Mandarin starving itself to death?

[ChadLo]

I have tried every food at this point. I wish I could catch him but he always slips into a crevice. His hunting habits have never been proper in my tank. He literally sits in one small area and does not actively explore for food. I feel like maybe he was not healthy to begin with since his behavior is so abnormal.

There is a reason this can be one of the toughest fish in the hobby to keep! It seems like you either get a really good one or really bad. Even a lot more experienced reefers have had trouble keeping them. One of the most if not the most colorful unique fish. My fingers are crossed for you! I really hope you have luck.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Same here. I've been through a few.

If he keeps going back to the same spot , feed there. Use the fattier foods.
Also try garlic in the water Coloum.

It's a double whammy , food introduction and their personality.
Kinda like cats. They do what they want. If you have some chato stick it near that spot too.

 

[ChrisOFL]

There is a reason this can be one of the toughest fish in the hobby to keep! It seems like you either get a really good one or really bad. Even a lot more experienced reefers have had trouble keeping them. One of the most if not the most colorful unique fish. My fingers are crossed for you! I really hope you have luck.

Yeah, I had a ruby dragonette in my first tank and it did extremely well till it went carpet surfing. I was hoping that this was something that wouldn't last but it seems like people have had mandarins that just don't seem to eat for whatever the reason may be.

 

[ChadLo]

Yeah, I had a ruby dragonette in my first tank and it did extremely well till it went carpet surfing. I was hoping that this was something that wouldn't last but it seems like people have had mandarins that just don't seem to eat for whatever the reason may be.

When I picked mine out from the store, he was incredibly active going all over looking for food. I asked the LFS to feed the tank a bit of brine and he ate it. He has been the successful one in my tank. I had one about a month prior and he only ate the lrs reef frenzy. He did not last long in my tank. I guess my point is ask them to feed brine at the store and make sure he is super actively looking for food. I know it can be easier said than done.

 

[reefcleaners Verified Sponsor]

Last Saturday I purchased a Green Mandarin and ever since he has been in my tank, he has done very little hunting. I have pods all over the glass but he completely ignores them. I've tried feeding LRS frozen, arcti-pods, I dumped at least 7000+ pods into the tank and left the pumps off for over an hour so they could settle into the rocks, I've tried herding him to where the pods are most dense, and I currently have decapped baby brine shrimp eggs in some @Paul B style feeders. He has no signs of disease and none of my fish are picking on him either but his stomach has been completely shrunken in since Monday. Has anyone else experienced a mandarin not eating for an extended time after being introduced into a new environment? I know it is not normal for a mandarin to behave this way for so long but I feel like I'm literally waiting for him to starve himself to death

Do you have access to live bloodworms locally? Many freshwater fish stores carry them. They will eat those pretty quickly, and you can feed them in a way that hunting wouldn't be an issue and you can see if he isn't eating, or is just a little nervous about the new tank still. Sad when they stop eating, not much you can do then.

 

[ChrisOFL]

Do you have access to live bloodworms locally? Many freshwater fish stores carry them. They will eat those pretty quickly, and you can feed them in a way that hunting wouldn't be an issue and you can see if he isn't eating, or is just a little nervous about the new tank still. Sad when they stop eating, not much you can do then.

Unfortunately he passed. I tried every food I could get and nothing drew his attention.

 

[ChadLo]

Unfortunately he passed. I tried every food I could get and nothing drew his attention.

Sad. You kind of wonder how their survival instinct doesn't kind of tell them to eat whatever they could to survive. Sorry for your loss.

 

[DSC reef]

Sorry for loss @Cronicreefer. I have to say though live brine isn't nutritious by any means and it will not sustain a mandarin. I'm not understanding the post about a mandarin eating LRS but not lasting long in the tank? That means the mandarin needs to be fed more often. We're going on 5 years with our mandarin and he eats LRS, ocean nutrition formula one pellets, reef cavier and live brine that I gut load. These foods have to be fed multiple times a day and can be a chore and taxing on nutrient export. My advice to you is to not give up but don't soley rely on live brine as a staple. Think of it as a part of the diet. We also add pods every few months from algae barn. My wife started hatching brine shrimp specifically for our mandarins and her freshwater tank so they get gut loaded with live phyto and reef roids. Sometimes the mandarin will choose to just not eat so don't be discouraged.

 

[MaiReef]

Baby Brine have the egg sac and can be quite nutritious to supplement the pods, but you have to hatch them yourself.

 

[ChrisOFL]

Sorry for loss @Cronicreefer. I have to say though live brine isn't nutritious by any means and it will not sustain a mandarin. I'm not understanding the post about a mandarin eating LRS but not lasting long in the tank? That means the mandarin needs to be fed more often. We're going on 5 years with our mandarin and he eats LRS, ocean nutrition formula one pellets, reef cavier and live brine that I gut load. These foods have to be fed multiple times a day and can be a chore and taxing on nutrient export. My advice to you is to not give up but don't soley rely on live brine as a staple. Think of it as a part of the diet. We also add pods every few months from algae barn. My wife started hatching brine shrimp specifically for our mandarins and her freshwater tank so they get gut loaded with live phyto and reef roids. Sometimes the mandarin will choose to just not eat so don't be discouraged.

Baby Brine have the egg sac and can be quite nutritious to supplement the pods, but you have to hatch them yourself.

I had bought hatching decapped baby brine and tried to feed those as well. My tank has an abundance of pods and I culture them as well. I add about 5000+ pods every few days because the culture grows so fast on my live phyto. I was successfully keeping a ruby mandarin before till it jumped out :/ I've just had bad luck with these fish do far

 

[DSC reef]

I had bought hatching decapped baby brine and tried to feed those as well. My tank has an abundance of pods and I culture them as well. I add about 5000+ pods every few days because the culture grows so fast on my live phyto. I was successfully keeping a ruby mandarin before till it jumped out :/ I've just had bad luck with these fish do far

Sounds like it, there one of my favorite fish. Don't give up, that one that eats will provide years of enjoyment. There almost majestic floating through the water.

 

[ChrisOFL]

Sounds like it, there one of my favorite fish. Don't give up, that one that eats will provide years of enjoyment. There almost majestic floating through the water.

I plan on waiting until I can find a nice ruby dragonette, they are my favorite. And since they stay smaller it should be easier to keep a pair of them well fed on my pod culture. In the mean time I need to get rid of this red slime that's just making my tank look ugly.

 

[DSC reef]

We almost got a ruby red but decided to get a female for our mandarin. As far as cyano goes, we always have a patch here and there. Lol

 

[ChrisOFL]

We almost got a ruby red but decided to get a female for our mandarin. As far as cyano goes, we always have a patch here and there. Lol

I'm actually a fan of letting cyano do its thing but it's covering like 50% of my sand bed right now and a good amount on the glass so it's starting to block my view lol.

 

[DSC reef]

Bare bottom here, cyano on the glass I crank up the flow! I don't mind a little here and there, a quick blow off with a baster during a water change and were all set. Can't block the view! Lol

 

[ChrisOFL]

Bare bottom here, cyano on the glass I crank up the flow! I don't mind a little here and there, a quick blow off with a baster during a water change and were all set. Can't block the view! Lol

I have a DSB but I still keep my pumps on max. The funny thing is, the cyano is growing right where the return pump blasts onto the backwall If I want more flow I'm going to have to get another powerhead. Oh well, the corals grow well and I guess that's what matters.