blue mandarin dragonette problems...

[KRAZE]

I have purchased 2 different mandarins from 2 different shops in the past week. I don't know where they are going, I can't see them anywhere in the tank... morning, nights, day, never catch a glance of one.

I got my first one one on May 5th and i left it in a bag for 8 hours while i hung out at my friends. Didnt mean to leave it that long but we got tied up doing things with his tank. I had the fish floating in the sump the whole time and opened the bag for air at one point. That one was super stressed when i got home, but was alive in the morning hiding in a little cave. Later that night i had to remove two stupid damsels to get rid of them, and i pulled out all my rocks (all 5 of them lol) and couldn't see him. Figured he stressed too much and the clean up crew got to the body before i could.

The second fish i got on friday, from a different store (not that i dont trust the first store) This time i went right home. She immediately went and hid, expected, but i have yet to see her. I am gonna move some rocks and see, but i dont see her even when i tossed in about 100 copepods for some food.

I have had several of fish come and go in this system. I watched a members Tail Spot Blenny for 2 months, i had a valentini puffer, 4 different damsels in here that i started with and just recently removed. There has been 1 domino damsel in here the entire tank life, and i have 1 mocha clown.
This is the only fish i have had issues with, my water is pristine.

My cleaner shimp also mysteriously disappeared...

Could a pistol shrimp do this? I have one thats about 1.5 inches long... might he be killing my bottom dwellers? Could it be the damsel/clown? They chase each other but never saw them touch any of my other fish, even the small blenny and baby striped damsels.

 

[KRAZE]

Oh, and tanks a custom 29 'low' (30"x18" and only 12" deep)

Heres the pistol in a chinese food soup cup...

 

[KRAZE]

nada?

 

[SecretiveFish]

What are the current occupants of your tank? How are you acclimating?

First fish, I agree died from stress.

Now for the second fish, Don't move the rocks!!! If the fish is still alive, you are going to kill her from stress. At this point, whatever happens happens. Either you will see her in few days or you will not.

 

[snorvich]

Some (many?) wild caught mandarins are captured with cyanide; those have no chance of surviving. But your odds of success with this fish as a new to the hobby in a 29 gallon tank are slim at best.

 

[Fish Biscuit]

+1 ^^^^^ Do you have a fuge? That fish is going to go through all your pods in no time or you're going to go broke buying pods.

 

[KRAZE]

What are the current occupants of your tank? How are you acclimating?

First fish, I agree died from stress.

Now for the second fish, Don't move the rocks!!! If the fish is still alive, you are going to kill her from stress. At this point, whatever happens happens. Either you will see her in few days or you will not.

The mocha clown and domino damsel, (as stated in the post) as well as the pistol shrimp somewhere hiding out. Then just snails and hemits and a starfish and a little emerald crab.

There really is only 1 rock, 22 pounds and then 4 smaller chunks on the sand bed, so i just lift one up. I had to take them out to catch the damsels last week, and that is when i didnt see her anywhere. I won't move them again tho.

Some (many?) wild caught mandarins are captured with cyanide; those have no chance of surviving. But your odds of success with this fish as a new to the hobby in a 29 gallon tank are slim at best.

I'm not that new if your refering to me. I have been working with saltwater tanks for 4 years and im the manager at the LFS.

+1 ^^^^^ Do you have a fuge? That fish is going to go through all your pods in no time or you're going to go broke buying pods.

No fuge. I have all the pods i want from my shop, put up some chaeto from a sump and shake it out into a bucket, there's a few hundred :thumbsup:

 

[Fish Biscuit]

A few hundred pods is not going to last long, they eat constantly. I would love a mandarin myself but now is not the time, it's down the road when I have a much larger established tank. One 22 # piece of LR is not enough in your tank to help establish a pod population. There are some people on here that can keep them in a small tank but I think that's just drawing the lucky straw. Even with ones eating prepared foods it's hit or miss. I think you'd be better off to wait until you have the right situation to keep one more successfully but that's just my 2 cents.

 

[tao chuan fa]

I made the mistake of adding mandarins to my 29 gallon when reefkeeping was new to me.They eat constantly.Unless you have a refugium that consistently feeds pods,I would never try keeping them.Good luck.

 

[KRAZE]

Yeah i will have to wait until i build my next tank with a bigger sump and fuge.

It makes sense now that you guys have brought it up, i didn't realize they would just eat constantly, figured i could feed them like i do my other fish, kinda kicking myself for trying twice, too. :headwally:

I might settle for one of the spotted mandarins (aka psychedelic) we have at my shop, they are ORA tank raised and have been feeding great on frozen and flake at the shop. Not the color i wanted but still an awesome fish.

Also... i wasn't referring to a 22lb pc as being able to keep pods, i know this, i was saying that i don't tear apart a wall of rock to find a fish and stress him by doing so, i was just saying i only moved one rock to check for a fish hiding. AND the tank has a total of 40lbs of rock, it's not just that one lol there are the 5 other 'decorative' rocks that have cool shapes/great spots for coral growth on the sand bed (38lbs of sand too)

 

[sslak]

I tried with a 58g and felt like I had succeeded. I spent hours training it onto frozen, and fed daily with a pipette and the pumps off.

I kept mine for 2 years and she seemed to be healthy. One day she just disappeared, I probably won't try one again. They are beautiful fish but so much work...