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Zombies026
03/08/2005, 07:55 PM
I have been thinking about getting a scooter blenny for some time and I'll b d@mned if I am gonna ask the LFS's around here about them..But r the reef safe?Will they eat my coral?What r the perks if any about getting 1?I have a lot of "pods" growing in my tank will they eat that?Do the eat some algea?R the good sand shifters?And last but not least are they good at pickin rocks of there algea?Sorry for all the questions but I wanna know and maybe pick 1 up this weekend...

Thank ya,
Are Jay

Schmev
03/08/2005, 10:25 PM
I'll go through the questions in order :)

1. Completely reefsafe
2. Won't bother any corals
3. The perk is its charming personality, and it has a unique style of swimming and perching as it hunts for food.
4. Won't touch algae
5. Not really sandsifters. They merely pick at the surface.
6. No they won't pick algae of the rocks, but they will pick out pods living in the algae.

Scooters, like Mandarins, are dragonets, as you may know of Mandarins, live almost exclusively off of eating pods. However, Scooters are known for accepting frozen foods more readily than Mandarins, and it is completely up to the individual Scooter to decide if it'd rather eat prepared or starve.

I say go for it, but buy a healthy (chubby) fish. Don't try to play the Hero and save a skinny, dying one. It's likely a waste of time and money for you, as sad as it is seeing skinny Mandarins and Scooters all the time here in Sheboygan.

If you don't have any wrasses, then I say your chances of keeping one happy are even better! Good luck :D

MalawianDude
03/08/2005, 11:33 PM
yup they are cool i love mine, so much animation and o when he does this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/big02daddy2002/MyBuddy.jpg

this guy will burrow himself into the sand, i took this pic not too long ago when i turned lights on in morning, couldn't find him and saw his eyes stickin above sand in front of tank:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/big02daddy2002/Hidden4.jpg

MalawianDude
03/08/2005, 11:34 PM
o forgot to add, my guy readily accepted frozen foods, but not flakes. Very easy to feed, i chanced with him, as i had LFS feed him in front of me but he didnt take, but luckily he is a pig at feeding time.

z28cam
03/08/2005, 11:35 PM
Schmev answered all the questions so no need for me to re answer them but I will add

The first fish I purchased was a scooter blenny, he's actually the reason I got into reefing in the first place. They are fun to watch, swimming around all day looking for food. And at night when its time for sleep mine will pick a place...hover for a couple seconds and then dive under the sand leaving just his big eyeballs above the surface.

So if your tank is ready to support a pod dependant fish I to say go for it.

Zombies026
03/09/2005, 02:43 PM
Sounds all good to me..I am excited, tonight I will buy 1...I am only getting 1 but in the long run do they do good if 2 r in the tank??I will also pick up some frozen brine shrimp for it to...What size should I buy for frozen or is there something else I should buy??

MalawianDude
03/09/2005, 02:59 PM
Mine eats, plankton, mysis, brine so far. I heard that if u have two in tank though they become aggresive if it's a male or something, not sure about that. Was fairly inexpensive around $13 for mine, someone here told me that the mating thing they do is very cool to see.

Zombies026
03/09/2005, 03:03 PM
How can u tell a male from a female??So that way I know if the LFS don't know and say they know....What size brine??

Zombies026
03/09/2005, 08:34 PM
i finally picked up a baby scooter today and i also picked up some Mysis. And a peppermint shrimp. i will be posting pictures of my two new kids this weekend, along with my frags.

Schmev
03/10/2005, 12:08 AM
If you get a male and female, they will get along. The males have longer top fins, the females have a fairly steady curvature of the top fin.

MalawianDude
03/10/2005, 12:35 AM
Cool man, u won't be disappointed with him.

Schmev, can u tell by the pics above if he's male or female? looks male...i think

Schmev
03/10/2005, 01:02 AM
That thing in the background really skews the view of the fin above the gill area, which is where the difference is. I zoomed to 400% and I don't see the long whiplike piece that should stick straight up a half inch or so at the very beginning of the fin. If this is the case, I would suspect it's a female. I'm not looking at the inch long sailfin at the back, we need to see the smaller tuft in front of it.

MalawianDude
03/10/2005, 08:14 AM
ok, thanx. I will have to play with macro on camera a little more.

Hey zombie, How's the little guy doing?

Stigmatic
03/10/2005, 02:45 PM
My scooter is awesome and very active. He covers the whole tank hourly i would say. Although, you do need a good pod supply in your tank just the same as a mandarin.

Zombies026
03/10/2005, 04:20 PM
So far so good, having a 55 gallon tank and a little scooter in there no bigger than an inch an a half, i think he'll do great. After looking at pictures and looking around the web i think its a female, the top fin is not as big or long as a male, but then again its a baby so maby its too early to tell. The peppermint shrimp that i put in last night must have found some sweet spots cuz i can't find him at all. The pod population seems pretty big but if by chance he happens to eat it all i did pick up some frozen mysis shrimp. Would now be a good time seing that she's a baby so that she gets used to eating it if the pods run out because they are picky eaters.

Zombies026
03/11/2005, 05:09 PM
Day 3 and all is well...No problems yet..Still wondering about feeding it the Mysis shrimp now so she gets use to it if something goes wrong..How fast do they grow??

MalawianDude
03/11/2005, 05:37 PM
lol prolly slow...urs is small, where'd u get it?

Zombies026
03/11/2005, 07:00 PM
Animal Adventure here in Appleton..I wanted a male and female but he only had the 1..O well I'll take my time instead of rushing into it..

brad23
03/12/2005, 10:58 PM
Oh no I think I made mistake buying this fish, I have a 37g with a 6 line already in it. He's in my QT tank right now, I hope he doesn't starve.

MalawianDude
03/12/2005, 11:58 PM
cool zombies, u love him especially when he starts fanning! that was the coolest thing i seen, i didn't even know they did that.


Brad, have u tried frozen foods? if he doesn't take to it, try a couple drops of garlic soak in the frozen food, makes even crabs move faster to the food for some reason.

z28cam
03/13/2005, 11:39 AM
I have a six line also but mine eats prepared foods. Just keep an eye on both fish to make sure they stay fat if one starts to get skinny then you need to worry.

Do you feed your six line at all?

Zombies026
03/17/2005, 07:53 PM
Welp its been a week and all is well..The scooter is still alive but alas I haven't seen my shrimp since I put him in a week ago..Hope he is okay and alive....

MalawianDude
03/17/2005, 08:03 PM
what kind of shrimp? the skunk one, cleaner shrimp?

Zombies026
03/17/2005, 08:09 PM
Pepermint shrimp..He was there when I put him in but now I can't find him at all...I hope he is alive,I don't want to think bad thoughts but they are starting to flow around..

Stigmatic
03/18/2005, 10:37 AM
lol, i have 4 peps in my 120. I rarely see them unless i go down at night with a flashlight and search the tank. They are mainly nocturnal creatures. So i dont think you have too much to worry about. Occasionaly ill have a scare when i see a molt floating around... lol

srlumaye1
03/18/2005, 01:35 PM
My blenny eats the frozen blood worms if you haven't tried that yet.

Steve