scooter blenny

Question
Good evening Marcus. Our scooter blenny died today/over night, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why. This isn't the one stung by the anemone, this was the replacement for that one. He ate good, including frozen foods for the other fish. There are lots of tisbe copepods in the tank, as they can be seen by the glass in large numbers. He just kept getting skinnier and skinnier for no apparent reason. He ate right up until yesterday! He seemed to pick at the rock and substrate for the pods. What might have happened? I'm kinda wondering about the wisdom of getting another dragonet specie. I love the little guys, but hate seeing them just wither away. Any suggestions?? Thanks   Paul

Answer
at this point, all i can really think is that you thought he was eating, but he truly was not. often times they will pick at rocks in an attempts to get some food even if there is none to be had. it seems your pod population just wasnt established enough to handle the fish. i would suggest purchasing an ora mandarin, they have already been weaned onto frozen food and are far more beautiful than a scooter blenny. although they are a bit pricier.