Lawnmower Blenny went floor surfing
 

Just 15 minutes ago I went downstairs to check on my tank and found my lawnmower on the floor (about 4 feet away from the tank). I don't know how long it was out of the tank, but it was almost dry to the touch. It twitched a little when I picked it up, so I thought there was still a chance and put it into the tank. I made a little cup with my hand and slowly moved it back and forth through the water and it started breathing again! After about ten minutes it wiggled out of my hands and went down into the tank and is now staying at the front of the glass just breathing and not moving. Its breathing is steady, and not too rapid. I looked it over and it seems like it might have lost of scales on its side.

I turned down the flow on my main return pump to prevent my lawnmower from getting blown around... other than giving it time, is there anything else I can do for it? I loved this little guy, and would hate to lose him :frown:

-Rich

Well I hope you dont loose him and he's doing ok When i had my 120 going a few yrs back i had a CB that had popeye. So i had to put him ina QT tank and added the medical attention he needed. After a few hourse i went back to check on hom and notice that he was not in there . i looked around and found him at my feet. where i was just aboutto step. :frown:

thank god i didnt step on him.

mike

I lost mine last week the same way. I didn't notice him for a couple days (he has hidden in the past) the I started looking around the tank and found a rock hard blenny... :sad:

Walter

Mine lasted about 40 minutes in a similar episode. And it was still pretty moist when I found it. Hate to say it, but it likely won't survive.

I had a similar situation. I found one of my cichlids on the carpet, dry to the touch covered in lint. I picked it up thinking it dead. Then it moved its mouth ever so slightly. I put him back in the tank and used the same back and forth motion to hopefully revive him. It took 20mins but he came around. He was back to himself in an hour no worse for wear. Hopefully yout mower is doing ok now.
Any update Rich?

I just checked up on my blenny and I think it'll be alright :razz: . Its pearched inside a nook in the rockwork and is breathing normally, so it doesn't seem stressed out. It is a little pale, but looks a lot better than when I picked it up off the floor. I think I'll keep the water flow in the tank turned down for the next few days just so it doesn't have to spend too much energy fighting the currents in my tank.
I think I'm going to put eggcrate over the tank now.

Thanks for the support

-Rich

:multi: Good to hear.

Lawnmower blennies are tough. If it got over the initial trauma, then it should fully recover. I don't know for sure but they are very similar in shape & behaviour to a lot of tide pool fish which can withstand periods of exposure to the air better than most other spp.

Good luck.

Yours made it? Great news! :biggrin:

A bit of an update:

After more than a day in the tank, I'm starting to lose hope for my LB. It can't swim properly, or keep itself upright (most of the time I see it laying on its side). It used to run off whenever it saw anyone near the tank, but now it doesn't even have the energy for that. I had to chase off a bristleworm that tried to make a snack of my LB. Its tail and fins are all frayed too.

Should I keep at it and hope my LB will recover? Or should I just put it out of its miseries? :cry:

-Rich