Could be fern caulerpa. In itself not usually harmful and is a good source of food. It just has the possibility to respire carbon dioxide when it gets stressed due to lack of food or light. But I stress this is only a theory based on the lack of nitrates. Have you checked for phosphates?
Mandarin died
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phillygeeks
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It may also just be bad luck in timing where the combination of a starving mandarin and the stress of a move into a new tank did him in
William Mumford
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I have mine in a 8 month old 40 breeder I bought it at a local fish store super skinny and sick. I thought it wouldn't make it but I made a brine shrimp buffet out of an old container and a peice of screen. I put baby brine shrimp in he sucks them off the screen and he has a supplemented meal. Only use fresh hatched brine shrimp. Brine shrimp that are older than 36 hrs old do not have much nutrients. I would say like others that you probably didnt kill it. It was dying and just finished dying in your tank.
juanrmattos
- Frag Plug Hater -
I truly believe “Reef Maturity” is key, even with Pod and supplemental food they seem to struggle on fairly new tanks and after all the myths and legends developed by reefers is still a mystery to us all.
I usually shudder at fish stores when I see these fish inside a 7 x 7 cubicle, they usually look like the are broken in half of how skinny they look like, but the one thing I can say is that with today’s technology and advanced filtration the 1” of fish per gallon of water is outdated... As a matter of fact one of my LFS has a Red Mandarin in a 40 gallon reef and has been there for well over a year (Which seems to be a record on this species).
It is weird the way he ended up, I didnt read this thread fully, but it sure looks like it was burrowing or fixing to spawn... I honestly dont know.
Keep it up, we all loose a fish every now and then... Maybe you can try again further down the road.
I usually shudder at fish stores when I see these fish inside a 7 x 7 cubicle, they usually look like the are broken in half of how skinny they look like, but the one thing I can say is that with today’s technology and advanced filtration the 1” of fish per gallon of water is outdated... As a matter of fact one of my LFS has a Red Mandarin in a 40 gallon reef and has been there for well over a year (Which seems to be a record on this species).
It is weird the way he ended up, I didnt read this thread fully, but it sure looks like it was burrowing or fixing to spawn... I honestly dont know.
Keep it up, we all loose a fish every now and then... Maybe you can try again further down the road.
juanrmattos
- Frag Plug Hater -
It makes a little more sense to me now... Is not uncommon in fish to avoid feeding themselves while they are spawning; for a fish of this species that grasses permanently may have caused starvation waiting to lay her eggs... This is just me rambling though.
Keep your pod population and take your time to maintain the reef stable, you may fare well with a tank raised juvenile sooner than you think.
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@juanrmattos, Dragonets are pelagic spawners, and don't stop eating to court and they don't lay eggs in the sand. You may have confused it with some species of Goby who do. Dragonets are not gobies, they are more closely related to seahorses.
Also, 1 year is also no where near a record. public aquaria have had various species these to live 7-8 years some over 10. We should expect normal life to be at least 4 years in captivity, if not much longer.
Also, 1 year is also no where near a record. public aquaria have had various species these to live 7-8 years some over 10. We should expect normal life to be at least 4 years in captivity, if not much longer.
juanrmattos
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I stand corrected @pcon
Is just very far in between to hear about successful reef keeping of this particular species.
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They are a difficult family of fish, that deserve the advanced-expert rating that they are given.
The dragonets do really well long term, in well established 150+ gallon displays. Typically with similarly large pod filled refugium. They are simply not a fish that probably should be approached in ones first year, or few years, of reef keeping. I suspect by the time tanks get to this size there usually are more noticeable fish in it to talk about, so the successes are under reported. Compared to the plethora of underprepared people putting them in small tanks <1 year old.
Not to say, keep them in young and or small tanks, can't be done but, it is difficult and requires a degree of luck.
The dragonets do really well long term, in well established 150+ gallon displays. Typically with similarly large pod filled refugium. They are simply not a fish that probably should be approached in ones first year, or few years, of reef keeping. I suspect by the time tanks get to this size there usually are more noticeable fish in it to talk about, so the successes are under reported. Compared to the plethora of underprepared people putting them in small tanks <1 year old.
Not to say, keep them in young and or small tanks, can't be done but, it is difficult and requires a degree of luck.
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Marie7
Well-Known Member
Bobbit worm?
Marie7
Well-Known Member
Turn lights off at night and wait a while check with the light of your cellphone with all lights off It may be no bobit but can be something else... I find a gorilla crab before at my tank and believe me they are not good
Myinvert3dlife
Active Member
I don't fully agree with this. Maybe it depends on the tank, but my mandarin thrived in a 29G for a year (before upgrading to a larger tank) with a natural population of pods and would eat the shrimp and pellets fed to the other fish (which do require feeding 2-3x daily). He's incredibly chill and easy to care for. Maybe it depends on the individual fish as these guys clearly have the reputation of requiring expert care, but that has not been my personal experience.
Qasimja
Valuable Member
im pretty sure that fish was already on the way out when you got it a fish cant starve to death in 1 day and your tank being 5 months rules out any sort of ammonia spike but im no expert just goin by past experiences
Paul Sands
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You don’t agree with it, but it’s exactly what you did for your mandarin.
