We have a Starry Blenny (Salarias Ramosus) who has been an ideal citizen for well over a year now. Recently, our beloved Mandarin Elvis passed away so we decided to replace him with a pair we found at an LFS. The fish were acclimated and all was well, until the Starry began to violently attack the female Mandarin. It started with a couple of fin nips and quickly escalated to him grabbing the Mandarin and thrashing her from side to side. I netted the female as quickly as I could and moved her to the refugium, but she was pretty badly injured and passed away last night. [smilie=sadsmile.gif]
This morning, the male Mandarin was out and about when suddenly the Starry began violently attacking him as well. [smilie=angry.gif] I was able to net the male and move him to the refugium, with any luck, he'll survive.
I found a few stories Starry aggression (thanks Google), but was wondering if others have experienced something similar with this species. We've added several other fish in the past week or so and he hasn't shown any interest in them, but he's still circling the tank trying to find the Mandarin I removed this morning.
This morning, the male Mandarin was out and about when suddenly the Starry began violently attacking him as well. [smilie=angry.gif] I was able to net the male and move him to the refugium, with any luck, he'll survive.
I found a few stories Starry aggression (thanks Google), but was wondering if others have experienced something similar with this species. We've added several other fish in the past week or so and he hasn't shown any interest in them, but he's still circling the tank trying to find the Mandarin I removed this morning.