Scooter Benny Feeding

[BigBeginner]

what should i feed my scooter benny?

i heard that they will eat frozen brine shrimp but my damsel eats all of it before the benny gets a chance to eat it...

also i heard that they will just eat stuff off of live rocks but i only have a couple live rocks so far and i dont think itll be enough to be a food source

 

[littleme1969]

LOL Scooter Blenny....
Depends on what they have been fed in the shop/where you bought them from. Some will eat frozen but others wont and can often starve very quickly. Try target feeding in more than one place. Put a good amount out for the damsel at one end of the tank, then maybe drop some behind a rock where the damsel cant get to quite so easily for the scooter. But I would advice getting lots of live rock as these guys live to graze on it.

 

[BigBeginner]

LOL Scooter Blenny....
Depends on what they have been fed in the shop/where you bought them from. Some will eat frozen but others wont and can often starve very quickly. Try target feeding in more than one place. Put a good amount out for the damsel at one end of the tank, then maybe drop some behind a rock where the damsel cant get to quite so easily for the scooter. But I would advice getting lots of live rock as these guys live to graze on it.

ok ill try getting alot more live rock and ill try that target feeding thing, is there anythign else they will eat?
(the tank they were kept in at the store had no live rocks in it...)
((and y did u laugh at scooter benny? ))

 

[BigBeginner]

i just fed my fish, and the benny ate like 4 brine shrimp, but that was only when it was hovering in his face and i had to feed about 2x the normal amount i feed, just so the damsel would leave some leftovers, also i noticed that brine shrimp doesnt sink so i cant drop some behind a rock... so is that only way i can feed him (good) is to have alot of live rock (how many pounds should i have in my 55 gal?) or get livestock pods (how would i do this casue i dont even know wat livestock pods are?) p.s. he is already looking very skinny... unless his stomach isnt under where his "wings" are

 

[littleme1969]

Yes did laugh at benny..lol
It does sound like hes already suffering due to lack of food, but the fact that he ate something is a good sign. It does show that hes saveable with plenty of TLC. Mine was very skinny when he first arrived with a concave stomach and skinny tail. Hes now got more of a bear belly and and a fat tail It took alot of time and effort to get him healthy but hes a supper fish and I wouldnt be without him.
Another thing to do is switch of all powerheads/ filters while you feed. this way the frozen food will sink and he can pick up what hits the bottom. I feed mine frozen brine shrimp/mysis shrimp/krill/bloodworm and he will eat all of these. variety is important to ensure they get a good balance of nutrients.
Live rock is essential. I had 20kg in a 25g tank and he did well in there. Just moved him into my 100g with 40kg live rock and 45kg base rock. Again there is plenty of rock work for pods to grow and breed in. Macro algaes are a good way of getting pods to breed Cheato and others that form a good mat provide a good place for breeding where the fish cant reach them until they emurge. Also pile of rock rubble are great for breeding pods of most kinds.
Its all about balance. You may have to overfeed a little until he fattens up, so make sure you have plents of hermits/crabs/snails to eat leftovers so you dont get water problems. Also get some type of Phosphate remover as no doubt you will need it while your getting him fed up

 

[andywg]

Just to point out that scooter blennies are not blennies at all, but are in fact dragonets. Care requirements are similar to the Mandarin dragonet, except these seem a little more predisposed to accepting frozen food than the mandarins.

If you can't see the fish eating, consider some live mysis or brine shrimp that will swim around the tank for the dragonet to eat.

 

[sophos9]

Feed after lights out and when other fishes are asleep. Using a syringe and pipe suck up some thawed brine thats the same temp as the tank water and drop close to Blenny. Took me two weeks of this (plus some garlic guard to get my mandarin to accept frozen)

Shrimp are a major contender, the cleaner shrimp seem to never sleep and always up for thieving food from corals/slow eaters

Good luck!

 

[BigBeginner]

after searching for a very long time, i can not find my blenny.... during lights-out lol (is it true that they hide under the sand at night?)

so should i still put food in and just hope he finds some?

and could u explain more on how would i go about this whole live pod breeding concept?

I really like dragonets/blennies (ever since i went to the LFS and saw a red scooter blenny i was in love) and i really hope i can learn to support them. So any help is greatly appreciated.

EDIT: the feeding at night and turing off the power heads worked, there was plenty of food at the bottom that im sure he would have eaten, but the problem was, that he was no where to be seen.... ill try the same thing in the morning tomar. But for now theres alto of shrimp floating around and now im worried that it wont get eatten and mess something up...

EDIT EDIT: yay i found him, and he ate a few things he found and theres still plenty of more shrimp on the ground even tho i turned the powerhead on

 

[littleme1969]

Scooters do sleep in the sand. Al1 that is left is a pair of eyes sticking out , they also usualy hide under a cave or up against rockwork so you cant see them at all. This is why feeding with the lights off is no use. Mine goes to bed at lights out everynight. sometimes just before lights out as they go off at the same time. Target feed late in the day, but the best thing you can do long term is buy more rock for him to graze off and the pods to breed amongst.
It will take him a while to get his degestive tract working upto full speed again. We have no idea how long hes been without a steady intake of food so give him time. If hes only eating a small amount at the mo then only add a little more that you think he will eat. As mentioned above get some CUC to finish off anything thats not eaten to cut down on any issue with water quality.
The pod breeding is pretty simple. You need some rock rubble and cheato to give them space to breed in. Most of the time you will get some with your live rock so no need to buy in. But they can be bough of ebay to add direct to your tank, but dont do that until you have more live rock and cheato otherwise they will get eaten before they have time to find a home.

 

[BigBeginner]

Scooters do sleep in the sand. Al1 that is left is a pair of eyes sticking out , they also usualy hide under a cave or up against rockwork so you cant see them at all. This is why feeding with the lights off is no use. Mine goes to bed at lights out everynight. sometimes just before lights out as they go off at the same time. Target feed late in the day, but the best thing you can do long term is buy more rock for him to graze off and the pods to breed amongst.
It will take him a while to get his degestive tract working upto full speed again. We have no idea how long hes been without a steady intake of food so give him time. If hes only eating a small amount at the mo then only add a little more that you think he will eat. As mentioned above get some CUC to finish off anything thats not eaten to cut down on any issue with water quality.
The pod breeding is pretty simple. You need some rock rubble and cheato to give them space to breed in. Most of the time you will get some with your live rock so no need to buy in. But they can be bough of ebay to add direct to your tank, but dont do that until you have more live rock and cheato otherwise they will get eaten before they have time to find a home.

ok, and do i put the rubble and cheato in the main tank or in another tank? and wat type of clean up crew should i get? (while im asking, could u just recommend a full CUC for my 55 gal?)

 

[BigBeginner]

ur right, i put 4 live rocks in and he became flat bellied (boney concave to flat) in a few hours =D, i plan to get more live rocks asap

will i still need cheato for pods? do i put the rubble and cheato in the main tank or in another tank/fuge? and wat type of clean up crew should i get?