Flaring LMB

[iwishtofish]

I have a new small Lawnmower Blenny. I've had him for a few days, and today for the first time I noticed him flaring. He seems to have been breathing a little bit hard ever since I put him in the tank. He grazes well and has just started showing interest in frozen fish foods.

I have read that flaring is almost always due to parasitic infection, but I am wondering if it is ALWAYS ich?

Only other fish is a fat, healthy flame angel. I hate that I have put him at risk, and I hear it is extremely hard to get one out of the tank, especially with lots of live rock. :(

[frederickk]

Can you see any white dot on him?

[iwishtofish]

I can't be sure due to his pattern. Nothing stands out. Have you ever been able to see ich spots on a LMB?

Today I haven't observed the "flaring" behavior. Could be that any parasites have dropped out to multiply - I hope not!! - or that the behavior was caused by something else. He's still eating like a pig, both algae and fish food! :)

[ACBlinky]

I find the best time to look for ich spots is when just the actinics are on - they really show up under blue light. Hopefully your LBM and/or angel aren't infected - did you quarantine them? If you find one or both are showing signs of ich, remove them and put them in hypo or use copper to treat them. Best of luck :)