Scooter Blenny + other questions

[Gunthr]

More specifically, Synchiropus ocellatus.

Background info: I have a 15 gal tank, maybe 2 months old, with one small RBTA hosting one small Clarki Clown, 4 peppermint shrimp, 2 Aptaisia that will be gone by the weekend, one Mithrax crab and a few grazer snails. I love it, but something is missing.

I have about 20 lbs excellent LR, and one inch Live Sand in the bottom. There is a lot of small stuff on the rocks that look like tiny feather dusters, plus some plants I haven't identified yet.

This tank is filtered by a large Emporer Power filter with two bio-wheels, and an in-tank Enheim orbit powerhead filter thingy. I have 65 + watts over it, (65 watts of 50/50... 10K/Actinic, and I think about 10 watts gro-lux or whatever.)

Anyway, I am a total newby to marine tanks, but I think this tank is getting to be fairly stable, maybe near the end of the brown diatomacious algae stage. I'm currently not interested in hard corals.

I'm thinking about buying a small Scooter Blenny.

My question is, would this creature be happy in my setup? I am sure that I am willing to commit to special feeding, but I realize that I don't really know what is required for these little guys.

I do %15 percent water changes each week. Will my set up handle that Blenny?


Is a ten gallon sump tank a crazy idea for my 15 gal? Should I get a skimmer?

As far as my end goal, I won't ever be going to a larger size of display tank. This is it. So, considering my limits, can I make a happy place for a Scooter Blenny in my tank? (They have so much personality!)

Thank you for any information...

[davetkoch]

Awesome fish but not sustainable in a 15 gallon IMO, UNLESS you are ABSOLUTELY sure that he will take prepared food. Otherwise, they are capable of wiping out pod populations easily in such a small tank.

Adding more water volume is never a bad idea, and a skimmer such as the usually dreaded Red Sea Prizm would be fine for 25 gallons. You can score one very readily and cheaply on the selling forum. ;) You can hide your equipment in the sump.

[davetkoch]

BTW, if you're looking for a fish with alot of personality a jawfish may fit your bill. They do have special requirements, though. You need to have some substrate with lots of rubble readily available for them to construct a burrow, and you need to keep a lid on the tank until they have settled into their home. Otherwise they are and easy to care-for fish. I would say 15 gallon is the minimum size for these guys but do-able given good husbandry and proper attention. They typically hover right above their burrows, so they can live in a failry small environment.

[JumboShrimp]

Dont go with a scooter, find a lawn mower that eats mysid, or other prepaired food. They have much more personality IMO, scooters eat copods and amphipods, and a 15 gallon is just too small. GO for a lawn mower blenny.

[R33f3r]

Way too small, IMO. Scooters eat all day and I have one in my 75 with 90# or rock and it has wiped out the pod population in a matter of months. IF you can get it to eat frozen mysis or worms then I would say go for it.

[TimD]

I'll also say the only way you should consider a scooter blenny (or any member of the dragonet family, like mandarins) is if you know for sure it will take prepared food. You have no guarantee outside of restocking the 'pods in your tank that any size population will sustain the fish indefinitely. If you don't want to cultivate or buy 'pods to keep your fish happy, then he has to take prepared foods like mysis or brine shrimp.

Luckily, it's not unrealistic to get a scooter that will take prepared food - just be sure that the LFS will feed him in front of you and demonstrate that he will, in fact, take prepared food.

[davetkoch]

Right--don't just go on their 'word.' For every honest LFS salesperson, there is also one out to just make a quick buck; that can be independent of whether the LFS is reputable in general.

I fell for this after I lost my original sailfin dragonet to a freak powerhead accident. I went to one of the trusted LFSs in my area to purchase a new dragonet. I naively believed the salesperson when he assured me that the fish in question ate prepared food. :rolleye1: Luckily I have a well-established pod-population with refugium, so he has done fine even with his acute reluctance to be anywhere near my hand or the food I put in the tank. I wouldn't honestly try letting a dragonet subsist in anything less than a 55, though.

Make your LFS feed the dragonet you are thinking of purchasing.

[VoidRaven]

I agree with the thoughts that a Scooter is a great addition, but it is a slight risk in a 2 month old 15g. If you really want to try it, I would wait until month 4 to add one in. Give some time for a pod population to establish. I have one in a 55g and they are great to watch...lots of personality. Something else to consider: they do like to bury themselves in the sand at night. I'm not sure if one inch of LS is going to be enough for him.

Mine did take readily to frozen mixes, particularly brine shrimp. Maybe I just got lucky, I don't know. But I do have 62lbs of LR in my tank and no other pod eaters. If you are willing to commit to buying pods every so often to add in just to be sure the blenny gets fed while you are trying to ween it over to prepared foods, then go for it. Otherwise, you might want to consider something else.

Incidentally, contrary to others, my pod population has INCREASED even with the Scooter in the tank. Whether this is due to him taking prepared foods in addition to pods, I don't know. But I've had a nice pod explosion on my glass lately that has me very happy (especially since my tank is only five months old).

Now if I could just get rid of this darn hair algae infestation I'm having....stupid stuff is getting out of control.

[Gunthr]

Thanks for the replies. I did have my heart set on a Scooter. I didn't know you could buy pods. I'm going to get some and try to culture them for the heck of it while I look for a Scooter that will take frozen food. The Jawfish does look like a cool fish that could also fill that niche in my tank, so its between these two.

How can I encourage the pods to multiply in a tank like mine? (I don't think I have seen any pods yet.)

[pong]

i have a 120g tank and a single scooter in it... i couldnt see a single pod...my scooter is fat... as in extremely

[JumboShrimp]

I had a yellow headed jawfish, be carefull they need sand as deep as thier bodys are long, this can be up to 5 inches, i think... If they hide under a rock, this isnt really a burrow, but just a "saftey burrow" there very difficult fish IMO.

[davetkoch]

Yellowheaded Jawfish 3-4" ;)

I've found that you can make jawfish very happy in SSB (~1.5"-2")aquariums as long as you attend to their needs. Upon introduction to the aquarium, they will seek a safety burrow, most likely under a rock, as JumboShrimp said. The key here is to have ample debris available for them to start constructing their homes. You can typically get a bag of small debris sized, cushed coral which is perfect for burrow building.

Regardless of where they choose to burrow, even if under a rock, you can assist them over time by stacking debris near their burrow and doing some gentle sandbed alteration to help them build up a mound so the substrate is sufficiently deep.

IMO this is the most difficult part of keeping this fish; as long as you attend to their needs, they are very easy fish with some of the coolest, most comical personalities.

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/dtk/mrgrinch.jpg
Since this picture was taken, Mr. Grinch has undertaken an engineering project to migrate his burrow further out into the sandbed but was very happy with this configuration for months.

BTW, I'm not trying to turn this into a Jawfish debate thread, rather, just share my experience. :)