A lawnmower blenny discussion

[fluxe]

I'm thinking of adding these fish to my community tank and I'm curious about others' experiences. They're supposed to be great algae eaters and have lots of personality, but I want to know if they'll get along with my other fish.

I've got a 170 gallon tank with a pretty diverse group - 2 yellow tangs, 1 maroon clown, 1 six line wrasse, 1 golden sleeper gobie, 1 yellow watchman, 1 cardinal bangaii, 1 blue hippo tang, 2 blue green chromis, 1 fire gobie, 3 cleaner shrimp, and 2 peppermint shrimp.

I'm also concerned about my corals - 2 toad stools, 1 colt, green star polyp, yellow polyps, 1 leather finger, 2 cabbage, and lots of shrooms. I've heard these fish can sometimes nip at corals, is that true?

[talonix]

Hi, I've had lawnmower blennies with coflakes in three separate tanks and never had an issue. They're great to watch, my blenny's always following my hand or anyone walking past the tank. Feeding time is the best, it grabs a full cube and shoots back into its rock.

[fleeton]

They can get a bit nippy towards clams or some SPS, but it's not common. Generally, they make good tankmates

[finnix25]

Depends on the clam, I guess. Mine's a beast and cost an arm and a leg, lol. My blenny learned his lesson on day one - jumped on it and got launched out of the tank, was pretty funny. Second time around, he almost got trapped inside, but he's a smart little guy and keeps his distance now. I'd be shocked if he managed to damage a 250-dollar clam, especially since I'm basically stimulating the economy with my government handouts, haha.