Scooter Blenny
Scientific Name : Synchiropus Ocellatus
Origin : Indo-Pacific Ocean
Temperament : Peaceful
Temperature : 72F - 82F
Maximum Size : 5 Inches
Diet : Carnivore
Difficulty : Hard
Reef Safe : Yes
Tank Size : 75 Gallons
The Scooter Blenny is another popular marine aquarium fish that has a name that is inaccurate, much like the Mandarin Fish. The scooter blenny is a dragonet, not a blenny. However, the name seems to have taken hold on this species for so long that it is still very commonly used.
They are found throughout the Indo-Pacific seas where they are commonly found at the bottom. They are collected in large numbers and are an inexpensive fish to purchase as a result. Expect to pay anywhere between $10 to $15 for a specimen.
Not as pretty as the Mandarin dragonet, they have patches of brown, white, grey and black throughout their bodies. They are slightly larger than their mandarin cousins and can attain a length of 5 inches in captivity. Unfortunately, like most dragonets that are brought into the marine aquarium trade, they have dreadful mortality rates due to their specific dietary requirements.
In their natural habitat, they are a benthic species that is usually found at the bottom where they scan the substrate and rock for any tasty crustaceans and worms that it may uncover.
In captivity, this behaviour can be seen. While they are not exactly a large fish, they still require larger, more established marine aquariums. A larger tank is able to produce enough copepods in the long run to sustain the scooter blenny. No less than an established 100 gallon tank is needed. You should always put all new fish in a quarantine tank for a period of time to treat for any parasites and diseases present.
However, most individuals simply cannot provide enough food for them which results in the scooter blenny slowly starving to death in captivity.
They can be trained to eat a variety of frozen foods with some effort. In order to accomplish this, we need to teach the scooter blenny to recognize dead food. And we do this with the use of live adult brine shrimp.
Artemia, or commonly called sea monkeys, are a very common food item in the marine aquarium hobby. Unfortunately, they are nutritionally poor, offering little more than fiber. But for the purpose of training dragonets to eat prepared foods, they are invaluable.
Begin by offering the scooter blenny live adult artemia. Once it begins feeding on them, start adding in frozen brine shrimp with the live ones. Eventually, it will start picking off frozen brine shimp along with chasing live artemia.
Slowly reduce the amount of live artemia offered and begin mixing in frozen mysis shrimp or krill into the mix. This part of the program is crucial. It must begin feeding on something more nutritious than frozen brine shrimp. Mysis shrimp and Krill are great substitutes.
They will live long lives if fed exclusively on krill and mysis. However, they are very slow eaters that require target feeding as they cannot compete with faster swimming fish.
