Lawnmower blenny not eating.

instantaquatics · Dec 26, 2020

Hey what's up guys. My lawnmower blenny does not eat ANYTHING. I have tried sinking algae wafers soaked in garlic and tank water, small sinking pellets, mysis shrimp, roasted seaweed, flakes, and brine shrimp. He will nibble on some and then spit it all out. His belly is sunken in. He eats the wall algae but it's not enough. There is a good amount of hair algae and some unidentified macroalgae on my rock but he does not touch it.

What do I do? I'm worried he is going to starve to death.

xxkenny90xx · Dec 26, 2020

How long have you had the blenny? Do you have other fish in the tank that are doing good?

instantaquatics · Dec 26, 2020

I have had the blenny for 2 weeks or so now. I have 2 clownfish in the tank that readily eat pellets and are extremely fat. The blenny is not scared of the clownfish at all if that's what you're wondering, they all get along just fine.

xxkenny90xx · Dec 26, 2020

Can you post pictures of the blenny? If it's survived 2 weeks then it's eating something (although it could just be the film algae keeping it alive).

instantaquatics · Dec 26, 2020

I just got him to eat flakes and bug bites mixed in. He is pooping now and his stomach is larger. WOOHOO!

FastandCurious · Jan 5, 2021

Mine wasn't eating much either the first cpl weeks and I tried all diff types of algae food and I was getting worried he might starve but then one day out of no where when I was feeding the other fish he snagged a bite of mysis and now that's all he likes to eat. He started eating their flake food too. He occasionally munches on the glass algae but that's really it. Once he started w the mysis I could see his belly get a little bit bigger week but week. I'm happy hes eating but the whole reason I bought him was to help out w my hair algae but I guess he had other plans lol ‍‍

instantaquatics · Jan 5, 2021

FastandCurious said:
Mine wasn't eating much either the first cpl weeks and I tried all diff types of algae food and I was getting worried he might starve but then one day out of no where when I was feeding the other fish he snagged a bite of mysis and now that's all he likes to eat. He started eating their flake food too. He occasionally munches on the glass algae but that's really it. Once he started w the mysis I could see his belly get a little bit bigger week but week. I'm happy hes eating but the whole reason I bought him was to help out w my hair algae but I guess he had other plans lol ‍‍

exactly how it's going for me, lol.

FastandCurious · Jan 6, 2021

instantaquatics said:
exactly how it's going for me, lol.

They need to change their name to 'I eat what I want, when I want ' Blenny.

Trever · Jan 24, 2021

@instantaquatics what exactly did you feed him?

I've got a lawn mower blenny on death's door, appears to be starvation. If he's alive tomorrow I can run get whatever it is you tried, might work, never know.

vetteguy53081 · Jan 24, 2021

Trever said:
@instantaquatics what exactly did you feed him?

I've got a lawn mower blenny on death's door, appears to be starvation. If he's alive tomorrow I can run get whatever it is you tried, might work, never know.

Part of the problem is, lawnmower blenny is believed to be a true algae eater when in essence, this Blenny pounds the substrate with their flexible jaws and comb-like teeth. While they do eat some algae (the amount varies from one species to the next), recent studies have shown their primary source of food is detritus in the form of detrital aggregates. Because detritus is often overlooked in food-habit studies, its importance as Salarias food has long been overlooked.
These blennies scrape this material off hard surfaces (e.g., coral rock, dead coral skeletons), along with some algae. They will also incidentally ingest tiny invertebrates and filamentous algae, diatoms, foraminiferans (shelled protozoa), tiny crustaceans, detritus, and sand. also consume fish eggs, sponges, and small snails. They ingest a significant amount of calcium carbonate as they feed, which is not uncommon for herbivores with less selective feeding for which they are continuous feeders the first half of the day

Trever · Jan 25, 2021

@vetteguy53081 have seen that study. I don't know what detrital aggregates means exactly - is it that list of "incidentals"?

I never tried the Fuval Bug Bites, but now I won't know if that would have done it for him. Oscar perished last night. RIP Oscar.

I've seen a YouTube video of a lawn mower blenny actively chomping away and eliminating a huge stand of hair algae.

LFS is a good one- folks come from out of state to get their livestock here. They too were telling me he'd eat algae. We talked about my tank, it's maturity, etc., before I purchased the fish.

And of course, the name...

A lot of misinformation? But what about that video?

Frustrating and disappointing and sad.

The big question is whether to try again with this species. I'd insist on seeing it eat in the store...

vetteguy53081 · Jan 25, 2021

Trever said:
@vetteguy53081 have seen that study. I don't know what detrital aggregates means exactly - is it that list of "incidentals"?

I never tried the Fuval Bug Bites, but now I won't know if that would have done it for him. Oscar perished last night. RIP Oscar.

I've seen a YouTube video of a lawn mower blenny actively chomping away and eliminating a huge stand of hair algae.

LFS is a good one- folks come from out of state to get their livestock here. They too were telling me he'd eat algae. We talked about my tank, it's maturity, etc., before I purchased the fish.

And of course, the name...

A lot of misinformation? But what about that video?

Frustrating and disappointing and sad.

The big question is whether to try again with this species. I'd insist on seeing it eat in the store...

Retrial aggregate ms are the sinking particulate matter collected on the bottom of tank such as detritus, food, and other organisms
They tear At hair algae but search for other carbon/food sources during the day.
masking to see it eat, they may offer algae only however you bring your own food item to the store and verify interest in food

instantaquatics · Feb 21, 2021

Trever said:
@instantaquatics what exactly did you feed him?

I've got a lawn mower blenny on death's door, appears to be starvation. If he's alive tomorrow I can run get whatever it is you tried, might work, never know.

Sorry for the late reply.. barely ever on this forum. I fed him tetra flakes.

BigD9.5 · Feb 21, 2021

Dried seaweed

dochou · Apr 3, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
for which they are continuous feeders the first half of the day

And so what do they do the 2nd half of the day???

I have a new lawnmower blenny and I know they don't eat hair algae. I just got him bc I like them. I had one about 13 years ago and it ate flakes and mysis. I haven't see this one eat any prepared foods yet.

vetteguy53081 · Apr 3, 2023

dochou said:
And so what do they do the 2nd half of the day???

I have a new lawnmower blenny and I know they don't eat hair algae. I just got him bc I like them. I had one about 13 years ago and it ate flakes and mysis. I haven't see this one eat any prepared foods yet.

They still eat but slow down but will eat fish eggs, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp and other detrial compounds.
If you observe them on a given day, you will notice the continuous hunt during the day and late afternoon, they do more hanging out and occasional eating

nereefpat · Apr 3, 2023

dochou said:
And so what do they do the 2nd half of the day???

I have a new lawnmower blenny and I know they don't eat hair algae. I just got him bc I like them. I had one about 13 years ago and it ate flakes and mysis. I haven't see this one eat any prepared foods yet.

The 2nd one I kept didn't eat prepared foods for somewhere around 6 months. I was amazed it lived.

I never finish anythi · Apr 3, 2023

nereefpat said:
The 2nd one I kept didn't eat prepared foods for somewhere around 6 months. I was amazed it lived.

My lmb won't eat anything I put in the tank . Had him for 6 months now and he is a fatty . His belly looks like it is going to explode most of the time .

dochou · Apr 3, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
They still eat but slow down but will eat fish eggs, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp and other detrial compounds.
If you observe them on a given day, you will notice the continuous hunt during the day and late afternoon, they do more hanging out and occasional eating

Thanks for the clarification. I try to observe and see if it's true.