Starry Blenny hiding/not eating

[JaaxReef]

I’ve had the same fish in my tank for 5 months, including my starry Blenny. He is tiny, but has been a great fish with personality and has been a pig! He eats everything and still grazes the rocks.

Randomly last night I noticed him resting in one spot and not swimming around as active as he normally is. Today, he is in a hole in the rocks and uninterested in any food offered. I haven’t noticed any aggression in any of my fish or any signs of illness. Any idea what could have happened that might make him act this way? I love this fish and would hate to see die for some reason...

I even checked ammonia and nitrite just in case something could have happened, but all clear at 0.

 

[Big G]

Has anything "wet" been added into the tank in the last 30 days or so?

 

[JaaxReef]

Yeah, two Frags. They came from a store that doesn’t keep fish in their frag tanks though so I doubt it carried anything.

 

[Big G]

Disease can be transmitted through the air from one tank to the next. And the other possibility is that either ich or velvet parasite was "encysted" upon the frag. That's why it is suggested to QT corals & inverts for 76 days.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aerosol-transmission.190292/#post-2182685
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine-coral-and-inverts.288859/#post-3515086

 

[JaaxReef]

Of all the fish I have, it would surprise me if the Blenny was the one to become ill.

If parasites can be transmitted through the air, do you have to keep your quarantine tank in a separate house? Since it would share the same ventilation system?

 

[Big G]

The study suggests that a 10' or more distance should be sufficient to prevent transmission through the air. Yet all it would take is one drop of water on someone's hands from an infected tank that comes into contact with the fishless "frag" tank and there you go. It's that easy to see that happening in a busy shop or a careless one. Yikes!

 

[JaaxReef]

Crazy.

I’ve had velvet in my tank once when i got my first two fish. Wiped them both out in a matter of days. I left it empty for 3 months to be sure it didn’t survive. Never had visible signs of ich or velvet since with my new fish I’ve slowly introduced. He isn’t breathing heavy or anything. But I know fish can have ich without symptoms. Just odd that there wouldn’t be any other of my 4 fish affected by it.

Maybe an internal parasite of some sort? That would explain the lack of appetite.

 

[Eva Rose]

Do you have other herbivores such as a tang? Some herbivores get territorial with blennies/other herbivores (even fish they have coexisted with for months) and can do so when you are not looking. I work from home & it took me several days to catch my bristletooth harrassing my midas blenny (midas had started hiding/stopped eating all of a sudden).
Try observing again from a distance.
Also you have tangs, try placing an extra nori clip in the tank. This will occupy the tangs some. Then see if the blenny emerges to graze.

 

[JaaxReef]

I tried Nori this afternoon for about 5 hours, but the Blenny didn’t seem interested. He actually had never eaten Nori, just grazes the rocks and eats pellets and reef frenzy Nano. No other herbivores in the tank.

I’ve been watching for aggression, but haven’t noticed anything.

My tilefish can sometimes be a little territorial about his cave. He has been that way since about the 3rd day in my tank. The tilefish never actively seeks out other fish or chases them from what I’ve seen. Just scoots them away from his cave. Maybe the Blenny had a run in with the tilefish that just scared the hell out of him and now he hides and is stressed out... it’s possible.

 

[Eva Rose]

That could be the case. Your starry might have been rasping on the rocks near the tilefish cave. The extra nori suggestion was for any other herbivores you might have. My blennies are the same regarding food - rasp on rockwork, eat Reef Frenzy but will not touch nori sheets.
If he continues to hide & not eat you could try mixing a little Reef Frenzy & one of those frozen cubes like a Hikari angel blend. My blenny likes the tiny meaty bits in the Reef Frenzy & the tiny bits of algae from the Hikari. I do this mix sometimes for my dwarf angels & my blenny jumps out to get some.
Use a turkey baster and gently blow a little so it wafts past his hidey hole. See if he peeks out to eat any.

 

[Big G]

+1 ^^^^ My Starry Blenny loves the frozen Formula 2 (for angels, tangs) from Petco.

 

[JaaxReef]

I’ll see if I can find it tomorrow.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I'd suggest skipping feeding for a day, then trying again. Starry blennies are pretty resilient.

 

[JaaxReef]

He is up and about a little more today, but still not eating. Perching in different spots but still sticking close to the rock work. Not out grazing on the rocks or sand per usual... maybe he will recover and start eating again soon. He hasn’t lost color and isn’t breathing heavy.

 

[JaaxReef]

Update: He is still alive, but looks thin. I’m used to him having quite the pot belly. No signs of illness yet, just very timid behavior. Caught him rasping at the rocks a little, but he won’t take other foods yet... Haven’t seen any aggression directed at him in the time I’ve had to watch the tank, but I think that is the only explanation.