How can you tell if your Mandarine is eating enough?

[nynikki]

I bought a mandarin last week, in my lfs he/she was accepting frozen brine eggs, and I have been adding those to the tank at feeding time just to be safe (plus everything else in the tank enjoys them too). But, I can never find the little guy while I'm feeding, so I'm not sure if he's eating at all. I see him from time to time pecking at rocks and he's certainly on the hunt. I'm pretty sure the pod population is high, especially since I dumped a bottle of tiger pods in the sump the same day I got him. Also there are a ton of other bugs in the tank, all along the front glass are little channels in the sand where something or other is making nice homes. I really don't want to fail this little guy who we've named Harvey - are there any first warning signs we can keep an eye out for? So far he's looking healthy, I wouldn't say fat or chubby, but he's still a baby from what I understand so he's got some room to grow. Here are a few pictures we took last week. I've been waiting for almost two years to own one, and man am I excited about having him now.

From these pics is anyone able to say for sure if it's a male or female?

 

[Rebel]

If he's swimming and cruising the rockwork, that's a good sign. If he remains sedentary, not so much a good sign. If you have ever seen one starving (I see it mostly in "scooter blennies" esp at chain pet stores) you see them pinched right behind the eyes and see the lateral line/ridge along the back very pronounced. Yours looks good so far in the pic.

 

[olemiss reb]

Harvey appears to be a she, did something take a bite out of its fin. males have a long dorsal "spine" females do not. It will have a pinched stomach if it is not getting enough to eat. Try feeding nutramars ova (prawn eggs), turn off pumps and use a turkey baster to spot feed it.

 

[davocean]

On the targets the dorsal spike is much shorter, I'm pretty sure it is actually a male.
Really just having a proper setup, established tank w/ plenty of LR, and a good fuge is about the best you can do.
Food supplementation helps a little, but that is minor compared to the amount of pods they eat throughout the day.
Just keep an eye out to make sure he stays fat, or at least not skinny.
If you see him pecking at rocks, whether you can see the pods or not, most likely he is getting pods w/ each peck.

 

[nynikki]

Nothing has nipped at it. The front part of the dorsal is just not fully extended. When it is, looks like the picture I attached. Found this one on the internet, not my Harvey though. We'll try to get a better picture of him/her later when the lights are on. On a side note, I have been adding nutramars ova to the tank, but can never find him to target feed when I'm feeding the tank. He's usually hunting.

I do have over 100lbs of live rock in a 90g tank, with a 35g established sump/fuge. davocean - if you think his pecking means he's finding what he needs, that helps me out too. I mean I know they are in there, I added a fresh bottle estimated to be 2-4000 pods, but they are so tiny I can't imagine once dispersed in the tank I would be able to see that tiny moving speck on a rock.

Thanks everyone. I'll keep a watchful eye out for him!

 

[davocean]

I'm sure you're fine for one mandarin in that setup, and I personally would not even worry about spot feeding.
2 mandarins in that setup would be pushing it though IMO.
And yes, if he is pecking, he sees something worth pecking at.
That last pic posted is absolutely a male.
I think many are used to seeing a green/blue mandarin's spike dorsal which is much longer.

 

[nynikki]

I guess then the name we gave him works!

 

[snorvich]

I'm sure you're fine for one mandarin in that setup, and I personally would not even worry about spot feeding.
2 mandarins in that setup would be pushing it though IMO.
And yes, if he is pecking, he sees something worth pecking at.
That last pic posted is absolutely a male.
I think many are used to seeing a green/blue mandarin's spike dorsal which is much longer.

As said above by Dave, definitely he is a he. You should be quite fine with your setup for one, but probably not for two. If you want to increase the odds slightly, create a "copepod pile" of rock rubble in a back corner as a place for copepods to breed.

 

[snorvich]

I guess then the name we gave him works!

Well, that depends . . . does he come when you call him? :spin2:

 

[nynikki]

Well, that depends . . . does he come when you call him? :spin2:

Haha! Don't we all wish!! That would make photo opps much more easy!

 

[nynikki]

As said above by Dave, definitely he is a he. You should be quite fine with your setup for one, but probably not for two. If you want to increase the odds slightly, create a "copepod pile" of rock rubble in a back corner as a place for copepods to breed.

How would making a rubble pile be different than how the rock is currently stacked?

I'm not planning on putting a second one in there, one is good for me. I am wondering though what other fish compete for that food supply. I'll have to keep them on my mental 'can't have' list. I love Gobies and Blennies and can see adding maybe another one or two different types. I know my Watchmen eats other food though, so he's in the clear.

 

[davocean]

The rubble piles are typically too tight of opening for the mandarin to get into, thus giving the pods a safe breeding area.
I don't keep wrasses because they tend to get mean when they see pod competition.
Certain gobies eat up a lot of pods as well.