Do lawnmower blennys eat pods?

[krishj39]

Will a lawnmower blenny also eat pods in addition to algae? I am having a big problem with hair algae for unidentified reasons (trates at 5ppm and phos at .075ppm, NO lights on for 11.5 hours, VHO lights also on for 6 of those hours). My snails and hermits aren't coming anywhere close to control. This stuff is growing so fast, one of my 2" mexicans has been sustaining itself for several weeks on one 3"x4" rock because the algae grows back on it as fast as it eats it! So, I am hoping a lawnmower blenny will be my solution. But, I have been hoarding my pod collection because I want to get a mandarin in a few months. I don't want anything that will be competing with the mandarin for the pods. Can I add a lawnmower?
kris

 

[fshhub]

lawnmower blennies do not eat pods

 

[krishj39]

thanks fshhub, I knew they ate algae, but had to wonder if they were opportunistic feeders as well.

 

[musipilot]

Okey doke...I know the hair algae problem, it stinks, lots of hermits will help, as will a tang if the tank is big enough.
Lawnmower blennies are great fish, we have two in two separate tanks, the problem is, in my opinion they are NOT reef safe. If you're going to go reef with this tank, you'll be sorry if you get a lawnmower. They'll nip on most corals, including mushrooms, they LOVE xenia, and they'll mess up most other soft corals as well. Again, think carefully before you add one if you're going reef.

 

[krishj39]

Hmm, not reef safe? That is indeed bad news. I AM planning on going reef in the near future. I didn't want a tang for the same reason, they can nip at corals as well. But, more than that, if I added the tang now, it would be the first permanent fish in the tank (the damsels are going soon) and I don't want the tang to bully the newer fish. Are my tang fears unfounded? If so, which type(s) of tang would you recommend? My tank is a 90 gallon. I was thinking just a plain old Hawaiian Yellow, any other recommendations? Maybe something less common but still hardy, colorful, and only aggressive at eating algae?
BTW My hermits are eating the algae, but way too slowly, I'd need to add hundreds of them just to slow the algae down. Hermits and snails just wouldn't be a practical or asthetic solution. It really is crazy right now. Some bubble algae is showing up now too. I'm sorta hoping the algae will exhaust itself of whatever it is feeding on and die out soon.

 

[musipilot]

Don't worry about the tang, its a good selection. I have had a tang in each of my reef tanks without a single coral problem, they simply ignore them.
I would go with a purple...they're beautiful, and in a reef tank with lots of vegtable matter to consume they stay bright purple.
Two things though -- be SURE to quarantine him so he doesn't have ich, and add him last, unless you're adding a dwarf angel too, because a tang in a 90 gallon reef tank is like a 3 year old with a lollypop...'ITS MINE MINE MINE!'
He'll pick on any new large fish you add, but he won't bother your smaller reef dwellers at all. Our ignores gobies, inverts, chromises, cardinals, he couldn't care less. But if I even show him a photo of our Scopus tang he goes ballistic
Good luck!

 

[coral boy]

I have a lawnmower blennys and he has never touched any of my corals.
Also with the hair algae i had a real problem with it until i added a refugum and a yellow tang the tang ate the hair algae and the refugum brought my nitrates down to 0. You should really think about adding a refugum they work great.

 

[krishj39]

I would LOVE to have a refugium, but I don't have the space. Plus, if I took any more room up in the family room, my family would kill me. So, the lawnmowers are hit and miss or "reef safe, with caution." Well, I'll probably give them a go then. Hopefully by the time I would be adding corals, my tank will have matured enough to not struggle with algae anyway, so I could get rid of the blenny then if he was problematic.
As for the nitrates, I'm happy with them at 5. It just isn't worth stressing myself out over 5ppm.

 

[fshhub]

I never had a problem with an algae blenny either
as for the nitrates, 5 is great, and I prefer ot have some(not quite 0) personally. Zero is an unrealistic number and takes form other critters and plantlife in the tank. JMO
PS our blenny needed a little help, between him adn the snails, we still had to prune it by hand,until it was under control.