Lawnmower Blenny Poll

[dsaundry]

So it was a sad day at the shop today as I came in to find {my wifes favorite fish} the Lawnmower Blenny on his side and not looking very well at all, I have had this guy for almost 4 years and we were sad to see him go. All other fish and corals fine, all water specs look good, did have a temp drop a week ago{Damn heater} and lost 2 Tangs but I thought everybody else weathered the storm ok. He seemed to be eating, but the curious thing is I now am experiencing a nasty hair algae bloom. I am going to run a different skimmer on it tomorrow and see what happens. Anyway I babble on, so does anybody know how long these fish live and what is the longest you have had one?

[mike31154]

No idea what their lifespan (barring predation) is in the wild, but I've had 3 of these guys pretty much close to a year each. They all met a different demise and I've decided not to get another for the moment. Maybe when I get a larger tank, I might try another.

Here's how they met their maker in my system:

1. The first one was a good sized specimen, so no idea how old it might have been when I purchased the critter. A newb error on my part, I failed to put a screen intake on one of the larger AquaClear powerheads I had in the tank when I first started out. He got too close and I found him sucked onto the intake, quite dead. I think I had him just under a year;

2. This guy was about the same size as #1 and I recall the girl at the LFS commenting on what a lively speciment he was. She hadn't seen one quite as active. He was lively alright, so much so that I found him all dried up on the carpet one day. That took about a year as well I think.

3. I snagged a tiny juvenile as my third kick at the cat. Was actually amazed that he made it through the first few months due to the diminutive size. He had to constantly watch his back and stayed fairly close to the surface and corners until he grew enough to range most of the tank without fear. One thing I noticed was that once he was the same size as the other two adult specimens I had, he still had to steer clear of my female Maroon clownfish. Never saw her openly attack him, but she would feint at him to hurry him along if he got a little too close to her territory. Anyhow, this guy just stopped eating and starved. No idea why. I think I had this one the longest, just over a year.

Don't recall my Maroon clownfish giving the first two the daily feints as the last one, but in the case of Blenny 1, I reckon that's because the clown was fairly small at the time. Same idea for Blenny 2, never saw aggression, but maybe one day Mrs. Maroon decided to give chase and that's why he jumped. I dunno, I was certainly not around to witness that event, or I could have saved the guy. This is why I will wait to get a larger system before trying another LB, it will provide more room for avoidance of the clownfish pair.

[hound96]

i have only had mine a few months but he seems happy and healthy not full grown jet but still a decent size

[dsaundry]

It seems the average lifespan is exactly what he ended up to be. Great fish, wonderful personality.

[ILIKECOUGARS]

I voted 3-4 years, but it's still alive and kicking. This was my first fish that was added to a 33g tank since then up graded to a 150g. One thing it doesn't like, when I clean the glass with the mag float it always try to bite the mag float.

[The Grizz]

I have 2 in my 8'er that have been in there for at least 6 month now. If there life span has anything to do with there size then I would say mine are almost done . They are HUGE, the bigger of the 2 is all most 3-4 long and his top fin has a reddish / orange strip. Cool looking fish and I will always have at least one in my tank.

[Reef_kid]

I have had one in every reef tank i have owned. the longer living ones, i lost one after 6 years. one after 5 years. and the current one i have is going on 5 years. they feeds on nori sheets, and all have lived in 90 gallon + systems. with 200-400 lbs of live rock per tanks.
always the first fish i buy for a new tank, and one of my favorite.

[365seasons]

We had ours just over a year.

Still unsure of what caused his death. He was fat, and healthy one day. My husband and I were commenting on what a pig he was and watching him eat. The following day came home to find him on his side, without a stomach (just a bone left there). He was still alive, and had his skin, was just empty.

Definitely a neat little fish, and have been keeping my eye out for another one that I'll take home with me. =)

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Most of mine have lived at least several years. My oldest one is maybe 5+ years old.

[MarkoD]

bought him at about 4 inches... had him 3 months so far and no problems at all.... he only eats whatever grows in the tank, but he's a fatty