treesprite April 2, 2018 Share April 2, 2018 Hopefully, it will be okay. It was an impulse buy, which I don't usually do with fish. It's an aqua cultured striped combtooth blenny. Supposedly these fish are fairly resistant to the typical fish disease culprits, and being aqua cultured maybe has a better chance in captivity, so I was considering that information when decided whether or not to buy a fish from PETCO. I have never had a blenny, and wasn't planning on getting one. But I saw that it has a little bit of yellow in it, and figured maybe it will help satisfy my need for a fish that has yellow on it. I don't like that the max size is supposedly 5 inches, because I don't really want it to get that big (presently is about 2"). The striped blenny supposedly spends more time swimming in mid water column than other blennies (the main reason I never wanted blennies is the tendency to stay on the bottom of the tank). Supposedly they are mildly venemous, so I will have to try not to get bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite April 2, 2018 Author Share April 2, 2018 I could use some feedback about keeping this fish with orchid dottyback and cherub angel. I haven't got them yet, but they are my livestock plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 2, 2018 Share April 2, 2018 don't know about every blenny, but my tailspot is up on the rocks all the time and swims all around when food is in the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl April 2, 2018 Share April 2, 2018 Is this the same thing as a striped fang blenny (Meiacanthus grammistes)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malacoda April 2, 2018 Share April 2, 2018 Is this the same thing as a striped fang blenny (Meiacanthus grammistes)? Not if it's combtoothed blenny... Curious though as I'm not aware of any kind of 'striped' combtooth that has yellow in it. Treesprite, are you sure it's a combtooth and not a fang blenny? Would love to see a picture of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tygger April 3, 2018 Share April 3, 2018 Do you have a pic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite April 3, 2018 Author Share April 3, 2018 (edited) Is this the same thing as a striped fang blenny (Meiacanthus grammistes)? That is what it is. It is a combtooth species with a confusing common name, though not as confusing as calling a dragonet a blenny. I don't have a picture of it, but here is the Wiki link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiacanthus_grammistes The lighting affects the visibility of the yellow. When the one I have was in the store tank, the yellow was obvious and bright, but in my QT with only actinics and the light in the room, I can't see the yellow. Edited April 3, 2018 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmoore April 3, 2018 Share April 3, 2018 It’ll be fine. I have several fish I’ve purchased from my local Petco in Cheshire Station near Dale Blvd. I currently have a very healthy and active lawnmower blenny, mandarin goby, cleaner goby, and yellow tang from there. I also bought Hermit crabs, Turbo snails, Astrea snails, and a few corals from there. Everything is doing well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite April 3, 2018 Author Share April 3, 2018 It’ll be fine. I have several fish I’ve purchased from my local Petco in Cheshire Station near Dale Blvd. I currently have a very healthy and active lawnmower blenny, mandarin goby, cleaner goby, and yellow tang from there. I also bought Hermit crabs, Turbo snails, Astrea snails, and a few corals from there. Everything is doing well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk About 18 years ago, I was the aquatics person at a PETCO (it closed), and the saltwater fish were always coming in sick or DOA, right out of the shipping boxes. That is why I have concerns about the fish there. I think the merchandise was getting left sitting for ghastly long times while waiting for distribution to the various store locations. It would come in with other types of living things, so it would have taken time for the individual store orders to get sorted out and put on specific trucks. I don't know if that process has changed or not, but it would probably make a big difference in the health of the animals if it did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmoore April 3, 2018 Share April 3, 2018 If you’re ever near the Cheshire Station store, check it out. The corals are very healthy. A fellow reefer maintains the saltwater tanks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malacoda April 4, 2018 Share April 4, 2018 (edited) Well, what do you know... thanks for posting the link. It taught me something new. I'd always been under the mistaken impression that combtooths and fangs (Meiacanthus) were two separate families of blenny. Turns out fang blennies are just one genus of the combtooth family (so all fang blennies are combtooths, but not all combtooths are fang blennies). That said, your fang blenny ought be fine with a cherub and a dottyback. While usually not aggressive toward other fish (except for other fang blennies), they're pretty brazen and tend to stand up for themselves when necessary. As for getting bit, you'd have to really spook it/corner it for it to resort to a bite. Unlike, say, some clown fish, I've never heard of a fang blenny biting someone out of territorial defense or anything like that. While they were a bit curious as to what I was doing sometimes, my canary and blackline fang blennies never acted aggressive when I had my hand in my 24g tank. All in all, IMHO, fang blennies are very underrated fish. They're very active and outgoing, and I think you'll really enjoy the movement and character is adds to your tank. Edited April 4, 2018 by malacoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tygger April 4, 2018 Share April 4, 2018 If you’re ever near the Cheshire Station store, check it out. The corals are very healthy. A fellow reefer maintains the saltwater tanks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I concur. The aquatic section at this Petco is one of the better ones... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite April 5, 2018 Author Share April 5, 2018 I'll probably never get to that location, but I'm really interested in seeing it. The workers in the stores have to work with what they get, and they really have their work cut out for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08can-am April 5, 2018 Share April 5, 2018 I added one of these this week to my tank. There are chromis, a cardinal fish, clowns, and firefish. He just swims around and keeps near the rock work. I do have a lot of hiding spots and swimming spaces in case it decodes to start chasing someone. Really cool looking fish. Good luck with yours. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malacoda April 5, 2018 Share April 5, 2018 (edited) Forgot to mention, if you don't already have one, you might want to keep a screen on the tank. If they don't find a suitable nook in the rock work to call home, they'll sleep vertically against the glass where two panes meet. And if they get startled while sleeping in that vertical position, reflex may kick in and they'll shoot straight up out of the tank. Lost my green canary that way. Wife turned a hall light on very early one morning and the sudden brightness shining into the room and onto the tank spooked it. Found on floor a few hours later when I went in to do the morning feeding. Edited April 5, 2018 by malacoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite April 15, 2018 Author Share April 15, 2018 Fishy LOVES the Cobalt Aquatics worm-based flake food I won at the meeting today. I have never been much of a flake food user, but this one seems like a good addition to the diet of this blenny. (I actually had won the other can of Cobalt food, but asked Hilary to swap with me). So far, fish is still looking and acting okay. I still don't have any tankmates for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami April 16, 2018 Share April 16, 2018 Fishy LOVES the Cobalt Aquatics worm-based flake food I won at the meeting today. I have never been much of a flake food user, but this one seems like a good addition to the diet of this blenny. Great news! Glad to hear it. Sent from my tablet using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite April 25, 2018 Author Share April 25, 2018 (edited) There were aquacultured orchid dottyback in the PETCO today, so I finally have one. The two LFS get their fsh from the same place apparently, and neither has a new fish quarantine procedure, so I figured I may as well go with the PETCO and not bother calling the shops. The blenny has been in QT since March 26th, and still seems to be doing great, so I will move it to the DT today and put this dottyback in the QT (just came out of the store). Edited April 25, 2018 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite April 26, 2018 Author Share April 26, 2018 (edited) Someone at PETCO super screwed up. The water specific gravity was only 1.013 (it was 1.024 when I got the blenny). I guess that is why the anemones there were upside down and shrivelled. I wonder if I should call and tell them. Edited April 26, 2018 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami April 26, 2018 Share April 26, 2018 Someone at PETCO super screwed up. The water specific gravity was only 1.013 (it was 1.024 when I got the blenny). I guess that is why the anemones there were upside down and shrivelled. I wonder if I should call and tell them. Definitely call the manager of their aquatics section and let them know. If they're running such a low salinity for their fish in a fish-only system, that's OK. If they've got inverts like anemones in the same system, they should move them to another system with a salinity closer to 1.024-1.027. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite April 27, 2018 Author Share April 27, 2018 (edited) I called, but the only person who could answer the phone was a groomer. He didn't really understand what I was saying, so I had to emphasize the word "deaths". He said he would tell the manager. I'm kind of curious how the water got that way. There was a guy who worked once a week at the (now closed) PETCO where I used to work, who used to work for an aquacultured place, and twice in a few months time, he left the hose running to top off, and killed everything in the saltwater tanks. The first time, we had just gotten a big shipment, plus the hose was on all night and the entire store was flooded, with water going under the front doors onto the sidewalk. I was upset about it at the time, because I was in charge of that department and that guy only worked once a week, and all those beautiful creatures were dead in the tanks when I got to work. But the guy lied to the manager that it wasn't him who left the hose running (meaning it would have been me, except I had not been at work that day), so he didn't get fired the first time. After he killed everything the second time, the manager finally listened to me and fired the guy. How can someone who is supposed to be that experienced with saltwater fish, be so careless with them? Edited April 27, 2018 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite May 24, 2018 Author Share May 24, 2018 The dotty was at 4 week mark, so I put it in the DT today. I now have 2 fish in the DT. Both are from PetCo. Both were individually QTed for a few.weeks. They both appear to be healthy. Both of the fish were captive bred, which I think gave them a boost for health when they were in the PetCo tanks with wild-caught fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite May 24, 2018 Author Share May 24, 2018 I just discovered this: https://www.petco.com/aquacultured Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM May 24, 2018 Share May 24, 2018 Petco bought DFS which owns Live Aquaria and Diver's Den. Good to see that some good practices from Diver's Den are working their way upstream, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie2014 May 24, 2018 Share May 24, 2018 FWIW, I've had better luck with fish bought from Petco vs wamas members. I think the difference is I can observe the fish at the store before buying vs getting one that had already been bagged by the previous owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now