Mandarin stopped foraging???

[Alexraptor]

All right, so I have run into a little unexpected problem here with one of my Mandarin's whom I've kept healthy and plump for nearly 2 years.

To sum it up in one sentence: She has stopped foraging for food.

She's perfectly alert and able to swim, but instead of hunting for food she just spends the days laying around in the tank.
However, she is instantly perks up and makes a beeline for the food stone when I turn off the pump, and gulps down the frozen lobster eggs I offer with great enthusiasm. But she seems to care little for the pods and what not in the tank on which she has normally been feeding on since I got her.
My male however keeps on foraging around the tank throughout the day as he always does and will of course show up at the feeding stone once he has detected food.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. Has my Mandarin become a primadonna and decided that the critters in the tank just aren't good enough for her, and that only my frozen offerings will do?
Or is there something else more serious afoot here?

 

[MondoBongo]

how long has she not been foraging for?

my (female) mandy went through a weird period about a year ago for a few days where she was very much not herself. i was never able to determine root cause, and eventually she just kind of got better on her own, she went through a similar period this year, but wasn't as lethargic, just wasn't really foraging.

my standard operating procedure for these kinds of things is running carbon, checking parameters, and doing water changes. unless i can determine a root cause, that's really about all you can do. although in your instance, with one mandy acting fine, and the other not, that presents a whole different set of questions.

here is my original thread from last year, just documenting some of what i observed:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2440483

very similar to what i noticed this year, almost at the same time i posted that thread just a year later, i will have to check my log book for exact dates though.

 

[Alexraptor]

Just the last couple of days.
That's actually pretty much exactly what I've done. I replaced the carbon yesterday and executed a major 40-50% water change today.

Like I said, no interest in searching for food herself, but shows extreme anticipation at feeding time.

 

[ReefJunkie01]

This is normal, your female has just found another food source it prefers. I have a male in a 30 gallon that won't touch pods but will eat pretty much any frozen food I feed it (gut loaded brine, fish eggs, grated clams and grated frozen amphipods). Just keep feeding it and keep track of it to make sure it's not loosing weight. You may want to feed it at least 3 times a day as well if you can. Each feeding I'll feed mine until it won't eat anymore. Female green/red mandarins have been known to convert to frozen easier than males for some reason. Your male may convert to frozen in time as well (may learn from the female, but it's 50/50).

Just keep feeding it and it'll be ok.

 

[ThRoewer]

...Female green/red mandarins have been known to convert to frozen easier than males for some reason. ...

With my green mandarins it's just the other way around: the male was extremely quick to pick up first eating brine shrimp and then Mysis. The female took several months to start going after brine shrimp and only recently, after having them for almost a year now, she also started going after Mysis, likely because I almost completely stopped feeding brine shrimp.

 

[ReefJunkie01]

With my green mandarins it's just the other way around: the male was extremely quick to pick up first eating brine shrimp and then Mysis. The female took several months to start going after brine shrimp and only recently, after having them for almost a year now, she also started going after Mysis, likely because I almost completely stopped feeding brine shrimp.

Yeah, I guess sometimes it's a 50/50 crap shoot. At least they're eating and healthy though. My mandarin definitely sent me through the ringer caring for it, but, at least now it's on the frozen. Probably one of the most stubborn fish I've seen, but definitely worth it.