Midas blenny itching and biting itself a little

[airbats801]

He seems somewhat fine but for a minute this morning i saw him swoop at a rock and then bite at this whiteish area.

Any ideas? Getting this guy out is going to be a nightmare. I did add a unquarantined six line the other day. Everything else seems alright.

ph 8.0, ammonia I believe zero. using api, havented checked for no2 or no3, salinity .024, temperature 76.5 tank is 42g with overflow and skimmed a few times a week. more live rock in the 15g sump as well.



link to a video if them swimming, you can see it on the back. Is this a skin abrasion or am I looking at something worse? I haven't seen him do anything more about it in the last hour and seems fine.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Looks like an injury. I’ve never seen one of these turn back and bite themselves - perhaps it is a parasite that it is trying to remove? I would just watch it for now.

Side note - Midas blennies can get really thin over time, be sure to feed it multiple times a day.

Jay

 

[airbats801]

That's what I was kind of thinking. He has the hole of all holes in one of the rocks and I had to pull the rock out the other day to do some maintenance and left him in the rock in a bucket for awhile. I'm doing twice a day, maybe I'll try to schedule 3 smaller feedings instead.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Biting itself- That for me too is a first. Often it is irritation. I would suggest securing either ruby rally pro or Seachem Kanaplex in the event the area on back worsens. They dont scratch unless irritated by something.
Is the fish eating and breathing normal ?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That's what I was kind of thinking. He has the hole of all holes in one of the rocks and I had to pull the rock out the other day to do some maintenance and left him in the rock in a bucket for awhile. I'm doing twice a day, maybe I'll try to schedule 3 smaller feedings instead.

Here is a write-up I did on skinny midas blennies:

Skinny Blenny issue

Skinny blennies: Midas blennies are much more difficult to maintain than their common presence in the pet trade would have you believe. They are very prone to starvation. It is unknown if this is due to not feeding them often enough, not feeding enough, feeding the wrong foods, or if internal...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[Weeb]

He seems somewhat fine but for a minute this morning i saw him swoop at a rock and then bite at this whiteish area.

Any ideas? Getting this guy out is going to be a nightmare. I did add a unquarantined six line the other day. Everything else seems alright.

ph 8.0, ammonia I believe zero. using api, havented checked for no2 or no3, salinity .024, temperature 76.5 tank is 42g with overflow and skimmed a few times a week. more live rock in the 15g sump as well.



link to a video if them swimming, you can see it on the back. Is this a skin abrasion or am I looking at something worse? I haven't seen him do anything more about it in the last hour and seems fine.

Be sure to add supplements to the foods you feed. They can get thin rather quickly. Check out the Fish Nutrition post when you can.

 

[airbats801]

THanks for all the replies. The spot seemed to disappear by the end of the day, and I haven't seen the little guy itch or bite at it since yesterday morning when I posted