Mandarin Impossible

Sadly I must report some troubling news on the new green mandarin.

After close observation over a 20 minute period, now that he's swimming freely front and center of the tank, it's clear he's taking mysis in his mouth, holding a good amount like a chipmunk holds pieces of nuts, then spitting out everything or most everything after a minute or two.

Another alarming observation: his skinniness is not improving. When a mandarin starts eating, you should notice a full belly within an hour (remember these fish like to take their time eating).

This experience highlights why it's so important to observe mandarin fish before purchasing them and know exactly what to look for.

1. There should be no lines in the side, and the abdomen should be flush or rounded, never concave. Also take a close look at the back. A fish with a skinny back is in very rough shape.
2. A healthy mandarin should constantly be grazing -- picking at the live rock and taking things into his mouth. If the fish hovers and never pecks at anything, this fish will likely never eat -- not even copepods in a 200 gallon plus tank with 180+ pounds of liverock.
3. Ask the store to feed the mandarin mysis, and also ask to have the filter turned off. Mandarin mouths extend like the trigger snicks of seahorses. It's very clear when they eat.
4. Finally, watch the mandarin for 2-5 minutes to be sure he's swallowing and not spitting out the food. The fish can apparently store food in their mouths.

All this has reinforced my theory that the major problem with starvation and mandarins is not due to their exclusive feeding on copepods but the means in which they are caught. Cyanide harvesting is a common practice in oceans around the world. It is my belief that the majority of mandarins are caught via this method and that this impairs their ability to eat. I've observed scores of mandarins in various stores and many simply do not eat at all; they exhibit no grazing behaviors whatsoever. Unfortunately, this likely means the fish is doomed regardless of tank size and volume of live rock.

So remember the steps I outlined above if you'd like to keep a mandarin. Regardless of tank size, be prepared to experiment with a number of foods:

• Frozen mysis shrimp
• Frozen Cyclop shrimp
• Sushi (flying fish or capelin) roe
• Marine Cuisine
• Bottled amphipods and copepods
• Live brine shrimp (only temporarily as these are nutritionally void)

It's also my belief that tank size and live rock are not the key, but a desire to closely observe your fish and do everything you can to meet his eating needs after you've found a specimen that is healthy and eating (prepared foods or live rock critters like pods).

As the mandarin is now comfortable in the tank, I'm going to attempt filming the eating process so you can see exactly what I'm writing about.

Josh
joshday.com