Reefer in Woburn

[hjsullivan]

Hey there!

I'm Heather, most people call me Sunshine. I have three tanks at home, a well established freshwater with Cichlids and a Black Ghost, planted tank (that I'm still working the kinks out of haha), and just recently entered the world of salt water. My salt tank is a 30 gallon, live rock and some corals. I have a Scooter Blenny, two Clowns, a Wathcman Goby, and a bunch of snails ... and I have no idea what I'm doing . Looking forward to learning and growing here.

I'm here initially for two reasons: 1) my Scooter isn't getting enough food and won't eat flakes/pellets and I'm struggling with copepods and how to keep enough of them, and 2) what is a sump and do I need one?

I'm sure there will be many, many more questions.
But this is where I am starting lol.

thanks!
h

 

[Dekon]

Hello Heather and welcome to BRS. Sorry I can not really help you with question one, never had a Scooter Blenny; but I have heard of people making little rock rubble piles so that pods have a place to hide and multiple in. As for a sump it is usually under the tank or in a basement, it adds more water volume and is a place you can put some of your equipment. You can sometimes create a refugium section in your sump for the cultivation of macroalgae and pods. Your tank will need either an overflow or be drilled to get the water to the sump and have a return pump to return the water to the tank. I am sure more people will chime in.

 

[daves-reef]

Welcome Heather.
Besides flakes and pellets. Have you tried any frozen foods. A goal might be to train the blenny to accept frozen instead of just live.
Maybe start with some frozen brine shrimp. Get the brand enhanced with green spirulina algae.
Brine not very nutritious but as a start then maybe mysis shrimp and others.

 

[hjsullivan]

Your tank will need either an overflow or be drilled to get the water to the sump and have a return pump to return the water to the tank. I am sure more people will chime in.

Yikes! Not sure I'm ready for that yet lol.
Thanks @Dekon!

 

[hjsullivan]

Get the brand enhanced with green spirulina algae.
Brine not very nutritious but as a start then maybe mysis shrimp and others.

Thanks @Daves-reef! I'll definitely have to check that out. I have tried frozen brine shrimp, but he wouldn't come up and eat it. I also think I was feeding to much. The cubes are about .25" - .5" square, I was 1/4 them, but he still didn't seem interested. Should I be trying to feed him directly? Thawing them out? Like I said, I have no idea what I'm doing lol.

thanks guys!

 

[daves-reef]

I always thaw frozen out in little tank water first. You can use a plastic dropper tube cut down to accommodate the size of frozen food. Or even a turkey baster which I often use. To suck up the frozen water and food and squirt it into the tank. But not directly at fish as to scare them. just to get food in water column and moving around not floating on top.

 

[hjsullivan]

OK thanks! I'll try that this weekend!

 

[wolffman1992]

Scooter Blennies are notorious for not eating frozen as they are in the dragonet family. Luckily, scooters tend to take to frozen more frequently than blue mandarins and red dragonets, making them more suitable for captivity. A sump is a tank underneath the display tank that allows you to keep assorted equitment out of sight and underneath the sand. You can also throw macro algae in a dump which will provide refuge to microorganisms allowing them to reproduce without the threat of predidation. As the population grows they will be sucked up by the return pump, making their way to the display tank and in turn providing your scooter blenny with a natural food source. Pods are available at most LFS but be sure to checking the expiration date on the packaging as they tend to be perishable after a certain period of time. One thing to note is while you are trying to train your scooter to eat frozen be aware over feeding will lead to water degradation which may result in algae etc. While a sump and macro algae is your most viable option, the addition of pods once a month will also provide him with the food he needs.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Welcome to BRS! I'd love to see pictures of your tanks.

You can add a sump, it's a good place to hide equipment and such, but as mentioned is a bit of work and planning especially with an already running tank. With a smaller tank like 30g, just water changes and maybe a hang on skimmer will work fine.

Honestly, the scooter will not be able to find enough food in a 30g to survive long term. It sounds as though your tank is new also, which doesn't help as the pod population can't establish and grow while he's munching any that he finds. But even with a well established smaller tank, a scooter (or mandarin) will mow through the pods in there in less time than one would think. Unless you are doing a lot of work specifically for him - large active refugium and swapping rocks in and out of your tank, buying live pods very frequently ($$), setting up a pod grow out tank (which you have to feed, and then get the pods from that tank to the display), etc - a scooter will starve in a 30g tank. Getting him to eat frozen will help, but not enough for him to live off long term - dragonets are designed to be eating all day and just one big meal won't cut it. They are cool little fish but the vast majority of the time are just not sustainable in small tanks because of their food source and feeding style.

 

[hjsullivan]

Welcome to BRS! I'd love to see pictures of your tanks.

Thanks for all the info guys! It doesn't look like it's going to end well for my Scooter by the sounds of things . That makes me sad, I had no idea they were so difficult to care for. It was actually recommended as a starter fish and he was the first one in the tank. At any rate, attached are the photos of my tanks. I have a 30g freshwater with Cichlids, a 30g saltwater (which is why I'm here lol), a 10g planted tank (still on a learning curve with that one too), and two 2.5g desktop tanks with Bettas (one at work and one at home).

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Your reef tank looks nice and clean. Attractive clowns

Is that a pirate mast background? Looks good - subtle but neat.

Your plants look nice and algae free. I have been trying to get a handle on the algae in my planted 20g. How do you find the hairgrass does?

 

[hjsullivan]

Your reef tank looks nice and clean. Attractive clowns

Is that a pirate mast background? Looks good - subtle but neat.

Your plants look nice and algae free. I have been trying to get a handle on the algae in my planted 20g. How do you find the hairgrass does?

Thanks! Trying to keep it that way haha! The Snowflake Clown is my favorite, he has this HUGE white patch, it's pretty wild. And yes, that's a pirate background haha. I need to get black ones for the salt and 10g, just haven't felt like dealing with it. I hate seeing the piping =\.

The planted tank is hit or miss honestly. There is a little algae on the plants, I'm still experimenting with the lighting, I'm down to 8 hours a day, but still getting algae on the glass. It's over filtered with a 20g filter. I dunno what is going on haha. The hairgass is really difficult to plant! And it sheds, a lot! I love the carpeted look in some of the aquascaped tanks I've seen, but I have no idea how to get there. The hairgrass was an experiment. It's doing well, not dying or anything, but it does start floating sometimes and I have to re-plant it.

 

[Dekon]

Your tanks look great Heather. Maybe try and catch the Scooter and trade him in for store credit at your LFS.