Mandarin

W

woleman77

I bought the 1st Mandarin yesterday. My tank has tons of Co-Pods and is healthy.

The Mandarin has good color after the 1st 12 hours, but is not moving much. He is hanging out in a corner. Is this normal for a Mandarin?
 
Have you tested your water parameters? How did you acclimate the fishie? Has it been in QT? Have you seen it eat? Have you read the article about the Mandarin Diner?

Lots of questions, but could lead to an answer to your question :D
 
Hello, Cathy

I just need a basic answer. My parameters are good and my tank is healthy.

I acclimated for 4 hours.

Let me rephrase,

How have the rest of the worlds Mandarin done after entering them into the tank in the 1st 24 hours?
 
Oh! So you have a working knowledge of fish - good, good :D

All fishies are shy at first, so it is probably perfectly normal. Some hide for days where you cannot see them.

I am sure that Mandarin owners will chime in very quickly - I know Marc has a couple, and I just saw an avatar for one - I think it was Serk, I'll have to go back and check.

Anyway, within a couple of hours, you will have a few more replies, I'm sure!
 
One question how did you acclimate it for 4 hours? That is a long time in a bag of water for a fish, if they did not add oxygen to the bag. He could have gotten stressed a little from lack of oxygen. Mandarins usually swim constantly through the rock and over the sand bed lookiing for pods. Then they will appear to hover like they are staring at some thing and then peck at it.
 
Nope, no Mandarin in my avatar, but I do currently have three of 'em, and they are the main reason I went from freshwater -> Reef...

Yours is camped out in one particular place? That would be kinda odd... When I added a new one, he would almost immediately go into "grazing" mode, picking stuff off the rocks and wandering around...

Now, having said that, it is common for me to not see any particular one of mine for several days at a time, they'll work their way back into the rockwork and camp out hidden for long stretches of time, but other than when they sleep mine really never sit still in one area...

(When they sleep they'll fade in color and stay in the same place all night. Scared me the first time, I thought she'd died due to the odd change in coloration.)...
 
Take a look at this article please: http://www.melevsreef.com/mandarin_care.html

The four acclimation worries me a lot. That is a long time in which oxygen depravation is very likely, unless you added an air stone during that period. Acclimation of fish should be done within 45 minutes typically. Float the bag 10 minutes (away from any lights that could heat the bag), then open and add a small amount of water from your tank every 5 or 6 minutes. When done and the water is doubled in the bag, dump out the water in a bucket or sink through a net to catch your fish in case it slips out. Add the fish to your tank.

When mandarins sleep, they fade and will become half submerged in the substrate. I thought mine was dead and tried to un-bury him. All of a sudden he burst into life and jetted to a different location. Whew! Also, they will fade a lot at night. This is all normal. Hopefully yours will be happier tomorrow and start picking through the new habitat.
 
Mine went hiding somewhere, i rarely see him, but now i dont see him no more. He probably died. I am very sad. :cry:
 
Here is a picture of one of mine sleeping tonight.

sleeping_mandarin.jpg
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I hate seeing mine at night because it always looks dead! Slime coat with sand all over it always make me think the worst.
 
I see mine everyday roaming the rocks looking for pods, had mine for several months and I caught him eating frozen brine! he spit out a small piece and move on to the next. I have tons of pods in my sump so I know he eats well. Never saw him at night.
 
Once mine was floating at the top of the tank when I turned on the lights in the morning. I poked it and it didn't move.

I poked it again, it woke up, and swam away.

Crazy mandarins.

-Donovan
 
Getting my daughter confused with a fish! I'm hurt, I'm offended!!! :)

Just kidding, no apologies required... :lol:
 
heeehee - I know, met him at the last meeting. I knew that name started with an S, and should have researched first - all this for a tiny Mandarin! LOL
 
S stands for Superman. He lifts me up with one hand and throw me few feets away, 'cause i am a shrimp. But he is still a nice guy, he picked up a T shirt for me, yeah, thanks again, Superman.!!! :lol: :)
 
Jeez, if only ya'll knew just how much of a <u>gentle</u> giant I am!

And Rocky, I didn't pick you up and toss you around! If I had done so, I'd still be laying on the floor in agony from my bad back... (Herniated Disc L5-S1) :(

And now, back to the orignal topic - Woleman77 - How's your Mandarin doing now that a few days have passed by?
 
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