Feeding question

[melosu58]

I dont have one but I have a friend that does and I just wondered has anyone ever had problems feeding a lawnmower blenny and what did they eat. I have a black sailfin blenny that eats but I dont buy any fish that I dont see eating at the LFS. The problem with the lawnmower blenny is that people buy them to eat nuisance algea but once it runs out the fish ends up starving to death because it wont eat prepared foods. Anybody have any ideas that have worked for you?

 

[Devilishturtles]

My lawnmower munched up live brine. I soaked the brine in selcon for a while before feeding. He would also occasionally munch up some mysis, but he really went for the live brine.

In the end however, it still wasn't enough for him and he died. Wouldn't touch any algae sheets I tried to feed.

 

[melosu58]

Thanks Lindsay. Same with my friend as far as the seaweed sheets. We will keep looking.

 

[roka64]

I hear they have dismal survival rates if they won't eat prepared foods. Try soaking in garlic and see if that helps.

 

[Innovator]

Unless they are trained early, many just will not eat prepared. The ones that do eat prepared will eat various meaty and algae diets. An old trick was to culture hair algae on a rock in a bucket and drop it into the main display for the fish to consume. Those that have good water chemistry won't be affected by the added hair algae. Otherwise, a qt using the old trick I mentioned or continuing his hand at prepared would be the alternate.

 

[melosu58]

That`s the reason I wont buy a fish unless I see it eat. Thanks Scott and James.

 

[ccCapt]

I had one for about 6-7 years. It ate flake occasionally, frozen ocassionally but ate nori soaked in garlic like a savage.

 

[melosu58]

Thanks, We will give it a try.