scooter blenny ?'s

[jasonk]

Hey,
i was thinking about getting a scooter blenny. This site and another site i view disagree with the level of difficulty in keeping one of these guys. i was just wondering what peoples own experiences have been, as well as what do they eat? The other site says they eat microfauna. Does that mean they'll clean out my pod population, or does it mean that they'll eat the algae off the rocks and sand? also, is there something i can use to suppliment what it will naturally find in my tank? Thanks in advance for all of your help.

 

[ophiura]

They are basically equivalent in care to a mandarin goby - basically very difficult. Need a large mature tank with a lot of LR. They feed on copepods primarily, though sometimes you will get one that will eat prepared foods. However, you should not buy one with the hope of this. If the LFS "says" it will eat prepared foods, ask them to feed it for you.
But many, many starve to death after being put in small, young tanks without sufficient food.

 

[loopy]

they say they will eat green algae...we had one...no algae though, like Ophiura said...it starved. Very sad. Lawn Mower Blenny is much easier, we have a little fatty, eats stuff off live rock but mostly food that has fallen to the bottom and sea weed on a clip as well as the brown algae on the glass. Much easier. Also pellets. Just as fun to keep! He is very fat and happy.
Good Luck!

 

[jdragunas]

yes, a lawnmower blennie would be much easier to keep. Because scooter blennies are not actually blennies, they are a form of a goby (like the aforementioned mandarin goby), they need a lot of LR to eat. They feed 24 hours on the algae.

 

[loopy]

jasonk, just a little warning....my being new at this also. Many lfs's will tell you anything they think you want to hear just to get your money and move the fish out of the store.
Example...lfs told me a tang was fine for a 55 and ate flake food. Wrong on both counts and it was money down the drain.
Ophiura made a good point....ask them to feed it for you. One lfs I get supplies at refuses to feed fish for me, so I don't buy them there....it's the one that sold me the tang when I had a new tank. Another one says..."no problem'', in fact they underfeed just for this reason, not under feed to the point of fish suffering, as I think people ask all day to see fish eat. They have never turned me down when I have asked, but...sometimes the fish refuses the food as it is not hungry and they tell me to give it a few weeks if I want the fish and if it still won't eat, bring it back. They have stood true to their word.
I actually go to the book section and look up the fish I'm interested in....one store got mad because I didn't buy the book first, so I didn't buy the fish either. I don't care. If I had a fish store, I would have all kinds of books and literature and let people read all they wanted prior to buying a fish, but I am a softy that way. Hey...coffee/book/fish store....lol!!!! Great luck to you!!!!!!!!!

 

[meadbhb]

Hiya,
I added a scooter to my tank when it was done cycling. Plenty of pods at that time. He died about 3 months later...no pods and he never got used to eating frozen food.
Please, don't do it unless you see the scooter eating prepared foods.
Meadbhb

 

[jdragunas]

you can also buy dried algae at your lfs. he might eat that.

 

[jasonk]

so i went to the lfs today and saw the guy feed. the scooter went nuts over those tubifex worms. the guy just broke the square in half and then rubbed it between his fingers to break up the square and the thing went nuts. the owner said he's had him for a little over a month, and the scooter has always eaten for him. i really trust this guy too, i know alot of you on here have had bad experiences with lfs's but this guy is on top of stuff. i've bought several things from him, and he's always seemed more worried about the fish and where it's going than the check i'm writing. let me know what you all think. thanks for all the input so far.

 

[ophiura]

Will it eat anything other than tubifex worms? Well, either way, if you see that it is eating...not just excited but actually eating, and he looks fat and healthy, then I guess that might be a good one to try.

 

[fishnerd]

Originally posted by jdragunas
yes, a lawnmower blennie would be much easier to keep. Because scooter blennies are not actually blennies, they are a form of a goby (like the aforementioned mandarin goby), they need a lot of LR to eat. They feed 24 hours on the algae.
They are not gobies. Scooter "Blennies/Gobies", as well as Mandarin "Gobies" are both Dragonettes, not Gobies