Lawnmower Blenny is Too Skinny. Help Him......

shelbeth

shelbeth

Member
My lawnmower Blenny I recently purchased about 2 months ago, destroyed any algae in the tank, gone, finito, no where in sight. Ever since then, there is not alot of algae left in the tank, but the little bit there is, he won't touch it. Why? He's getting skinnier and thinner and I'm worried he might die from starvation. What do I do?
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
I think you will find a lot of people here that had a LMB - including myself - where it was doing fine then after a few months or a year they start to get skinny and unfortunately pass away. Try some algae sheets mine did eat mysis but it didn't help - good luck]
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Try feeding nori or green cubes. If that doesn't work, try finding someone with an algae scrubber who can donate some hair algae weekly to feeding your lawnmower blenny. Then, build your own algae scrubber and feed your other fish heavily enough to make your own hair algae to feed him weekly. Other than that - I got nothin'
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
LMB's are one of those "Better left in the ocean" kinda fish...
You could definitely sustain him though if you had your own algae scrubber... Just a thought.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
So far mine's been doing good for a year and a half (knock on wood). No algae in my tank either. I've always supplemented with sheets, emerald entree, frozen meaty foods (rod's food) and pellets (which he loves).
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member

So far mine's been doing good for a year and a half (knock on wood). No algae in my tank either. I've always supplemented with sheets, emerald entree, frozen meaty foods (rod's food) and pellets (which he loves).
:t^:
Get some type of frozen meaty foods (rod's food) mixed with veg
 
shelbeth

shelbeth

Member
I put in a sweet pea in the tank, soaked in garlic, and then dumped the sweet pea in with the garlic juice. I hope this will work.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
A sweet pea????
I'm of the train if thought that these guys are not really suited for the home aquarium as well. Sure, a few have luck, but the greater majority do not. Offer some algae sheets. If he doesn't take to the sheets, try holding them in the water and breaking them up in between your fingers (it will look like flake food). It helps to turn the return pumps off for a bit while doing this. Even if he doesn't go for the flakes, as they settle on rocks around the tank, he may start scraping them off. The hope is that he'll start to make the connection that these flakes are food and will start to take them more willingly from the water column when you feed. This has helped my algae blennies (black combtooth and tailspot) significantly over the years.
Also try some veggie/meat mixes such as Emerald Entree and Angel and Butterfly frozen blends. PE Mysis can also help to fatten him up if he will take meaty foods, as well as small grated chunks of raw wild salmon. Add vitamins such as Selcon or VitaChem to the food as well for added nutrition.
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
I recently just lost a LMB that got way too skinny very quickly. Unfortunately, if he is super skinny he will most likely just give and not eat anymore. I am from the train of thought that these guys are best suited for the ocean.
 
shelbeth

shelbeth

Member
Lenny the Lawnmower Blenny has passed away. I'm a little saddened by this, especially how quickly he destroyed any algae in the tank, and how fast he accomplished this. Now I have to find another animal for the tank that will destroy algae as good as Lenny did, but will will last a very long time. Any suggestions?
R.I.P.
Lenny
Lawnmower Blenny
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shelbeth http:///t/389122/lawnmower-blenny-is-too-skinny-help-him#post_3436583
Now I have to find another animal for the tank that will destroy algae as good as Lenny did, but will will last a very long time. Any suggestions?
How big is your tank? What else do you have in the tank as far as fish and inverts?
Part of the issue with Lawnmower Blennies is that they are really good at cleaning the rocks, almost too good, and once it's gone, they starve.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Sorry about your loss. I've lost 3 LM blennies, so after my third one I thought "enough is enough"
Saddest thing is that one of them was named Lenny, too.
A pack of snails makes for a great algae- destroying crew!
 
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