I’m just wondering if this is normal because this is my fist Blenny. Thank you!

 

[nereefpat]

Sounds like a typical gramma. They are mostly bark and not much bite.

The Meiacanthus genus blennies will do both, in terms of perching and open water swimming. It should spend more time in the water column as it get comfortable. They are swimmers and plankton eaters, which is unlike most blennies.

 

[jfoahs04]

Hi!

I hope everyone had a fantastic holidays! So the reason I am writing my post is because I have a couple questions regarding my Harptail Blenny that I purchased yesterday.
The first question is regarding aggression. I have a royal gramma who has been bullying my HB since yesterday. I never seen this aggression before from the RG. It will open its mouth and go in and “strike” the HB. When I say strike it will swim up to it fast but not bite it. Has anyone had any experience with an aggressive RG and a new fish and how did they handle it?
My second question is more aimed at the HB behavior. When I put it in the tank, he was swimming around and then I noticed he stuck itself to My overflow box. I’m just wondering if this is normal because this is my fist Blenny. Thank you!

How big is your tank?

The Gramma can be a territorial fish and since the blenny will occupy similar spaces in the tank, the Gramma is defending its established territory. It's not unusual behavior for an RG. If your tank is large enough for both the blenny and the RG to have their own space, it should work out over time. But if it's a small tank, it could lead to stressed or even dead fish. The blenny is also venomous. It could kill/injure the RG if it bites back.

What do you mean "stuck itself" to the overflow box? Like physically stuck? or it's just hanging around it? A pic would help. If it's just hanging around the overflow box, it's likely just due to the fact that the RG is being aggressive. It's probably one of the few places it can hang out without being attacked. In time, it should get more confident and establish its own turf. If you mean that it's physically stuck to the box, then that's not a good sign.