Odd midas blenny behavior

mattzang · Dec 7, 2018

so, recently, every once in awhile I have noticed some of my frags that I keep on the sandbed had a bunch of sand all over them. I also recently added a couple haliocheres wrasses so I figured they were just burying at night near the frags..

but tonight, the culript has been caught red handed. My midas blenny seems to be going under my rocks and grabbing a moutful of sand, swims a bit away, then spits it out. what the heck?

I have gotten a little lazy stirring up the sandbed, and now that I have the sand burying wrasses I really don't, but clearly the midas is up to the task. Is he/she upset I don't have a sand sifting goby? Do I need more nassarius snails? Midas does what Midas wants? He also seems to have abandoned his rock where he had a sweet little hole he could poke his head out of. Maybe just finding a new spot?

anyway, thought I would share since midas blennies seem to have funny behavior

Katrina71 · Dec 7, 2018

Post a pic. I'd like to see him. I like the little guys.

cracker · Dec 7, 2018

I bet he's after a pod or such he knows is hiding out.
Also just how much sand can a Midas hold in it's mouth?

mattzang · Dec 8, 2018

Katrina71 said:
Post a pic. I'd like to see him. I like the little guys.

hmm I somehow don't actually have many photos of him, he's kinda shy. I'll have to get some of him tomorrow, and maybe some of the burrow he be diggin'

here's one of him swimming away, presumably to spit sand at other frags while I'm not looking

and one of my yellow wrasse and anthias looking like she's mad i haven't fed her in the last 4 minutes. that fish sure can eat

mattzang · Dec 8, 2018

cracker said:
I bet he's after a pod or such he knows is hiding out.
Also just how much sand can a Midas hold in it's mouth?

idk, but he's got some pod competition now with the yellow wrasse and red line wrasse cruising around.

he can hold.. not too much, but in the minute or two I was watching him from the couch, he got down to the egg crate of my sand bed. not an overly deep sandbed, but he put in some work.

I assume the orchid dottyback who has decided that area is his is less than impressed to have some tank construction going on right there

Ray668 · Dec 8, 2018

I also have a Midas that will do the same thing from time to time when the pod population is down. I just add a bunch of pods and he seems to stop

luckyazn6 · Dec 8, 2018

Nah mine killed both of my gold torches teal tip and blue tipped torches. Kept putting sand on it. My fault I filled my tank top quick. Here's a link to my midas spitting like fireworks https://www.instagram.com/p/BjaUrWdh2B4/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=o8wrztesk2g5

mattzang · Dec 8, 2018

luckyazn6 said:
Nah mine killed both of my gold torches teal tip and blue tipped torches. Kept putting sand on it. My fault I filled my tank top quick. Here's a link to my midas spitting like fireworks https://www.instagram.com/p/BjaUrWdh2B4/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=o8wrztesk2g5

dang that sucks about the torches, but yeah that's exactly what mine looked like.

I didn't even know they went after pods, mine is active, but mostly swimming with my anthias in the upper water column, not hunting like the wrasses.

mattzang · Jun 25, 2019

he's at it again! and to think i had been blaming my wrasses for some of my corals being showered in sand

had to get the video across the room from my couch because he doesn't do that when i'm near the tank

idk what his deal is, the other place he was doing it was under a rock where he made kind of a cave, so i thought ok whatevs. but now he's doing it in the front corner near this little frag rock thing, definitely not digging a cave. i was wondering why my sand was disappearing up there, i thought it was the flow, but i bet it's this little goon

Hemmdog · Jun 25, 2019

mattzang said:
he's at it again! and to think i had been blaming my wrasses for some of my corals being showered in sand

had to get the video across the room from my couch because he doesn't do that when i'm near the tank

idk what his deal is, the other place he was doing it was under a rock where he made kind of a cave, so i thought ok whatevs. but now he's doing it in the front corner near this little frag rock thing, definitely not digging a cave. i was wondering why my sand was disappearing up there, i thought it was the flow, but i bet it's this little goon

Lolz. Your tank looks great man!

mattzang · Jun 25, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Lolz. Your tank looks great man!

hah, thanks dude. the key is to take video from 10 feet away so you can't see the dead acro frags i have hanging out in there!

Hemmdog · Jun 25, 2019

mattzang said:
hah, thanks dude. the key is to take video from 10 feet away so you can't see the dead acro frags i have hanging out in there!

Pro tip! I like it ! Hahah

mattzang · Jun 25, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Pro tip! I like it ! Hahah

how's your ice fire doing?

i don't get mine, it hasn't died, but it got a lot.. darker? definitely not the cool pearly white with blue tips other people have

mattzang · Jun 25, 2019

awww so i just saw the blenny sticking like halfway out of one of the holes in the fake rock frag thing! lol, poor guy. i guess he's looking for a new hole to chill in

i removed the rock that had a perfect midas blenny sized hole in it. the rock had a nice sized aptasia growing on it and that's the only aptasia i've spotted in my tank and since the blenny stopped using that rock i just took it out..... hmm. the holes in this frag rock are probably only an inch or two deep, so my 4" midas blenny isn't gonna fit LOL