Golden Tonga Blenny....should I???

[browniebuck]

I stopped at a pet store today to get some dog food....this place has been re-designed recently (used to be a PetSmart type store....small animals, all animal supplies, and freshwater fish) and now has a saltwater section....the fish look VERY healthy (not to mention their prices are VERY reasonable). I saw what I thought was a midas blenny in a tank without a price (or ID) sticker, so I asked about it. The girl went to the office to check their order sheets to see what it was (she had no idea what it was....I told her that it was definitely a blenny, not a lawnmower or a starry which they also had)....she came back and said that it was an golden tonga blenny and that it was $24.99. I was tempted to say, "SOLD" on the spot (as I was almost certain that I had seen them on-line for over $50), but I have been bitten by impulse buys in the past. I want to know if this fish would be ok in one of my tanks.
Stocklist #1- 1 half black dwarf angel, 1 flagfin angel, 1 powder blue tang, 1 lavender tang, 2 lyretail anthias, 2 red firefish (which this place had for $6.98...WOW), 1 long nose butterfly, 1 ocellaris clown, 4 skunk cleaner shrimp, 2 red fire shrimp, bunch of hermits, nassarius snails, a handful or two mexican turbo snails......this is a 125 gallon tank with a 30 (or so) gallon sump with well over 100lbs of LR.
Stocklist #2 - half black dwarf angel, sixline wrasse, ocellaris clown, 1 HUGE skunk cleaner shrimp, a few hermits, nassarius snails, and a mexican turbo snail.....this one is a 29 gallon tank with about 35lbs of LR.
They are open until 6:00....should I go back???

 

[tonysi]

I'd go for it tank #1 just don't forget to Qt.

 

[browniebuck]

I have a 30 QT set up right beside the 125. My only worry is the firefish, I have read that they can have issues together.

 

[browniebuck]

well....it's too late now. Should I go back tomorrow?
This place also had some out of the ordinary fish that I haven't seen at my other LFS (orange shoulder tang, tomini tang, lemonpeel angel, starry blenny, purple tang, desjardini sailfin tang, and the golden tonga blenny).

 

[tonysi]

you have a nice size tank, so i would try the 125.

 

[browniebuck]

I looked at several different sites on-line and the cheapest that I have found them is $69.99....most places don't carry them. This would be the second fish that I have found an absolute steal on for my 125....I got my flagfin (5") for $30...have seen anywhere form $70-$100+ for the same size fish! I love finding deals on fish that you don't see everyday...makes the tank more interesting.

 

[stanlalee]

hope you got it already. those show up pretty infrequently and the nicer color variations are some of the best looking algae blennies IMO (some are dull, but some are bright yellow). thats a steal. I wouldn't have asked, I'd be posting about my new fish already lol.

 

[browniebuck]

that's all the encouragement that I need....I am a teacher, I don't get out of school until 3:15...I am hoping that this little fella is still there when I get there....this one was pretty good looking, like I said, I thought it was a midas blenny.

 

[browniebuck]

Went back, still had him...wasn't $24.99, was only $21.98....and he was almost sold to me as a firefish (which was only $6.98....but I told the kid that it was a blenny, not a goby).
Problem is....after testing my quarantine tank, I have an ammonia reading that looks to be around 5...I have no idea how that happened, as nothing has been in the tank for about a month...I have been "feeding" the tank about twice a week (I have two pieces of LR and a couple rogue snails left in the tank) with the leftovers that are in the cup that I thaw my frozen food in (very minimal amount of food).
how big of a risk would I be taking if I were to acclimate this fish into the 125? I hate to do it, but I also hate to introduce a fish into a tank that has an ammonia reading. Everyone has been in the 125 for at least a month and there are no signs of any problems (all but the powder blue tang have been in the tank for about 2 months).

 

[aquaknight]

Ammonia of .25pp is where NH4 starts to get toxic for fish. 5ppm is off the charts. Are you testing Free or Total Ammonia?
Intro'ing the Blenny without QT'ing it would pretty much eliminate all the work I've done previously. Just think of all the effort you put in QT'ing all the old fish first. That should sway your decision.....
About the blenny, as I understand it Golden Tonga Blennies -- Atrosalarias fuscus are just the juvenile coloration. They turn the dark blue/brown/black of adult Highfin blennies.

 

[browniebuck]

well...I forgot the . in front of the 5, however I didn't get your reply until I was acclimating him to the DT. I called the LFS and asked to talk to the supervisor about the fish...he looked up the ship date on the fish and it was over a month and a half ago (it was the only golden tonga blenny that they have had since getting saltwater last year...according to the supervisor...they only have about 15 smallish tanks and a coral tank). It was located in their coral display tank which looked VERY healthy...the fish has already found a perch in the LR, has introduced itself to the cleaner shrimp and fire shrimp, the anthias have said hello, the half black angel has introduced himself, and the tangs have swam circles around him as well.......keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[teresaq]

any pictures??

 

[browniebuck]

I tried last night....but he wasn't interested in staying out for the camera...pretty shy for his first night. Here is the only one that came out at all....
It was a picture of one of my skunk cleaners, but you can see the blenny's head if you look close enough.

 

[tonysi]

Nice looking from what you can see,but in a way he does look like a midas;not a bad thing still a good price for a midas.Try to get a better pic when you can.

 

[browniebuck]

now that I look closer at pictures of both of them...I do see blue on the eye of mine, and not on the tonga....I will try to get better pictures in the near future...I have to go out of town tomorrow, so I will try tonight at feeding time.

 

[stanlalee]

thats a midas blenny. you can tell by a) the nervious/unsettled pink/yellow coloration they change to when not comfortable with surroundings and b) its in a hole. tonga's dont do either. that being said midas blennies are even better looking IMO just ALOT more common. they usually go for $35-40 so you still got a deal. the tonga yelllow sailfin looks just like a lawnmover or any other algae blenny just pretty yellow. the midas eats meat and doesn't touch the rocks for algae.

 

[browniebuck]

finally got a pretty solid picture of my MIDAS BLENNY...body not fat enough to be the golden tonga...a little disappointed, but the fish is healthy, full of character, eating, and a blast to watch, so...I'll live!