Lawnmower blenny question

thaitopher · Aug 11, 2017

So I discovered my diamond goby outside my tank sitting dead on the table. Lesson learned - they really do jump. Before his demise he did a great job at keeping the sand bead clean. Went to Petco today and picked up a lawnmower blenny. Question - I know they aren't sand sifters per say but will he at least keep algae off my sand bed or do I need to add another diamond goby? Thanks in advance.

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sbash · Aug 11, 2017

Lawnmower blennies are huge algae eaters (hence the name). They will likely keep the algae off your sandbed, but they will not 'stir' the bed up like your goby. So, I would still recommend a sand bed based goby, there are several (I have a fusi). Each of fish serves its own purpose in the ecosystem

Also, if you do not have any visible algae in the tank, you will likely need to supplement. For example, when my starry blenny was in QT (similar appetite to the lawnmower) I would put a fistful of hair algae in the tank every day and it would be gone by the next morning.

thaitopher · Aug 12, 2017

sbash said:
Lawnmower blennies are huge algae eaters (hence the name). They will likely keep the algae off your sandbed, but they will not 'stir' the bed up like your goby. So, I would still recommend a sand bed based goby, there are several (I have a fusi). Each of fish serves its own purpose in the ecosystem

Also, if you do not have any visible algae in the tank, you will likely need to supplement. For example, when my starry blenny was in QT (similar appetite to the lawnmower) I would put a fistful of hair algae in the tank every day and it would be gone by the next morning.

Thanks. I supplemented my Goby with shrimp. Will try the same for the Blenny

sbash · Aug 12, 2017

thaitopher said:
Thanks. I supplemented my Goby with shrimp. Will try the same for the Blenny

The blenny is a herbivore, so the shrimp will be a nice treat, but something like nori (seaweed) would probably be better long term. Maybe somebody else will chime in with some thoughts on this...