YHSublime September 10, 2013 Share September 10, 2013 I found my target mandarin dead this morning, shoved behind a rock, attached to my urchin (who i don't know how it got in the tank, only see it at night.) I'm at a loss about what happened... all my fish are healthy, eating, and are colorful and fine, my clowns are even spawning. The mandarin was FAT and eating well, there are pods all over my tank, so I know it wasn't a lack of food. This will be the second mandy I've lost, the last one was chased out of the tank by some a-hole lemon chromis (and that one was eating frozen *SIGH*) I think I'm over Mandarins. They are so pretty and cool to watch flutter around the tank, but I'm starting to feel cursed in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc September 10, 2013 Share September 10, 2013 sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Puckstable September 10, 2013 Share September 10, 2013 Some times fish just die. I love mandarins but I don't think I'd ever get another one. They don't deserve to keep dying in our tanks. They're too beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme September 10, 2013 Share September 10, 2013 Sorry to hear! Stress from you moving rock, etc from your 57 to your new tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 10, 2013 Author Share September 10, 2013 sorry! No worries, it happens I guess. Some times fish just die. I love mandarins but I don't think I'd ever get another one. They don't deserve to keep dying in our tanks. They're too beautiful. I seriously can't understand what happened. Things are stable across the board with the tank. Sorry to hear! Stress from you moving rock, etc from your 57 to your new tank? It's been about 2 weeks, I saw it yesterday. That was a slow reaction if that's the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 10, 2013 Share September 10, 2013 Sorry for the loss, Isaac. How long did you have it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 10, 2013 Author Share September 10, 2013 Sorry for the loss, Isaac. How long did you have it? 3 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Puckstable September 10, 2013 Share September 10, 2013 some times, it's out of your control. I'm sure it's nothing directly related to something you caused. It's a bummer. Trust me, these are one of my favorite fish, and I just can't keep them alive. No mas for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holedup82 September 10, 2013 Share September 10, 2013 Sorry to hear it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squishie89 September 10, 2013 Share September 10, 2013 I'm really sorry. I am kind of in the same boat. First mandarin died from an unknown bite wound on his stomach. Second mandarin is currently very unwell. If this one does pass I am going to stop trying to keep mandarins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 10, 2013 Author Share September 10, 2013 Thanks all. I'm more so vexed at it's death. Nothing appeared to be bullying it, like I said, all my other fish are doing fantastic. I wondering if my Pistol shrimp had something to do with it, I hear him clicking away often, usually it was at the mandy, who slept close to his burrow... mystery solved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttlee858 September 10, 2013 Share September 10, 2013 I have not had much luck with mandarin's purchased from LFS; tried 5 times in the past. Best luck I had was to purchasing this little guy from a tank breakdown; had him over a year now. I have one so keep a look out when the Rock is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy G September 10, 2013 Share September 10, 2013 Man that's no fun for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huly September 11, 2013 Share September 11, 2013 Sorry honey! I feel the same way with jawfish. I am staying away as the last couple just did not do well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 11, 2013 Author Share September 11, 2013 Thanks all. I have done a little searching around, and it's possible that the pistol could certainly have been the culprit. At night I used to hear the pistol cracking off like nobody's business. It was usually because the mandy slept very close to it's burrow, I believe. This is just a theory, but I can't understand how all my other fish would be (IMO) thriving, and the mandarin who was fat and healthy just wound up dead? It was also very fresh when I found it in the AM, still had color and meat on it, I had no time to handle in the morning on my way out the door, and that night it was just skin. I did a water change and figured I would stop trying to keep them dragonets for the time being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova26 September 12, 2013 Share September 12, 2013 hmm my female mandarin sleeps right in front of the pistols entrance and has been doing this for months. She is a small fish and my pistol is a good size shrimp. i doubt the pistol killed the mandarin but stranger things happen. sorry for your loss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Rhoads September 12, 2013 Share September 12, 2013 So sorry to hear this! I agree with the above, it probably was just that fishes time to go :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 12, 2013 Author Share September 12, 2013 So sorry to hear this! I agree with the above, it probably was just that fishes time to go :( Thanks man, I disagree that it was the fishes time to go, but I am not the decider of those types of things. I wish I had more time to inspect the surroundings and asses the situation, what I've derived from the whole thing is that I'm putting mandarins on the backburner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM September 12, 2013 Share September 12, 2013 The best looking fish seem to be the hardest to keep. Mandarin and moorish idol, I am thinking of. Same with shrimp. Harlequin, Im lookng at you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k September 13, 2013 Share September 13, 2013 In order to keep these fish properly, you must set up an aquarium dedicated to them. If you're keeping them in a reef tank, they will be the lowest on the feeding chain since they thrive on the pods that are supposed to be in abundance in your tank. If you can meet the dietary demands of these fish, the rest of the tank should be easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 13, 2013 Share September 13, 2013 Paul B has kept a pair of breeding mandarins for years in his mixed reef. Check to see if he's written anything about how he keeps up with their feeding. Sent from my phone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b September 13, 2013 Share September 13, 2013 I've had a few MDs. Contrary to popular belief, not just corals but certain fish too are sensitive to nitrates and MDs are one of them. At 10ppm they start to look unhealthy, you will notice a bit of fin rot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 13, 2013 Author Share September 13, 2013 In order to keep these fish properly, you must set up an aquarium dedicated to them. If you're keeping them in a reef tank, they will be the lowest on the feeding chain since they thrive on the pods that are supposed to be in abundance in your tank. If you can meet the dietary demands of these fish, the rest of the tank should be easy. Paul B has kept a pair of breeding mandarins for years in his mixed reef. Check to see if he's written anything about how he keeps up with their feeding. Sent from my phone I've had a few MDs. Contrary to popular belief, not just corals but certain fish too are sensitive to nitrates and MDs are one of them. At 10ppm they start to look unhealthy, you will notice a bit of fin rot. Thank you all for the words of advice. Rob, my tank is loaded with pods. The Mandarin was fat when I got it, and stayed fat in my keeping. It was constantly pecking at rocks and sand, and although this is just my educated guess, I would venture to say that starvation was least likely for cause of death. Tom, I have read everything Paul has written on his Mandarin sucess, as well as many other articles and threads. Maybe when I can take the time to construct one of his brine shrimp feeders I will give it a go again. I did not notice any fin rot or illness prior to death. Not ruling it out, but putting it closer to the starvation theories side of things. I understand that the Mandarin is considered a difficult fish to keep, based mainly on its diet and small stomach. I photograph my tank and fishes often to document growth and changes, and noticed no disease, or starvation (this doesn't mean it wasn't there, but if it was close to death, I believe I would have noticed something out of the ordinary.) When I saw it, 24 hours before I found it dead, it was swimming around, active, and grazing on my rocks. At the end of the day, I don't suppose we will ever know why it passed, as the remains were quickly eaten, and what was left was tossed in the trash can, so scratch autopsy off the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 13, 2013 Share September 13, 2013 Tom, I have read everything Paul has written on his Mandarin sucess, as well as many other articles and threads. Maybe when I can take the time to construct one of his brine shrimp feeders I will give it a go again. Remarkably easy if you do. The body of the feeder was simply the plastic container for a roll of electrical tape that you can probably find at the hardware store. The rigid tubing can be found at Quantum Reefs. (Superpets in the Ravensworth Shopping Center off Braddock Road used to carry rigid tubing of various sizes, too.) The netting was from an old fish net but you could probably get a tiny bit at any fabric store, too. Here's his build link that he has at RC. It's just proof that, once you're really into this, you can't look at anything plastic without trying to figure out how it might be used in the hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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