Feeding Algae Blenny

[JonnyIce]

Any suggestions on this? I purchased the Ocean Nutrition garlic seaweed sheets and have been rubber banding it to some branch rock (and yes taking it out after a day), but he doesn't seem to be into it. He was actually surfing on the sheet today, but I didn't see him eating it (the turbo snail on the other hand loves the seaweed). I see him 'chomping' at glass and rock quite a bit, but I don't know if he's actually eating anything. I feed my clowns hikari vitamin-enriched brine shrimp cubes and the ocean nutrition prime reef flakes. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated...a (name-withheld) LFS employee gave me the typical 'he eats everything yaddy yadda" but I should've had him show me first. My bad, I know.

 

[DevIouS]

One I had ate everything from flakes & pellets to mysis. He would actually spit out the flakes at times & preferred the others.
All fish are different though.
Being that yours is picking on the rocks & glass.....is a good sign. He is picking on algae.
Hopefully he'll get hungry enough to try the rest.
Leave the seaweed sheets in & try "spirulina" pellets that are small in size.
Good luck.

 

[SIReefer]

My algae blennie ate everything including my zoos. Thats why I got rid of him. Frozen mysis was his favorite though.

 

[LeslieS]

My algae blenny really liked formula one fish pellets the best. He also liked it when I put sea lettuce in the tank. Sea Life Florida carries it, but I am sure some MR vendors do also.

 

[JonnyIce]

Thanks for responses everyone

 

[JJSBLM]

i had an algae blenny for 3 years... never specifically fed him anything. was quite content on just munching on the algae in my tank. I never did have to clean the glass as he would do it for me.

 

[e.muehlbauer]

The ones I've kept always ate everything...and died of starvation with full bellies. When I got my last one, the LFS guy (whom I trusted) said that they were probably getting too much animal food. This last one lasted a long time...1.5 years. Still, it came to the same end...wasting away with a full belly.

 

[LeslieS]

wasting away with a full belly

Did they look skinny behind the head but still have fat bellies? Just curious how you knew that they starved with full bellies.

 

[e.muehlbauer]

Skinny behind the head and all the way down to the tail.

 

[reefman]

some algea blenny will only eat diatom or a certain type of natural growing algea. if u have snails or other things that competes with him, it may get out competed. some blenny will die of starvation if it doesn't change its diet.
if your tank is too algea free, try taking out some turbos.

 

[JonnyIce]

I def have some brown/red algae showing up on glass and a little on sand, hopefully that appeases him until he gets a taste for something 'artificial'.

 

[JonnyIce]

Just as an update this dude loves surfing on/eating the garlic seaweed and today started BOLTING to the top to get food...not sure if he's eating it, but he sure is scooting to it.