Algae Eater Thin And Urchin Dropping Spines

[robincushing]

hi all, i hope you can help.
I have had an algae blennie and a pin cushion urchin in my tank for several months now and they have done a great job on my algae. they have cleared one rock clump of all algae but the other clump of rocks they dont seem to touch. the algae has grown so ,much its in great long srteams flowing in the tank. do they not eat the algae when its long?

Also the other worrying thing is that the algae blenny is getting thin and the urchin appears to be shedding spines.
I had the same problem last year and though it was hunger and they both died after a few months.

I dont want the same thing to happen and was wondering if there is something im doing wrong or something i can do?

i have a hermit crab (years old), 1 clown fish, 1 star fish, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 coral beauty and the urchin and algae blennie.

 

[seffieuk]

Hi Robin, nice to see you back here

I'm really sorry we havent answered your question earlier, for some reason, I and others have missed your post

Could you post a photo of your tank and give me your stats, including calcium please and your feeding routine

Seffie x

 

[robincushing]

firstly thank you for your reply, attached is a picture of the tank, sorry its not so clear but had trouble uploading the original as file too large.
i have also takenb pictures of the test results for nitrate, nitrie and amonia as im believe they are within the guidelines but always better for a second opinion.
the calcium was less than 20. all tests used on a master test kit.

i feed the fish with frozen brine or mysis daily normally around 7-8pm
occationally i will feed them flakes instead.
yesterday i saw algae flakes in the store and purchased a tub of those to see if that would entice them to eat but they do always appear to be grazing so i really dont think its hunger.
hope this helps.

 

[seffieuk]

i have also takenb pictures of the test results for nitrate, nitrie and amonia as im believe they are within the guidelines but always better for a second opinion.
the calcium was less than 20. all tests used on a master test kit.

Hi Robin, I am having trouble seeing the test results, getting old

Can you post them for me:

Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Calcium and if you have it Mag.
Phosphates

It might be a good idea to get your results checked at the lfs - if you do, make sure to take a note of the results and post them here.

There are several reasons why the blenny may be getting thin, one starving, but looks to me like he has enough to eat and internal parasites. However i would really like to see a photo of him - you are sure he is an algae blenny and not a Dragonet of some sort?

The urchin, well he needs calcium and good water conditions - really do need to see your results, but they should look something like this:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate <10
Calcium around 450
Mag around 1300
Phospates as low as possible, but many tanks run with some phosphates

 

[robincushing]

the amonia appears to be the desired level (the top colour which is less than 1)
nitrate is a slight pink colour so according to the book is ok but needs to be monitored so that it does not increase.
nitrite also slight pink but needs monitoring.
calcium i think i need to test again as i may not have tested correctly if i had a result of 20.
mag i have not tested before so will need to look into this.

it is definately an algae blenny. as with the one i had before this, when i first get them they eat and eat and eat then they just appear to slow right down and the algae builds up again.

also im not sure if the coral beauty is dead as i have not seen it for 2 days and cant find it anywhere in the tank.