New Mandarin...

[bbrklynn]

I recently bought a new mandarin fish.
She's beautiful.
But, as I'm a bit new to reef tanks and this is my first time,
I want to be sure I properly take care of her...
Im not exactly sure what to feed her...
It doesn't seem that see eats when I feed like my other fish do...

I have one scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
A purple fire fish
A pretty good sized spotted shrimp goby (who i rarely see)
And an orange spotten goby...

They all eat brine shrimp just fine it seems like...

But my little mandarin seems like she's not interested in it...

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Bryon]

They eat live copepods. They don't have stomachs so they pretty much search all day and night for pods to eat.

 

[james30ct]

Most mandarins will only eat live pods. If your lfs will give you a refund it would probably be best to return it so it doesnt starve. Definitely not a beginner fish. Live aquaria has a beginner section for fish with descriptions on how to take care of them. Go slow, read as much as you can, ask a ton of questions and you will save a lot of time and money

 

[Eienna]

Most mandarins will only eat live pods. If your lfs will give you a refund it would probably be best to return it so it doesnt starve. Definitely not a beginner fish. Live aquaria has a beginner section for fish with descriptions on how to take care of them. Go slow, read as much as you can, ask a ton of questions and you will save a lot of time and money

And heartache. It's possible to train these guys to frozen foods, but it takes a lot of work and patience and many die before they figure it out.

You're not feeding your fish just brine shrimp, are you?

 

[ontop27]

Also what is your substrate ? Looks like rocks

 

[BBoley24]

Got a little ReefCentral in here for a moment...

 

[EDM]

^ lol

ok here is were i can shine

as mandarin dragonets are one of my favorites ill shed some light on your situation
yours appears to be a female as its missing the male fin spine s(refer to my user image if your confused)

the dragonets are typically a difficult fish to keep to new enthusiasts , you need a well established tank (good levels) and a good thriving copepod population(link to live copepod for sale)

now you may be getting worried here, and you should be, this is were it can get tricky, there is a way to get them to be brine shrimp eaters,start off by adding in live brine shrimp into the tank, so when it finds a dead one or live it can try to eat it (

part 2 this usually calls for setting up a area thats somewhat enclosed (so only the dragonet can enter) and filling it with frozen brine shrimp cube and leaving it in a place the dragonet swims by often

if it dosnt take it will result in starvation and death. i would urge you to really do research on fish before purchasing them , the dragonets are difficult to get going in a new tank, i would refrence ask.com or liveaquaria i use them often as reference material

another thought is to buy some live rock and get it to start developing the copepod levels of the tank

 

[EDM]

also your species of dragonet (and mine) is a green mandarin dragonet btw

 

[Naiad]

If you are in a pinch you can buy live pods but keeping up with a mandarin that way will break the bank in no time. A refugium is really a must with these guys. They will also eat live freshly hatched baby brine which is has more nutrients than adult brine. There are some designs for feeders online that release the brine slowly so the mandarins can graze.

 

[joekool]

Tisbe Copepods are what they eat. And others

Do you have a healthy pod population. If not you will need some live pods and a few pod starter bags to get them going.

 

[bbrklynn]

I asked the woman at the shop all about them before I bought her and she told me that everything would be fine.
The feeding I already do.
She never told me anything about these copepods..
I feel terrible and am going first thing tomorrow to get her the food she needs.
(to another store who might know what they're talking about)

 

[Eienna]

Look for these, Tisbe in particular: Live Foods for Feeding Aquarium Fish, Inverts & Corals: AlgaGen ReefPods
These are more readily available, though, so if you can't get that look for these: Tigger-Pods | Reef Nutrition - Premium Coral, Fish and Invertebrate Feeds for the Marine Ornamental Industry

The tiggers are a moderately acceptable substitute at best, as they are more difficult for the mandarins to catch and may end up in your filter system (because they generally swim rather than running around on the rocks like the tisbe do.)

Brine shrimp, other than newly-hatched babies, are junk food. They are not nutrient-dense enough to sustain any fish long-term. All your fish will eventually starve and croak if that's all you're feeding. Variety is key. What other fish do you have?

You may also be able to get your mandarin to take New Life Spectrum Small Fish pellets (mine loved them) and Nutramar Ova is generally pretty quickly accepted. I would definitely get it feeding on the pods and in good condition before attempting a switch, though. Some will naturally catch on if enough settles to the bottom and they start experimentally picking at it while they have pods.

Get as many pods as you can at a time. They disappear shockingly quickly.

This fish is going to require a LOT of dedication, at least until it's eating frozens (not mainly brine unless you're hatching them yourself) - once they grow enough to swallow it they should be getting mysis and possibly blackworms. The ova (these are prawn eggs - you may be able to substitute tiny fish eggs) can continue throughout their life. Plenty of good stuff in those. Anyway, point is, there is no shame in returning or rehoming a fish you find you cannot reasonably care for.

Heck, if you decide you're in too deep and can ship her to me, I'd be more than happy to provide a good home.

One more thing. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS research any species you intend to purchase. It will save you headaches, heartaches, and a good deal of cash.

 

[NanaReefer]

Why did you buy a fish you know nothing about? Your tank is too small and to new to sustain a Mandarin. A 7wk old 30g tank? Not good Please return the fish.

 

[ontop27]

They did see they asked the LFS person. In this case its not there fault that the LFS lied

 

[bbrklynn]

I always ask.
The normal store I go to was closed this day-
I went into another just to browse and the woman working there followed me around and talked to me about the fish. I told her ALL about my tank.

I'll never go back- after I go in and let her know that she put this fish on danger.
I will not let her die...

 

[bbrklynn]

Thank you everybody-
I'm a bit embarrassed that I didn't research online first-
I just blindly trust those people who are SURROUNDED by saltwater fish all day...
Lesson learned.
I'm doing everything I can to here

 

[bbrklynn]

Update- somewhat good news...
I just spoke to "aqua man"
(Guy who set my tank up for me)

My tank was used.
When he did the set up for me, the whole reef looked developed-

He said there is bugs in my tank for her to eat, which I have noticed the little white bugs on the side of my tank from time to time.

Not completely in the clear, but Im heading out in search of some live pods to keep her fat and happy.

Thanks everyday for your help, I was panicking after i read some of the responses
but Im glad I posted here and got some fear kicked into me...

 

[ontop27]

What size tank? Unless its like 75 gallons with a refigium it will eat through them in no time. I had a 54 gallon with a ton of pods. Once I introduced a mandarin they vanished and I could see it getting skinnier I eventually gave it away

 

[EDM]

same here, my tank had so many pods before the dragonet i could see them come out in swarm(boxer shrimp was happy)
now they vanish and hide very well.

i have large tank with lots of live rock and my mandarin hunts 24/7 i swear , but im thinking of adding a female and may be successful as i am with my male

also for future fish purchases, do you have a smart phone? i use mine to check on fish species while i shop on the go. could be helpful

 

[bbrklynn]

Heres a better pic of her