What is biting my duncan? (pic)

snewcrash · 03/26/2010, 08:02 PM

Here's what I have in my tank:

1 Rabbitfish
1 yellow tang
2 juvenile clownfish
1 bi-color blenny (male)
1 yellow watchman goby
1 cleaner shrimp
1 tiger pistol shrimp

My tank is completely free of algae and my fish are ALWAYS hungry. I see the cleaner shrimp sometimes harassing my dendro and duncan looking for food, but most of the time he is good. I think I feed a lot, I usually give 1 pinch of flake food and then i drop in some bottom feeding pellets. I also feed my dendro and duncan pellets everyday. The 3 duncans are currently sprouting 6 new baby heads.

I'm scared to overfeed my tank, but all my fish are always hungry. My blenny even nips at my hand when I put it in the tank. Whenever I put food in my rabbitfish goes insane. He once ate 6 pellets in rapid succession and always eats everything as fast as he can. When he ate those pellets he ended up spitting some of them out, but he's crazy.

My thinking is that maybe I'm underfeeding the tank and someone's biting at the duncan? This started I think yesterday. I moved the duncans for now. Any other ideas?

You can see in the bottom circle the black area where the tentacle is ripped and in the upper circle you can see bite mark impressions...

unbreakable · 03/26/2010, 08:05 PM

id say blenny or rabbit

snewcrash · 03/26/2010, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unbreakable

id say blenny or rabbit

ok, the blenny's favorite rock is where the duncan is on. i think if the rabbitfish was biting the duncan he'd be doing more damage. the rabbitfish is about 3 inches.

sam11909 · 03/26/2010, 08:23 PM

Mine looks like that all the time, but it is usually mysteriously gone the next day. I have no idea why it does it but mine is definitely not getting bitten.

snewcrash · 03/26/2010, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam11909

Mine looks like that all the time, but it is usually mysteriously gone the next day. I have no idea why it does it but mine is definitely not getting bitten.

you get the torn skin in that lower red circle?

chris88 · 03/26/2010, 08:32 PM

feed it and you will help it recover and grow much faster.

sam11909 · 03/26/2010, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snewcrash

you get the torn skin in that lower red circle?

I haven't looked at it too closely (just got it a week ago), but it does have black spots near the tip every now and then.

kingfisher62 · 03/26/2010, 10:00 PM

Do your duncans ever expand more than that? Mine only look like that when my salinity is off.

sam11909 · 03/27/2010, 07:40 AM

Mine tend to shrink after I feed them, sometimes they stay shrunk half the day.

butchik · 03/27/2010, 07:46 AM

You may want to keep an eye on your shrimps as well. When I first got my peppermint shrimp, I saw it nibbling my frogspawn frag.

snewcrash · 03/27/2010, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingfisher62

Do your duncans ever expand more than that? Mine only look like that when my salinity is off.

Yeah, they're always much bigger, each head and tentacles are usually 2 inches across. Something is bothering it...

kingfisher62 · 03/27/2010, 03:09 PM

How is your salinity?

snewcrash · 03/27/2010, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingfisher62

How is your salinity?

Salinity is 1.022. Im not concerned about how shriveled up they are, I'm concerned about the torn flesh and bite marks. The picture isn't to show the size, it's to show the marks on the tentacles...

mscarpena · 03/27/2010, 03:12 PM

I would say rabbit fish. Do your clowns host in it. My clowns will nip the tips off my hammers/frogspawns to steal the food from them.

snewcrash · 03/27/2010, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mscarpena

I would say rabbit fish. Do your clowns host in it. My clowns will nip the tips off my hammers/frogspawns to steal the food from them.

Yeah I think it might be the blenny. The duncan was on a rock that the blenny has since claimed as his home and I think if the rabbitfish were doing it, it'd be biting right through all the tentacles. I moved it away from the blenny's home and it's fully open and no new marks.

mscarpena · 03/27/2010, 04:48 PM

1.022 is very low for a reef tank. Just fine for fish, but should be 1.025 for Corals. Not the cause of the torn flesh, but will help keep corals more healthy.

03/26/2010, 08:02 PM	#1
snewcrash Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hartford, CT Posts: 349	What is biting my duncan? (pic) Here's what I have in my tank: 1 Rabbitfish 1 yellow tang 2 juvenile clownfish 1 bi-color blenny (male) 1 yellow watchman goby 1 cleaner shrimp 1 tiger pistol shrimp My tank is completely free of algae and my fish are ALWAYS hungry. I see the cleaner shrimp sometimes harassing my dendro and duncan looking for food, but most of the time he is good. I think I feed a lot, I usually give 1 pinch of flake food and then i drop in some bottom feeding pellets. I also feed my dendro and duncan pellets everyday. The 3 duncans are currently sprouting 6 new baby heads. I'm scared to overfeed my tank, but all my fish are always hungry. My blenny even nips at my hand when I put it in the tank. Whenever I put food in my rabbitfish goes insane. He once ate 6 pellets in rapid succession and always eats everything as fast as he can. When he ate those pellets he ended up spitting some of them out, but he's crazy. My thinking is that maybe I'm underfeeding the tank and someone's biting at the duncan? This started I think yesterday. I moved the duncans for now. Any other ideas? You can see in the bottom circle the black area where the tentacle is ripped and in the upper circle you can see bite mark impressions...

03/26/2010, 08:05 PM	#2
unbreakable D: Join Date: May 2007 Location: ? Posts: 2,868	id say blenny or rabbit __________________ INTERNET= Serious Business!

03/26/2010, 08:23 PM	#4
sam11909 Maxi Mini Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 1,039	Mine looks like that all the time, but it is usually mysteriously gone the next day. I have no idea why it does it but mine is definitely not getting bitten. __________________ Samuel A reef aquarium is simply an aquarist's best try of painting a small section of the ocean and containing it in a glass frame. Each new coral adds a new color or brush stroke to the painter's toolbox. Current Tank Info: The Stair-Stepping Nano System

03/26/2010, 10:00 PM	#8
kingfisher62 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: massachusetts Posts: 4,972	Do your duncans ever expand more than that? Mine only look like that when my salinity is off. __________________ 55g Tank - 216W T5's Foxface, tomato clown, yellow tailed damsel, Starrie Blennie, LPS and softies 29G Biocube- 120W LED's 2 percular clown, Six line Wrasse , LPS and softies Current Tank Info: 55 gl. Reef tank ,29g biocube Reef

03/27/2010, 07:40 AM	#9
sam11909 Maxi Mini Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 1,039	Mine tend to shrink after I feed them, sometimes they stay shrunk half the day. __________________ Samuel A reef aquarium is simply an aquarist's best try of painting a small section of the ocean and containing it in a glass frame. Each new coral adds a new color or brush stroke to the painter's toolbox. Current Tank Info: The Stair-Stepping Nano System

03/26/2010, 08:32 PM	#6
chris88 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Alberta (canada) Posts: 657	feed it and you will help it recover and grow much faster.

03/27/2010, 07:46 AM	#10
butchik Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Central NJ Posts: 242	You may want to keep an eye on your shrimps as well. When I first got my peppermint shrimp, I saw it nibbling my frogspawn frag. __________________ 65G, 20 Gal Sump, 45 lbs Marcorocks, 1.5" Aragonite Sand, AI Sol Blue x2, 1 Koralia 2, Mag 9.5, Eshopps PSK-100, Reefkeeper Lite

03/27/2010, 03:09 PM	#12
kingfisher62 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: massachusetts Posts: 4,972	How is your salinity? __________________ 55g Tank - 216W T5's Foxface, tomato clown, yellow tailed damsel, Starrie Blennie, LPS and softies 29G Biocube- 120W LED's 2 percular clown, Six line Wrasse , LPS and softies Current Tank Info: 55 gl. Reef tank ,29g biocube Reef

03/27/2010, 03:12 PM	#14
mscarpena Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Buffalo, New York Posts: 1,924	I would say rabbit fish. Do your clowns host in it. My clowns will nip the tips off my hammers/frogspawns to steal the food from them.

03/27/2010, 04:48 PM	#16
mscarpena Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Buffalo, New York Posts: 1,924	1.022 is very low for a reef tank. Just fine for fish, but should be 1.025 for Corals. Not the cause of the torn flesh, but will help keep corals more healthy.