I think my rescue mandarin is dying.

[Bent]

He doesn't seem to be eating, or hunting anymore. I think he's been in the tank what do you guys think like 5 years? He was fully grown when I got him.

Nothing has changed in the tank, the other fish are fine.

He's just been sitting in the corner for the past few days and he's looking very thin. I'm pretty sure he's on the way out.

Do you all think this is just the natural end of his life? He has plenty of pods.

 

[Tripod1404]

Their average lifespan in the wild is ~15 years. But since it was fully grown when you got it, its hard to predict at what age it is right now.

It might be old age or captivity related stress. Very few fish can live as long as their natural lifespans in captivity.

 

[Uncle99]

5 years!
While your not feeling so great about it, can I add that 5 years is amazing, most people can't get them by a month!

I think it's just his time, glad he had you as the reef keeper.

 

[Silly clownfish]

It is very hard to say. Since he has plenty of pods and is ignoring them, I don’t know what else you could do.

Out of curiousity, does he eat prepared/frozen foods? I have a theory that this could lead to long term nutritional issues, because he is filled up, but with junk food. I think this may be an issue for a lot of fish that don’t do well long term. They are getting what they need to survive, but still missing something. In my experience fish live longer in captivity than the wild due to lack for predation and the general risks of the open ocean.

About 20 years ago I had a cleaner wrasse that after a couple of years exhibited similar symptoms to your mandarin - colors faded, got thinner, but not starved looking, less active, just looked “old”, and finally passed away. Years later I learned that this fish is considered hard to keep due to nutritional requirements -some I identified nutrient that they should be getting from eating parasites that is missing in normal foods. I have since wondered if this isn’t an issue for other hard keepers.

 

[Joe0813]

Maybe he's old

 

[MondoBongo]

sitting in the corner for a few days isn't a great sign obviously.

have you tried offering any food, especially live food? baby brine shrimp, live worms?

i had a period of a few days a while back (like 4 years ago or so) where my mandy was lethargic and not really eating. i didn't have a specific solution, all i did was a large water change and start running some carbon. i don't know if that helped directly, or not, but she did perk up shortly after that. perhaps it's at least worth a try.

i'm really sorry to hear she's not doing well. most likely she's coming to the end of her life. since she was a rescue, no telling what she had to deal with before you found her. you should feel good that you gave her a good home for so long.

 

[JTL]

Congrats, you gave him/her and very good life.

 

[Bent]

I’m sad to report that he did indeed pass away last night. I made a feeder for him a while back, and he showed no interest. The main tank is crawling with pods so I don’t think food availability was an issue.

I like to think he had about the best life a captive mandarin could have asked for. I’m pretty bummed about it, but I feel pretty good that I was in a position to provide for an animal that otherwise would have likely died a long time ago.

RIP rainbow, you may have been “just a fish”, but you provided quality education about physiology, the food chain, life and death for a 7 year old who got to watch you grow.

 

[Uncle99]

Amazing run for a mandarin!
If only the rest of them would last this long.
My condolences, but at the same time, congrats on a job well done.

 

[RioReefr]

but you provided quality education about physiology, the food chain, life and death for a 7 year old who got to watch you grow.

Good job !

....I have personal friends who spend 10's of thousands to send their kids to elite pre-schools where just they seem to play with blocks all day with other rich spoiled kids.

 

[Bent]

Thanks for all the kind words friends.