Lawnmower blenny plump as a pig

[IronMonkey]

Hi all,

Long story short, my "dead" live rock was loaded with nutrient material that I did not get out of it before starting up the new tank. Phosphates (srp) hit .06 measured as the rock let it all loose. My bad for sure for not dealing with the rock properly. On week 2 the hair algae explosion hit went nuts.

I put in a cleaner crew that went to work. I started dosing Dr. Tim's Waste Away. I added a lawnmower blenny. And I did water changes every 5 days at 5% (210 gal tank).

Fast forward to week 6 and the algae is almost all gone, which has me a little worried about something. The lawnmower blenny went to town, and I mean WENT TO TOWN, on the hair algae. He is fat, just plain fat. He has been eating it non-stop. Now that there are just a few little patches of the hair algae left, should I worry about his robust appetite now being hard to satisfy? I want to transition him to a stable diet that will work for him, what should I focus on? The clowns in the tank eat fish frenzy like it is candy, but the blenny doesn't go for it at all (I know, he is a herbivore). So what should I do for my little man who helped me get the tank back in shape?

Thanks!
-Adam

[FishN00b83]

I have never had one, but I'm pretty sure if you offer it Nori from the super market he should eat it up. I feed it to my tangs all the time and I'm pretty sure they are on the same diet. If you dont want to put it on a clip you can get a rubber band and wrap it around a small piece of live rock. It should go after it.

[IronMonkey]

Yeah I guess I'll just watch him and see when and if it is time to feed him. Seems like a lot of folks promote the idea that almost any tank will produce enough algae to keep him maintained and healthy. Also seems to be a lot of thought and experience that once you get a blenny to take a feeding they are not nearly as effective at algae control.

So, will just watch and see if he stays healthy as the hair algae retreats and see if he gets enough film off the glass, rocks, sand, etc.

Thanks!
-Adam

[MondoBongo]

they can be hit or miss with which prepared foods they will take. i've been fortunate enough to have one that eats darn near anything i put in the tank, meaty frozen foods, pellets, nori, what have you. i've seen others give different accounts though.

they will also eat a lot of film algae. i always see his little lip marks on the glass. so often what i will do is just be a little more lax about when i clean the front glass. giving it time to build up some film, and him to eat it.