blenny dead what happend

[platzap]

We are very upset at losing our bicolor blenny today. Here's the story. 37 gall FOWL well cycled 5 month old tank.
have 2 happy aquacultured clowns, several scarlet hermits, several snails, good live rock. All water parameters on target.
1.023, nitrites 0, ph 8, temp 78, nitrates .025
bought bicolor blenny and put in QT tank for 3 weeks...seemed good...fed well....hid at corner of pvc tube...then swam up and around for food.
put in main tank yesterday. same water conditions. hid in live rock nook. looked fine..no heavy breathing or anything weird.
this AM....he lying down on bottom of tank with 2 of the big hermits devouring him

.
We are mystified and depressed. We have learned much from this board and have tried to do everything "right"...including QT!
anybody have any theories.
is it possible that our hermits killed him? we have 2 that are quite large (bigger than the 2 in. blenny) one has orange legs instead of red legs.
my wife also saw what she describes as a really big bristle worm ( 4 in long centipede type thing)...could that have killed the blenny?
my wife wants to quit this fish stuff all together. I realize that life and death is part of the natural order of things..but ....i too am most discouraged.

 

[bigarn]

Did you acclimate him before adding to the main tank? If not, this most likely killed him.
Sorry for your loss

 

[smarls]

I am sorry for your loss...thats sucks.
I am no expert by any means, and I have never had a bi-color, so I definately hope someone with specific experience replies.
Maybe the little guy couldn't find a good territory to sleep at, and you need to rearrange your rocks to give multiple fish a place to sleep?
Maybe he just got tired, and/or was harrassed by your clowns when you were not looking?
Maybe a zealous hermit grabbed him when he was sleeping? (I am not a big fan of hermits...you never know what the little buggers do when you are not there...personally I much prefer snails.)
Maybe he just wasn't that strong?
Basically, even if you do everything rights, some things will die. I have had a group of zoanthids die right next to different group of zoanthids that were multiplying...no difference in light, water flow, nothing! Sometimes there is no ryhme or reason to it.
Hopefully you don't give up...there are many other fish in horrible LFS that are looking to be saved...so for their sake, keep trying.
Stewart

 

[acez28]

i doubt that a hermit of any kind would catch a Blenny. Even if the blenny was sleeping.....first touch he would dart off. First thing is did you acclimate him into the main tank. Other than that i dont know.....maybe he could have been stressed but i dunno. Usually when i put fish in the display tank i introduce them and then shut off the lights for the remainder of the day. Could have been shock or stress...

 

[bang guy]

1 - Acclimation is a good question.
2 - There are Bristle Worms capable of capturing and eating a small Blenny. However, had one of these worms captured the Blenny the worm would have eaten the fish, not the Hermits.
3 - A large Hermit crab is fully capeable of catching a sleeping fish if it's small enough.

 

[platzap]

we generally acclimate with drip technique over 45 min-1hour...but admittedly did not this time since QT tank water and display tank have the same parameters...(in fact, we filled the QT tank with Display tank water...and continued to do so with water changes). But maybe that was big mistake to not do usual acclimation.
the 2 biggest hermits are definitely bigger than the blenny. we know we've seen one attack and kill another smaller hermit..so they are aggressive.
thats a good point about the bristle worm...maybe he just appeared when he saw the hermits were eating dead fish.
i might need to find a new home for these mean hermits...that is frustrating for sure (we got them as part of routine recommended cleanup crew)
thanks for responses so far.

 

[acez28]

well how small was the Blenny? If you bought the hermit as part of the cleanup crew then they cant be that big.....or is it that they blenny was that small. Me myself usually try to stay away from fish smaller than 1 inch.....they are hard to find and usually they are things in the tank that can catch and eat them. I still dont believe the hermits caught it.....i think it was stress.

 

[platzap]

the blenny was a typical LFS size of around 2 inches. I have 6 hermits i bought at the same time..all around 3/4 in wide...but a couple of them have definitely grown. 2 of the hermits are now about 1.75 in wide...i think if you put the big hermit on a scale next to the 2 inch blenny..without the hermits shell...the hermit would be slightly heavier.
Hard to know i guess what really happend. death 24 hours after introduction to new tank (whose water parameters are all near perfect) seems to suggest either stress from move (and poor acclimation) or violent death by other tank inhabitants.
i guess i am really just wondering what to do next (what i'd do differently)...obviously better acclimation, but i hate to think i have a bully crab thats gonna kill whatever i put in there if that a potential. I dont know if LFS will take my hermit back. hmm

 

[leona]

this was recommended to me when we had aggressive fish. Take the hermits and put them in QT since you have more and see what happens. Only when introducing new fish then bring the hermits back after the new fish had time to find hiding places and not so stressed out.
Just an idea.
Leona

 

[leona]

and after you already QT your new fish.......
basically,
bring new fish home put into QT for 3 weeks.
Then Acclimate new fish into main tank
take hermits out and put in QT.
Kinda like a time out.
But it will give the fish time to roam free without being stressed for you and the fish.
Then when the fish had time to know it's surroundings and feel comfortable then bring the hermits back