Growth Rate Of A Lawnmower Blenny
I'm putting together this tank journal entry to put right an injustice in the world! I bought a really cute baby Lawnmower Blenny in September 2013 - he/she was an inch long and a tiny wisp of a thing. I was curious to know how long it would take him to reach maturity and couldn't find the answer ANYWHERE. How can there be such little information available on such a commonly kept fish?
All I can do is make this tank journal entry and record the progress he has made so far :) My measurements are extremely scientific - by eye!
Here is a video of him in my algae infested (and now dismantled as a result) tank 3 months after I got him - you will need to make it full screen to see him properly. He was so cute my heart melted to a puddle at the sight of him - very rewarding to raise your fish from young.
At this stage the only growth I'd seen was a thickening of his body and becoming less see-through, as well as gaining weight.
Present day, over a year later, this is how he looks now. Apologies for the lack of scale, he is still very shy - but he is a solid 2 inches now with the signature pot belly we all know so well.
All going well with him I will continue to update as he grows. I did find a reference somewhere which I've been unable to located again that suggested that they grow to a mature size rapidly in the wild. I haven't found that to be true in his case and he has had an abundance of highly nutritious foods and a natural diet available to him, so I hope that he will attain a maximum size, or at least grow into a healthy, strong adult.
All I can do is make this tank journal entry and record the progress he has made so far :) My measurements are extremely scientific - by eye!
Here is a video of him in my algae infested (and now dismantled as a result) tank 3 months after I got him - you will need to make it full screen to see him properly. He was so cute my heart melted to a puddle at the sight of him - very rewarding to raise your fish from young.
At this stage the only growth I'd seen was a thickening of his body and becoming less see-through, as well as gaining weight.
Present day, over a year later, this is how he looks now. Apologies for the lack of scale, he is still very shy - but he is a solid 2 inches now with the signature pot belly we all know so well.
All going well with him I will continue to update as he grows. I did find a reference somewhere which I've been unable to located again that suggested that they grow to a mature size rapidly in the wild. I haven't found that to be true in his case and he has had an abundance of highly nutritious foods and a natural diet available to him, so I hope that he will attain a maximum size, or at least grow into a healthy, strong adult.
