Blue Spotted Blenny with a Scooter Blenny?

[hachadwick]

I have a Blue Spotted Blenny and I was wanting to purchase a Scooter Blenny. What are you thoughts on these fish being a in a 50 Gallon reef tank? The other fish I have I'm pretty sure will be friendly, I'm just concerned about the blenny's.

 

[ErinCahir]

I think two blennys is asking for trouble.

 

[chichimom79]

A scooter blenny is actually a dragonette, more related to a Mandarin than a blenny. I have a Midas Blenny and a Mandarin. None of my fish pay one bit of attention to the Mandarin. Just keep in mind that the Scooter will need pods just like a Mandarin unless it is trained to eat frozen food.

 

[hachadwick]

A scooter blenny is actually a dragonette, more related to a Mandarin than a blenny. I have a Midas Blenny and a Mandarin. None of my fish pay one bit of attention to the Mandarin. Just keep in mind that the Scooter will need pods just like a Mandarin unless it is trained to eat frozen food.

Interesting. So do you think I should get one? I have LOTS of pods (my son calls then bugs) in my refugium and in the tank because right now I have nothing eating them:)

 

[chichimom79]

I am hesitant to say for sure. After all, I don't know your current fish population's personalities. If the fish you already have seem to be pretty docile, go for it.
Keep an eye on your pods. If the scooter wont eat frozen, a 55 may not be able to sustain enough pods unless you have a lot of extra live rock in your system.

 

[hachadwick]

Hmm, noted. I'm going to wait. I just lost a PJ Cardinal (I think he was old, no signs of damage, jsut slow and none responsive) over the weekend and I removed my Green starfish so I was looking to get a new bottom dwelling creature:) Thank you all for the feedback.

 

[salt_for_brains]

+1 chichi--- I would definitely try and get one that will eat frozen foods if possible. Never had a scooter but have a mandarin and they are very similar. He has a routine when I feed the tank of getting in a lower flow area to catch food as they are not interested in food that swiftly moves by them. Good luck!

 

[ErinCahir]

A scooter blenny is actually a dragonette, more related to a Mandarin than a blenny. I have a Midas Blenny and a Mandarin. None of my fish pay one bit of attention to the Mandarin. Just keep in mind that the Scooter will need pods just like a Mandarin unless it is trained to eat frozen food.

Oh I totally missed that he said "scooter".

I think you'll be okay as long as you don't have any overly-aggressive fish.
+1 on the getting one that eats frozen.

 

[hachadwick]

The local fish store has one for $8. A good deal I think. He looks healthy but I'll ask the guy to feed him and see how he does.

 

[FishyReef]

If you are looking for a good bottom dweller, I might suggest a watchman goby over a scooter or mandarin. They are hardier and still a lot of fun.

For what its worth, I haven't heard of a blue spotted blenny before. Do you know the species name? Are you sure its a blenny and not a goby or jawfish?

 

[hachadwick]

You know, this is why I use livingreefs:) The people here ask the right questions to help you out. What I have is actually a Starry Blenny. When I bought him he was labeled Blue Spotted Blenny. Here is a link to what I have today:
Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Starry Blenny

 

[FishyReef]

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't mix another blenny with the starry blenny. They can get large and I think would bully another blenny. Angela Jean had a starry blenny bully her kole tang to death, though I hope that was just an extreme example of aggressiveness and individual fish personality! But a starry is a very nice blenny to have and great pick up on your part!! I love them when I see them in the stores and look forward to having one in a tank some day :)

 

[salt_for_brains]

If you are looking for a good bottom dweller, I might suggest a watchman goby over a scooter or mandarin. They are hardier and still a lot of fun.

For what its worth, I haven't heard of a blue spotted blenny before. Do you know the species name? Are you sure its a blenny and not a goby or jawfish?

Just an FYI ----- Blenniella caudolineata, Blue-spotted blenny
There is not a lot of information out there on them. There are some pics of one towards the bottom of the page I linked Blenniella caudolineata, Blue-spotted blenny | The Reefuge | Marine Aquarium / Reef Aquarium Community

Glad you figured out which blenny you had.

 

[Angelajean]

Personally I wouldn't have a dragonet (scooter blenny) without it being conditioned to eat frozen foods. My understanding is that the pod population will quickly be depleted by the mandarin.