Emaciated Mandarin?

[gmarchetti]

I just noticed today that my Mandarin Goby looks skinny. I can really see his lateral line (I think that is what it is called), and I think, maybe his belly is a bit sunken in also. His color is good and he is active. I just put in some krill and watched him eat 4 small pieces, but I am concerned. We have had him for 2 years and he seems to get enough food. He eats krill when I place it in the tank (every other feeding) and there seems to be a lot of copepods in the tank (when the lights go on I can see them scooting along the bottom). I place a bottle of copepods in the tank from time to time too. Could he still not be getting enough food??? or is there something else wrong?

Salt: .024
Temp: 76 degrees
55 gallon tank
1 Clown
1 Mandarin
2 Anemone
Several Mushrooms
Polyps
1 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Brittle Star
1 Sand Star
Several snails and hermits
2 large corals
1 small Hippo Tang

Thank you,
Gina

 

[NanoReefer411]

Hey Gina,
My name's Gina too. I have never tried feeding my Mandi Krill before. I will try it. I feed cyclopeeze and shredded mysis. I just purchased 2 bottles of pods and am culturing them. I can't tell if my Mandi is eating the frozen food or not. He will pick at it if it hits the side of the glass. I can't tell if he's pissed or if he's picking at the food. Do you have a picture of your Mandi available? I would think if he's eating krill and there's plently of pods, he should be doing well. Maybe I am wrong. I hope it will be okay. Do you have a refugium hooked onto your tank at all?

 

[gmarchetti]

How ironic- two Ginas! I don't know how to culture pods and we don't have a refugium- is a refugium expensive or complicated? Do you know how often you should add a bottle of pods to your aquarium? A refugium is for breeding the pods- correct? Yea, I'd hate to loose my Mandarin he is adorable and it is so cute that the Hippo Tang seems to be very fond of him also. He constantly follows him around and gently nudges him from time to time. I will try to take a picture and figure out how to attach it to my thread. I wonder if he has some kind of disease or.... I have noticed these weird white/transparent worm like creatures that come out of the sand. They have greatly multiplied since we have had the tank and they are very aggresive eaters. They will grab almost all the Krill that hits the bottom, maybe my Mandarin does not get enough because of these "worms". Maybe he is getting old too- we bought the tank and everything in it from some people two years ago. I have no idea how old everything was when we got it.

Thanks,
Gina

 

[Scooterman]

Well I was going to post but figured this thread would be more informative.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=262224#post262224

FYI Mandarins are called gobys but are really Dragonets

 

[gmarchetti]

Thank you! Does anyone know what their lifespan is?
Gina

 

[leebca]

The general Family of fishes are thought to live about 15+ years in the wild. In home aquariums it is rare for one to get beyond 3 years.

Although feeding the Mandarin with Live Rock inhabitants is basically its natural food source, aquarist fail to recognize that this food source is not diverse enough. The life forms that come in on LR are not the total diversity that these fish need to live off of. So, they slowly die of lack of nutrition.

It is best to train the fish to eat prepared foods so that the aquarist can provide better nutrition. This is done in quarantine.

 

[NanoReefer411]

If you QT a mandarin they will most likely die. If you QT a mandarin, you better make sure you have a huge stock of pods as back up. I heard that was never a good idea.

 

[NanoReefer411]

Gina you have any pictures of yours?

 

[leebca]

None of the 17 Mandarins I have quarantined have died in quarantine, and each lived no less than 2 years in their home aquarium. I think it's a matter of knowing how to do it. Any fish can be quarantined providing what it needs is available in the quarantine process and the aquarist is willing to invest in the time and effort.