Synchiropus splendidus (Mandarin) upside down :(

[dtread]

Hi,

I didnt had my sump working and after putting the sump in circulation with new water, witch was heated and the ph values where close to the main tank a Mandarin started to not move and now is running with the current and turning upside down.

The parameters are the following:
PH- 8.25 (when i intruduced the sump values gone from 8,20 to 8,37, and now they have that value)
KH - 9.3 (here is where the biggest difference occurred, before adding the sump value was 6.7)
PO4 - 0
NO3 - 10
CA - 400
Ammonia - 0.001
Temp 25,5

I introduced him to the tank last weak and despite not eating frozen myssis with garlic (was just eating 1-2 myssis per meal) he was moving fine.

Almost 3 weeks ago i changed the fishes to a new aquarium using the same water and live rock. The parameters where equal to the old aquarium and the other fishes didn't complaint about nothing, but the mandarin never was on the old aquarium.

Edit: All other fishes are fine.

Please help.

Regards

 

[Newsmyrna80]

How big is your tank? How old is your tank? Do you have pods for the mandarin? If not he's starving to death. They do not eat mysis right off the bat...they have to be trained, if they can be trained at all.

 

[dtread]

Hi,
My tank if 80*30*40cm (2.7w*1d*1.3h feet - 25gallons).

This tank is new, 3 weeks, but the water, rocks and other fishes come from my previous witch had almost 2 years.. Sand is also new.

When i bought him in the store they told me that he was eating myssis with garlic.
I started yesterday hatching Brine Shrimp eggs but i don't know if he will be able to eat them since he is not moving.. I don't seam to find pods in local stores.. I've read somewhere that they will eat it correct?

EDIT: Salinity is 1025

 

[dtread]

Other think that i found strange is that some hours after the the sump started working, he was very still, a turbo snail started falling towards him and he still didn't move and the turbo felt on top of him, and still he didn't move...

 

[snorvich]

The tank is too small and too immature to maintain a mandarin. It will, or has already, starved to death.

 

[dtread]

He is in the tank 3 days is it possible in so few days?
Why is size/maturity of tank important (as long as i provide food to him)?

 

[snorvich]

He is in the tank 3 days is it possible in so few days?
Why is size/maturity of tank important (as long as i provide food to him)?

Mandarins have no stomach and must eat constantly. They eat a copepod once every 15 seconds or so. While the vast majority of mandarins will eat frozen mysis or other supplied food, aquarists do not feed constantly for fear of nutrient level in their tanks. The generally recommended tank size and maturity is 75 gallons and nine months maturity with no other copepod competitors. The mandarin probably came from an LFS where is was not properly fed hence the rather quick demise. Or, if not eating at all, it may have been cyanide captured.

In general, it will be cheaper to buy the properly sized tank than to try and supplied purchased copepods.

 

[dtread]

:\ so even if i start feeding live brine shrimp he won't interested/able to catch it since he is in a weaken state?

Thanks for the help

 

[Pastey]

3 days sounds a little suspect. I imagine there is more to THAT side of the story but the major issue is still one that you're responsible for.

Your tank, while it may have been previously set up, is still new...to you. Mistakes are easy to make in the first weeks/months of having a tank. Going slow and learning the in's and out's of your tank are important both for you and your animals.

The fish in question is not an easy fish to keep...especially in a small aquarium. Even more so when the overseer of the aquarium is relatively inexperienced and didn't do much in the way of research. I don't mean to be harsh but it seems you weren't prepared for the undertaking. It also seems you've been led astray but an uninformed/unscrupulous store which is another part of the problem.

If the fish makes a turn for the better, I recommend returning the fish for credit/money back. Before tackling a difficult species, try running your tank successfully for a few months. Get the basics down and get some confidence in your ability.

 

[dtread]

Yes you are correct i should've researched a lot more (like i did now when problems occurred) before taking him home... Just accepted the sellers information and what've read on a book, and the feeding habits just seemed like feeding any other fish but more frequently, didn't got the impression that he he should be constantly fed.. My old aquarium was small so i didn't got much experience in adding fishes and their needs, just how a aquarium works..

This i think was a case of excess confidence, the old aquarium run for 2 years without issues. I took care in being sure that his house was ok, just not in his needs besides its house :\

Learned the lesson, just don't want to learn it the hard way

 

[Reef Man Dan]

Mandarins won't usually eat prepared foods. Having a mature tank (at least a year I'd say) is monumentally important, as well as having an effective refugium. Pods grow well in refugium-situated macroalgae (especially chaetomorpha). Unfortunately I'm going to predict your mandarin will be a goner. If you a really dead-set on having one, establish a refugium in your sump with algae and live rock and add cultured pods to your tank (at night with the pumps off for an hour), and let them thrive for a month or two.

 

[snorvich]

Mandarins won't usually eat prepared foods. Having a mature tank (at least a year I'd say) is monumentally important, as well as having an effective refugium. Pods grow well in refugium-situated macroalgae (especially chaetomorpha). Unfortunately I'm going to predict your mandarin will be a goner. If you a really dead-set on having one, establish a refugium in your sump with algae and live rock and add cultured pods to your tank (at night with the pumps off for an hour), and let them thrive for a month or two.

Well, sort of but not really. The vast majority of mandarins will eat frozen mysis and/or nls pellets. However, they must be fed constantly and are totally unable to compete for food with other fish. While a refugium will help, assuming the refugium plus tank aggregate volume is around 75 gallons and both have been mature for about 9 months, optimal conditions make keeping this fish easy while suboptimal conditions usually result in failure.

 

[snorvich]

Yes you are correct i should've researched a lot more (like i did now when problems occurred) before taking him home... Just accepted the sellers information and what've read on a book, and the feeding habits just seemed like feeding any other fish but more frequently, didn't got the impression that he he should be constantly fed.. My old aquarium was small so i didn't got much experience in adding fishes and their needs, just how a aquarium works..

This i think was a case of excess confidence, the old aquarium run for 2 years without issues. I took care in being sure that his house was ok, just not in his needs besides its house :\

Learned the lesson, just don't want to learn it the hard way

It takes a big person to admit error. Kudos to you. The vast majority of folks here only admit to successes.