Is this normal Mandarin behaviour?

[deputydawg88]

Recently in the evening my Mandarin will spend a lot of time doing this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUQdSMNynlI

Is this normal behaviour? Is he seeing his own reflection in the glass or something?

I don't know how to embed videos on this forum, sorry.

 

[FullBoreReefer]

Yep, I'm gonna say it's reflection from the glass is causing this behavior.

 

[JUNBUG361]

If you don't mind me asking. How old is your tank? Do you have a established pods in your system? Mandarins are finicky eaters

 

[Dealseer]

Did you link the correct video? This video shows what all mandarins do at times.

 

[Scorpius]

Mine does this on occasion. It's seeing its reflection and challenging a perceived rival.

 

[deputydawg88]

Did you link the correct video? This video shows what all mandarins do at times.

Yeah it's the correct video, I just wasn't sure if this was normal! He's only started doing it recently.

If you don't mind me asking. How old is your tank? Do you have a established pods in your system? Mandarins are finicky eaters

My tank is only four months old but I have plenty of pods and a refugium set up for them to breed, I did a lot of research on Mandarins (for some years before I finally could afford a tank) and made sure I knew their requirements before I got one. If I take the time to look, I can find pockets of pods on the glass and I have been making sure to do so as I know a pod crash would be catastrophic for him.

I believe it's tank-bred and was previously on frozen food at my LFS (though admittedly, I never saw it eat there). When I first got him (about a month and a half ago) I tried to supplement the pods with frozen food but I haven't seen him eat frozen food at home; he's eaten pods and only pods from what I have seen since I got him. He usually spends the day hovering over the live rock hunting pods and then in the evenings he does the thing you see in the video above.

 

[MondoBongo]

mine will sometimes also become enamored with her own reflection.

heck i can't blame them. if i looked that good i'd be staring in the mirror all the time.

 

[accordexi]

It's normal behavior for fish.
Once they see their reflection they try to chase it or say hi.

Almost all my fish do that at night

Sent from my SM-G935U using Tapatalk

 

[hkgar]

My Wrasse has I have had my Spotbreast Angel and Cherub Angelbeen doing it for more than a week. I have had my Sptbreast Angel and Cherub Angel do it at times.

https://goo.gl/photos/JXeAQWq7zHnsPvWL9

 

[Sk8r]

A mandy will fight a potential rival to the death. It is probably the reflection.

 

[homer1475]

Mine does the same thing, with the exception she flares out her gills and sticks her back fin straight up!

 

[ThRoewer]

Totally normal for males. Females may do it as well, but it's less common with them.
Males regularly engage in fights with their mirror image.

 

[Sk8r]

And this is a fish generally so oblivious to other fish it will wander through a yellow watchman's territory. The poor watchman just learns to ignore it. Generally the most placid fish in the tank. But death on other mandys.

 

[hkgar]

It's the old alpha male complex. Even fish have it.

 

[Sk8r]

Not totally: I made the mistake of putting a pretty large male in with a nice little female---and she killed him. Grabbed his gillcover and did him in on the spot.

 

[hkgar]

Damn, hate when that happens