Scooter Blenny Q&A

[Krimzon]

Alright so here is my situation, Petco(i know) has a little scooter blenny in one of their tanks that's been there for many months, and is surprisingly eating mysis shrimp(according to the empolyees), and is only $8.99. I know it's cheap and all but I don't want to buy a live fish if I don't know too much about it. I know it's in the dragonet family, but it's not as hard to keep as the mandarins or a red scooter due to their open minded attitude about food. And if Petco can keep him, so can i right? But here's my concerns:

-Is a 14g enough room for him to prosper?
-Do they hide a lot during the day?
-Will it get along with a clown?
-Do they nip at certain corals?

 

[mrcoffee2]

Get the little guy. Hes marked down so you will buy him... It's fate

 

[Krimzon]

Get the little guy. Hes marked down so you will buy him... It's fate

... I never thought about it like that Petco here I come!


Seriously tho he was never marked down that's usually their retail price, their clowns are $4 maybe I can work with them and convert that sale to the scooter... no one buys their saltwater stuff anyway.

 

[GHill762]

it won't nip your coral
they feed constantly
it will not care one bit about the clown
14g is more than enough "room" as long as you can provide plenty of food - they constantly graze on small pods and other live food, so you will need to get a good pod population going, and in a 14g you're probably looking at replenishing that population regularly. this is because they have no stomach, so they need to constantly eat. it is a dragonet, not a blenny (they're called blenny inaccurately).

 

[Krimzon]

it won't nip your coral
they feed constantly
it will not care one bit about the clown
14g is more than enough "room" as long as you can provide plenty of food - they constantly graze on small pods and other live food, so you will need to get a good pod population going, and in a 14g you're probably looking at replenishing that population regularly. this is because they have no stomach, so they need to constantly eat. it is a dragonet, not a blenny (they're called blenny inaccurately).

I'm more worried about the clown taking all his food then him bothering the clown or vise versa. I know it's a dragonet like I said. I have lots of lr but his tank at Petco does not, and he looks pretty healthy. Kudos on the no stomach info, I had no clue. So it won't survive with regular feedings? That's a shame.

 

[Eienna]

Well, they can prosper on feedings but really really do need copepods as well. They can be ordered from sources such as drsfostersmith.com, getyourpods.com, and livecopepods.com, or bought from an LFS. Tisbe biminiensis are the best for these guys but tigriopus (often marketed as tigger-pods) will do in a pinch.

Feed them often; I feed my anthias at least 4x daily and my scooter gets fed too. Don't bother with brine shrimp; there's not enough nutrition in them. Mysis shrimp, Nutramar Ova prawn eggs, frozen rotifers, and oddly enough NLS small fish pellets seem to go over fairly well once they're eating frozens. Ova is usually recognized as food before most other frozens will be. Best of luck!

 

[Krimzon]

Well, they can prosper on feedings but really really do need copepods as well. They can be ordered from sources such as drsfostersmith.com, getyourpods.com, and livecopepods.com, or bought from an LFS. Tisbe biminiensis are the best for these guys but tigriopus (often marketed as tigger-pods) will do in a pinch.

Feed them often; I feed my anthias at least 4x daily and my scooter gets fed too. Don't bother with brine shrimp; there's not enough nutrition in them. Mysis shrimp, Nutramar Ova prawn eggs, frozen rotifers, and oddly enough NLS small fish pellets seem to go over fairly well once they're eating frozens. Ova is usually recognized as food before most other frozens will be. Best of luck!

Thank you for the advice but I don't think I'll be making the investment. I love dragonets but simply don't have the $ atm. While we're talking about food, i'm feeding my clown omega-3 flakes, should I also get some mysis shrimp to mix it up or cyclopeeze(also for corals)?

 

[Krimzon]

Went to my local petco today to check on the scooter and sure enough I saw the little guy hopping and scooting along the traditional algae infested petco tank. I had a chat with an employee and asked how often is he fed a day, she said only twice with mysis shrimp and that's it. She said she has never seen him eat pods for the 3 1/2 months they've had him and there's little lr in his 30g tank. Is there an exception to certain individuals? Maybe some metabolisms are slower than others?

 

[NanaReefer]

In your opinion how does the fish look? Have you actually seen that exact fish in there for the past 3 1/2 months? Sounds pretty fishy to me

 

[Krimzon]

In your opinion how does the fish look? Have you actually seen that exact fish in there for the past 3 1/2 months? Sounds pretty fishy to me

Yes, I remember seeing him back in the beginning of november. Looks pretty healthy to me, not skinny by any means.

 

[Krimzon]

And i also asked how long it's been there they said 4 months. I forgot to ask them to feed it mysis tho

 

[chefb_5]

It could just be that they want to sell it. NanaReefer Petco employees or petco do saltwater to see if they can make a little more sales and to see if they can expand to make more sales. Doesn't mean they know how to price stuff, but that is ok for people like us right!

 

[Krimzon]

It could just be that they want to sell it. NanaReefer Petco employees or petco do saltwater to see if they can make a little more sales and to see if they can expand to make more sales. Doesn't mean they know how to price stuff, but that is ok for people like us right!

If that's the case I should try to bother them to lower the price.

 

[chefb_5]

Well u can all ways try!

 

[Sflynn313]

I have scooter blenny and he eats everything. When I first got him I had to spot feed him. I bought him from my local petco a year ago he is very active

 

[Eienna]

And i also asked how long it's been there they said 4 months. I forgot to ask them to feed it mysis tho

My female scooter actually can't eat mysis at present. It's too big for her mouth. XD

If they've had it for 4 months and it's still looking good, it's gotta be taking at least some prepared food.

 

[Connie]

My scooter loves the small New Life Pellets. He also eats pods between pellet meals. He tries his darnest to eat Mysis and Rod's, but he can't get the pieces in his mouth. Really just too cute to watch. If the little fella has been there 4 months, it's a safe assumption he is eating prepared food because I'm sure PetCo doesn't keep their pod population up for a $8.99 fish. (the pods cost more than he does). I'd go get him!

 

[NanaReefer]

My concern was/is that if it's only being fed prepared foods twice a day, how is it looking healthy? Is it possible there are pods in the PetCo tanks? Not likely right? So I'm very curious

 

[Connie]

It is mysterious how he is staying so healthy. Maybe they do throw some pods in there every few days or something. But since he is thriving in the store, he should be a total success in a home where there are pods o' plenty.

 

[NanaReefer]

It is mysterious how he is staying so healthy. Maybe they do throw some pods in there every few days or something. But since he is thriving in the store, he should be a total success in a home where there are pods o' plenty.

I wish I had such luck