bicolor blenny died...why?

[jarice1978]

I purchased a bicolor blenny a couple of weeks ago and he died a 2 weeks later.
I placed him in a QT with an Angel and everything seemded to be working okay. However I noticed that the blenny did not seem to eat when I was feeding them and he would never come out of hiding. I have 3 pieces of PVC pipe and a very small amount of substrate in the QT. All of the water parameters were fine. Is there something else I needed to do to make the blenny more comfortable? I think he ultimitely died of starvation!

 

[theplowking]

I had the same situation with a Lawn Mower Blenny. He would only eat of the live rock. He sadly wilted away.
I now have an orange spotted blenny who eats like a pig. He the first one off the rocks when new food is added.
I would observe a potential Blenny purchase eating before purchasing. Ask the LFC person on duty if you can observe the fish eating.

 

[pacopetty]

I think all of us have experienced this with one fish or another. Some times you do everything right and you still lose a fish. I would guess he died of stress from the moves.

 

[neowind]

Well Bi-Color blennies are funny eaters. They like to hide in caves and holes and pop in and out to get the food. I have heard if a blennie is not introduced to a LR enviroment it won't eat. I have seen alot of people use QT tanks for blennies and they die because they won't eat. The reason is because they don't have enough LR to make them comfortable in the QT. I added mine directly to my tank just because of this and he began eating the next day. Hopes this helps they are one of the most hardiest fish I have ever seen.

 

[jarice1978]

Thanks for the info! I was thinking about putting him directly into the main tank after a few days because of his behavior, but I am kind of new at this. I didn't know if that would blow up in my face...like if he had ich or something. I really would like to get another blenny in the future. What would be the best procedure to ensure he lives?

 

[pacopetty]

I would acclimate him according to the chart on SWF and put him right in my tank.