Mandarin fish help
- Thread starter Peach02
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Hemmdog
10K Club member
35lbs in a 32gal. Reduced it to 20 when I transferred the mandarin to my bigger system.
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Peach02
Valuable Member
Okay so I got him eating but now he is seemingly obsessed with his reflection, he is never going further than a inch from the glass and trying to swim with his reflection cheek to cheek does anyone know what this could mean? I plan on getting a female on Thursday but I’m not sure if we will be able to catch her. Anyone got advice? Kinda worried the fish is depressed if that’s a thingso yesterday I got a mandarin fish about 1.5 inches and chubby
My question is how do I tell if he is eating and if he isn’t how can I encourage him to
When I put him in yesterday he swam and sat on my clam then perched on a rock, moved into a cave and has barely come out since, he is breathing and moving every now and then but mostly watching the other fish by the looks of it
I’ve put tons of frozen pods and brine shrimp in but I haven’t seen him eat and it’s hard to tell with him in the cave
I tried to catch up to put him in a isolation tank to try get him to eat but I couldnt catch him
Only other fish are
2 clowns
Coral beauty
2 fire fish
Bicolour blenny
33 gallon tank
16kg of rock
@ccombs @Hemmdog
@chascornell
Scurvy
Pirate Reefer
Mandarins chasing their reflection is pretty normal. Mine spends a couple of hours each day doing the same.
While you may have luck keeping one mandarin happy in a 33g tank I think two is a bad idea. Theres simply not enough rock to support the copepod population they’ll require unless you’re adding pods almost constantly. Pods will always be their primary food source.
While you may have luck keeping one mandarin happy in a 33g tank I think two is a bad idea. Theres simply not enough rock to support the copepod population they’ll require unless you’re adding pods almost constantly. Pods will always be their primary food source.
Mine is eating frozen mysis too. I am feeding him 3-5 times a day, but I'm worried this is not enough. How often do you feed?Mine eats frozen mysis. I had him in a 32 biocube for a year with zero issues, he was very fat and happy. Now he’s even happier in my 90g that has a fuge, still fat happy and vibrant. As long as you aren’t under feeding your fish, he should learn to eat the leftovers fairly quickly, mine did at least.
RIreefGuy
Salt life
If you can get your hands on some phyto and pods, breeding them is pretty easy. I use a 1 gallon container with a piece of rigid airline tubing. Bubble slowly. Add some phyto every couple of days when the green tint goes away. My mandarin eats frozen but I still supplement with pods. She is a porker lol
Hemmdog
10K Club member
I do 3 times,so that sounds good.
Watch his weight. If he stays plump, he is eating. If you see him lose weight, purchase some pods. I also recommend starting an external pod culture. They don't eat 1000's of pods per a day, but they will clean your tank within a few months.
RIreefGuy
Salt life
They are frozen shrimp. They should be available in most LFS in a freezer. Here is a link to what they look like:
https://www.marinedepot.com/San_Fra...FfeTB13Ue_svcn3dys6G8FsjaNiMovEEaAhtrEALw_wcB
https://www.marinedepot.com/San_Fra...FfeTB13Ue_svcn3dys6G8FsjaNiMovEEaAhtrEALw_wcB
Mariette
Valuable Member
I’d return him 
I’ve got a 55 gallon tank and I’ve been trying to get enough of a pod population to feed one of these guys for 2 years. Never got anywhere close. These guys eat constantly all day long. You’ll been a much larger established tank to feed this guy long term.
I’ve got a 55 gallon tank and I’ve been trying to get enough of a pod population to feed one of these guys for 2 years. Never got anywhere close. These guys eat constantly all day long. You’ll been a much larger established tank to feed this guy long term.Jon Fishman
Cleveland Ohio, buy/sell local!
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