Lawnmower Blenny Questions.

SWaquariast · 06/28/2008, 02:55 PM

Today I bought a 4" long lawnmower blenny and I want to know if there is any thing I need to know.

I am going to buy some vegie sheets monday to see if he will eat that. But I origionally bought him to eat hair algea.

I have done research but I want some personal experience.

schmidt01 · 06/28/2008, 03:25 PM

My LMB did a great job on the hair algae in my tank. He's never touched the nori strips I've put in for the tangs though, so I wouldn't bother buying them if I were you.
I absolutely love my LMB... he's the ugliest fish in the tank, but he's got TONS of personality!

Sk8r · 06/28/2008, 04:20 PM

Spirulina cubes (Formula 2) contains squid and other nice things that will stink to high heaven and attract interest. Generally he'll suck rocks, and prefers to do that. If you can fatten him up on your algae situation, so he's both confident in the tank and still hungry, he may take to other food.

SWaquariast · 06/28/2008, 04:32 PM

I tried brine a little bit ago didn't take.

reefCrawler · 06/28/2008, 05:45 PM

Quote:

I absolutely love my LMB... he's the ugliest fish in the tank, but he's got TONS of personality!

same here.
my 2 LMB eat nori (After several months), Pallet... hairs.. about almost everything, cute, fat, ugly and charming,

stagefright13 · 06/28/2008, 06:29 PM

I loved mine also but after he cleaned the tank he starved to death. Wouldn't eat anything I gave him. And I tried everything. Frozen, fresh, flake, algae strips, etc. It was a real shame cause he was so cool.

I would never get one again personally. I didn't know at the time he didn't eat anything but live algae... And 47 pounds of live rock was not enough surface area to make enough algae to feed him.

He ate like a pig and was happy and got fat! "till he ate everything there was. It didn't grow back fast enough to keep him alive.

dlmkmm · 06/28/2008, 07:22 PM

My first Lawnmower never ate and died a week later. Lawnmower #2 would eat anything I through in the tank plus the algea that he was supposed to eat. Great little fish, lots of personality which make up for his looks!

Part 2: Lawnmower #2 took the leap of death the other day, found him on the carpet.

They are a great fish though and will scarf down some algae when you find that will eat.

orbit · 06/28/2008, 08:00 PM

if your LMB doesnts eat try soaking the food in garlic, that got mine to eat anything i put in the tank

vietcu · 06/28/2008, 09:50 PM

Mine ate all my algae so I tried to put some nori strip in there for him, but never took one bite. He did however took pieces of carrots and brocolli that I had mixed into my homemade food for my fishes.

stagefright13 · 06/28/2008, 11:17 PM

A lawn mower blenny is one of the craziest fish ever. They sit on the rocks and leave squiggle lines on the glass. They are kinda like a dog. If you give a dog a steak he will want another. Etc. Etc. Fish tend to eat as much as you give them.

They are no exception. So if ya got alot of algae they will eat and eat and will clean the tank clear no doubt. But I don't believe in sacrificial animals. Such as Damsels to cycle a tank. The Lawn Mower Blenny is like that. It will clean your tank then starve. Unless you can give it to someone else after your tank is clean and it is still fat.

Also you can't put it in a QT tank it will starve. I feel so bad I didn't know that when I got mine years ago. I still have a pic of him in my pic section. I still feel bad that the fish store let me buy him.

If you get one make sure you can transfer him to a friends tank and keep him fed. Or have a VERY large tank that produces lots of algae. I would say a 55 is not enough. And if your tank is run properly you will never grow enough greens for it.

SWaquariast · 06/29/2008, 12:33 PM

My Lawnmower Blenny is eating the brown and hair algea off my foam power head intake.

Kannin · 06/30/2008, 04:37 AM

Mine eats... and eats... and eats. In the morning, he looks like a normal hwp fish... and by dinner time, he looks like Fat Bastard from Austin Powers. He fights the tangs for nori and joins in the fray with 30 other fish at feeding time. He likes big chunks of Formula II.

06/28/2008, 02:55 PM	#1
SWaquariast Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: USA Posts: 745	Lawnmower Blenny Questions. Today I bought a 4" long lawnmower blenny and I want to know if there is any thing I need to know. I am going to buy some vegie sheets monday to see if he will eat that. But I origionally bought him to eat hair algea. I have done research but I want some personal experience. __________________ Mitch Current Tank Info: 20g Mixed reef aquarium.

06/28/2008, 04:20 PM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Spirulina cubes (Formula 2) contains squid and other nice things that will stink to high heaven and attract interest. Generally he'll suck rocks, and prefers to do that. If you can fatten him up on your algae situation, so he's both confident in the tank and still hungry, he may take to other food. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/28/2008, 04:32 PM	#4
SWaquariast Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: USA Posts: 745	I tried brine a little bit ago didn't take. __________________ Mitch Current Tank Info: 20g Mixed reef aquarium.

06/28/2008, 06:29 PM	#6
stagefright13 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hatboro, PA USA Posts: 899	I loved mine also but after he cleaned the tank he starved to death. Wouldn't eat anything I gave him. And I tried everything. Frozen, fresh, flake, algae strips, etc. It was a real shame cause he was so cool. I would never get one again personally. I didn't know at the time he didn't eat anything but live algae... And 47 pounds of live rock was not enough surface area to make enough algae to feed him. He ate like a pig and was happy and got fat! "till he ate everything there was. It didn't grow back fast enough to keep him alive. Last edited by stagefright13; 06/28/2008 at 06:43 PM.

06/28/2008, 11:17 PM	#10
stagefright13 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hatboro, PA USA Posts: 899	A lawn mower blenny is one of the craziest fish ever. They sit on the rocks and leave squiggle lines on the glass. They are kinda like a dog. If you give a dog a steak he will want another. Etc. Etc. Fish tend to eat as much as you give them. They are no exception. So if ya got alot of algae they will eat and eat and will clean the tank clear no doubt. But I don't believe in sacrificial animals. Such as Damsels to cycle a tank. The Lawn Mower Blenny is like that. It will clean your tank then starve. Unless you can give it to someone else after your tank is clean and it is still fat. Also you can't put it in a QT tank it will starve. I feel so bad I didn't know that when I got mine years ago. I still have a pic of him in my pic section. I still feel bad that the fish store let me buy him. If you get one make sure you can transfer him to a friends tank and keep him fed. Or have a VERY large tank that produces lots of algae. I would say a 55 is not enough. And if your tank is run properly you will never grow enough greens for it. Last edited by stagefright13; 06/28/2008 at 11:25 PM.

06/28/2008, 03:25 PM	#2
schmidt01 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Palmyra, PA Posts: 105	My LMB did a great job on the hair algae in my tank. He's never touched the nori strips I've put in for the tangs though, so I wouldn't bother buying them if I were you. I absolutely love my LMB... he's the ugliest fish in the tank, but he's got TONS of personality!

06/28/2008, 07:22 PM	#7
dlmkmm Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Homestead, Fl Posts: 61	My first Lawnmower never ate and died a week later. Lawnmower #2 would eat anything I through in the tank plus the algea that he was supposed to eat. Great little fish, lots of personality which make up for his looks! Part 2: Lawnmower #2 took the leap of death the other day, found him on the carpet. They are a great fish though and will scarf down some algae when you find that will eat.

06/28/2008, 08:00 PM	#8
orbit Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 500	if your LMB doesnts eat try soaking the food in garlic, that got mine to eat anything i put in the tank

06/28/2008, 09:50 PM	#9
vietcu Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 1,280	Mine ate all my algae so I tried to put some nori strip in there for him, but never took one bite. He did however took pieces of carrots and brocolli that I had mixed into my homemade food for my fishes.

06/29/2008, 12:33 PM	#11
SWaquariast Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: USA Posts: 745	My Lawnmower Blenny is eating the brown and hair algea off my foam power head intake. __________________ Mitch Current Tank Info: 20g Mixed reef aquarium.

06/30/2008, 04:37 AM	#12
Kannin Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fall City, WA Posts: 1,538	Mine eats... and eats... and eats. In the morning, he looks like a normal hwp fish... and by dinner time, he looks like Fat Bastard from Austin Powers. He fights the tangs for nori and joins in the fray with 30 other fish at feeding time. He likes big chunks of Formula II. __________________ I used to target feed mojanos... until I found out that they weren't baby bubble tips.