Is this Mandarin skinny?

[litsoh]

I’ve been eyeing a 1”-1.25” captive bred mandarin at my LFS that’s been in their system for about 6 weeks now. The only issue is that they haven’t seen it eat pellets or frozen, but it’s obviously been feeding on something if it’s lasted this long. I have a 125 gallon that’s been up an running for probably 7 or so months now and is stocked with pods but I wanted to be sure it’s looking okay.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

A shot to see its belly would help, but I can see that bone along its side....

 

[JNalley]

It looks skinny IMO, but that doesn't mean you can't rescue it. If you have a diverse pod population, it will hopefully start eating immediately. It takes about 2 months for a Mandarin to die of starvation, so trying to gauge if it's eating by "It's been in the tank for 6 weeks" is not the best gauge to use. Personally, I would attempt to rescue it, because it has a chance of survival in your tank, it has no chance at your LFS.

 

[Alexraptor]

It looks severely emaciated. Stomach is pretty sunken in on the first picture. And juding from the state of those rocks, it's highly unlikely its finding enough food to sustain itself.

You might be able to save it, but imho the chances of it making it are exceedingly low.

 

[litsoh]

Dang, yeah maybe I can try and save it. Only thing that makes me a little hesitant is the $115 price tag, I’ll see how it is in a couple days

 

[Malum Argenteum]

I've kept a few mandarins over the years, and they've generally done well for me (S. picturatus do much, much better though). My trick that developed over years is to only buy ones that are eating something I can provide, since all the other ones starve. I would not personally buy that one, even if I thought I was "rescuing" it. If poorly fish sell, the LFS will keep offering poorly fish.

FWIW, the only mandarin I ever bought that ate nothing at all for me was a CB one. My personal opinion is that CB ones are overrated.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’ve been eyeing a 1”-1.25” captive bred mandarin at my LFS that’s been in their system for about 6 weeks now. The only issue is that they haven’t seen it eat pellets or frozen, but it’s obviously been feeding on something if it’s lasted this long. I have a 125 gallon that’s been up an running for probably 7 or so months now and is stocked with pods but I wanted to be sure it’s looking okay.

This is indeed skinny. They need a large and constant supply of food such as pods and rotifiers. If not eating, will eventually feed off its liver

 

[litsoh]

It still does pick at the rocks, so it’s not like there’s a lack of feeding response. Could this be a promising sign?

 

[litsoh]

And a follow up question, in the event that I take a chance and try to save the little guy/girl, would it be safe to put it straight into the display tank? The LFS stocks all their captive bred fish in a separate system from everything else and it’s been in there for an extended period of time with no symptoms or anything like that. I know it’s always the best practice to quarantine, but to my understanding mandarins are fairly resistant due to their slime coats.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

Does the LFS get their CB directly from the breeder, or though a wholesaler who may mix them with WC? Do they get any CB from local breeders whose practices aren't known and mix those in their CB system? Just some things to consider.

Not QTing wouldn't be exactly "safe" for your DT inhabitants. QTing it wouldn't be "safe" for the mandarin. I've never personally QTed mandarins, though.

While picking at rocks may be one promising sign, a person might wonder why it isn't eating frozen. Has the LFS offered frozen to it while you watch? Perhaps they're not even trying to feed it.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

It still does pick at the rocks, so it’s not like there’s a lack of feeding response. Could this be a promising sign?

It should be picking at the rocks every few seconds, moving slowly around the rock. If it cruises quickly over the rock and just picks at the rock only occasionally, then it has not enough food.

 

[Paul B]

Only thing that makes me a little hesitant is the $115 price tag, I’ll see how it is in a couple days

She is very skinny and obviousely dying of starvation. I would not give pellets or frozen food to a mandarin as that is not what they were built to eat. They need pods and plenty of them, something that bare tank is severly lacking.

As for the price. $115.00 for a half dead mandarin is robbery. They sell here on Long Island for about $25.00. I have a breeding pair and have been keeping them for decades.

 

[litsoh]

It takes about 2 months for a Mandarin to die of starvation

I didn’t realize that they could go without food for that long.

It should be picking at the rocks every few seconds, moving slowly around the rock. If it cruises quickly over the rock and just picks at the rock only occasionally, then it has not enough food.

I did see it picking at the rocks every few seconds, but I’m not too sure if it was picking at anything at all. I’m pretty good with spotting pods in my tank and I want really able to make any out when I was looking into the holding tank.

As for the price. $115.00 for a half dead mandarin is robbery. They sell here on Long Island for about $25.00. I have a breeding pair and have been keeping them for decades.

To be fair I think it’s a combination of it being captive bred (from Biota, if I remember correctly) and shipping it to Hawai’i that contributes to the price. That and the fact that everything is just a little bit more expensive here, but I get that there’s a profit that they have to make.

Does the LFS get their CB directly from the breeder, or though a wholesaler who may mix them with WC? Do they get any CB from local breeders whose practices aren't known and mix those in their CB system? Just some things to consider.

Not QTing wouldn't be exactly "safe" for your DT inhabitants. QTing it wouldn't be "safe" for the mandarin. I've never personally QTed mandarins, though.

While picking at rocks may be one promising sign, a person might wonder why it isn't eating frozen. Has the LFS offered frozen to it while you watch? Perhaps they're not even trying to feed it.

I’ll definitely ask them to see if there are any other sources of contamination.



I guess the bottom line is, with it being this far along in starvation is there still a chance that it can be saved? I know sometimes fish can be too far gone. I definitely have a good population of pods in my tank, and I’m fairly confident that a 125 gallon can provide enough for a single mandarin especially if it’s the only pure pod eater in the tank.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

I would not give pellets or frozen food to a mandarin as that is not what they were built to eat.

Though on that reasoning, no fish should be given pellets or frozen.

 

[Kzang]

It is skinny and may or may not live in your tank. If you want to try to rescue it, try to bargain for a better deal.

Or get a captive bred mandarin for biota for $99

Mandarin Fish

Synchiropus splendidus-Biota’s captive-bred mandarins are incredibly beautiful in coloration and readily feed on prepared diets. Wild caught mandarins are poor aquarium inhabitants and an overwhelming number die in the aquarium trade each year even in ideal conditions. Since mandarins are a...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

 

[litsoh]

I’m definitely leaning towards trying to save the little guy/girl (I can’t tell the difference at this stage) but only if there’s practically no risk to my current fish. Mandarins are probably my favorite fish and definitely the species that got me into saltwater so I’d hate to see them go out like this.

 

[Kzang]

I’m definitely leaning towards trying to save the little guy/girl (I can’t tell the difference at this stage) but only if there’s practically no risk to my current fish. Mandarins are probably my favorite fish and definitely the species that got me into saltwater so I’d hate to see them go out like this.

Keep in mind, even though mandarins are pretty disease resistant for things like ich, velvet, flukes, and etc due to their thick slime coat, they aren’t immune to it.

It can affect the gills and carry it to your other fish.

Anytime you put a fish in DT without QT, you are rolling the dice.

 

[litsoh]

It is skinny and may or may not live in your tank. If you want to try to rescue it, try to bargain for a better deal.

Or get a captive bred mandarin for biota for $99

Mandarin Fish

Synchiropus splendidus-Biota’s captive-bred mandarins are incredibly beautiful in coloration and readily feed on prepared diets. Wild caught mandarins are poor aquarium inhabitants and an overwhelming number die in the aquarium trade each year even in ideal conditions. Since mandarins are a...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

Good grief, shipping is $70. That’s almost pretty much the same price as the fish itself

 

[litsoh]

Keep in mind, even though mandarins are pretty disease resistant for things like ich, velvet, flukes, and etc due to their thick slime coat, they aren’t immune to it.

It can affect the gills and carry it to your other fish.

Anytime you put a fish in DT without QT, you are rolling the dice.

Yeah it’s tough. I would be hoping that since it’s been kept for such an extended period of time with other caprive bred fish in its own system, and with no symptoms on any of the fish in the CB tanks, that the risk is as low as possible. But man it would be a gamble.

 

[JNalley]

There is still a chance, but the longer you dwell on it, the smaller that chance becomes. Based on its behavior (which you have described), it sounds like it is actively hunting for food; it's just not finding any, so that's a good sign. I would haggle with your LFS and say "Look, you've had it 6 weeks, it's emaciated, and barely eating, I'll give you (whatever you're comfortable offering and possibly losing) because there's a really good chance it's going to die, and it's going to take some rehab to get it back healthy again." and see what they say. I agree with others who say $115 is too high, though, you living in Hawaii softens that a bit, it's still on the high side though, even with Island tax, imo.