Is this Mandarin skinny?

[vetteguy53081]

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 constant as if its in a feeding frenzy. Are you seeing presence of pods everywhere? You can check with a flashlight after lights out and you will know. If you see a few, likely inadequate supply

 

[litsoh]

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.

If I remember correctly they did say it was a Biota CB, and from the link above it’s pretty similar in price for the size it is. So the price makes a little more sense I guess. But man, Paul B has really got it good with those $25 dollar Mandarins.

 

[litsoh]

It should be constant as if its in a feeding frenzy. Are you seeing presence of pods everywhere? You can check with a flashlight after lights out and you will know. If you see a few, likely inadequate supply

Oh my tank definitely has a healthy population of pods. I can even see them all over the glass during the day. I was talking moreso about the tank at the LFS, there were no pods that I could make out in the system so I guessed it was just trying to pick at whatever it could, pod or not.

 

[JNalley]

If I remember correctly they did say it was a Biota CB, and from the link above it’s pretty similar in price for the size it is. So the price makes a little more sense I guess. But man, Paul B has really got it good with those $25 dollar Mandarins.

Yes, but Biota's prices are a bit high, too. I can generally find an ORA captive-bred of the same species (Blue Mandarin) for between $50 and $60 locally. (Though the MSRP, I think, is $79, which is what Algae Barn sells them for. SAQ sells them for $73, so mileage may vary, right? ) The only time I see $25 Mandarins, they are either of unknown origins or wild-caught specimens. I totally get the save-the-environment tax associated with CB. If I was you, I'd haggle, since if the store keeps it much longer they're going to make no money on it, and you're taking a pretty sizable risk in a rescue attempt. Hopefully they're willing to work with you.

 

[John Doe]

The store near my house only sells it for $10

 

[vetteguy53081]

Oh my tank definitely has a healthy population of pods. I can even see them all over the glass during the day. I was talking moreso about the tank at the LFS, there were no pods that I could make out in the system so I guessed it was just trying to pick at whatever it could, pod or not.

And the fish may have been starving at the LFS. Was it as thin when you acquired it?

 

[JNalley]

And the fish may have been starving at the LFS. Was it as thin when you acquired it?

He hasn't acquired the fish yet, that's what he's debating. The pics you see are of the LFS tank, not his home tank.

 

[litsoh]

And the fish may have been starving at the LFS. Was it as thin when you acquired it?

The fish is still at the LFS, but I’ve been asking about it for a couple of weeks, I wanted to post it here to get some other opinions on whether I should take a chance on it. I know they’ve been trying to feed it some TDO B2 Pellets, among other things. I believe they’re going to be trying some live BBS so I asked them to keep me updated.

 

[litsoh]

Yes, but Biota's prices are a bit high, too. I can generally find an ORA captive-bred of the same species (Blue Mandarin) for between $50 and $60 locally. (Though the MSRP, I think, is $79, which is what Algae Barn sells them for. SAQ sells them for $73, so mileage may vary, right? ) The only time I see $25 Mandarins, they are either of unknown origins or wild-caught specimens. I totally get the save-the-environment tax associated with CB. If I was you, I'd haggle, since if the store keeps it much longer they're going to make no money on it, and you're taking a pretty sizable risk in a rescue attempt. Hopefully they're willing to work with you.

Yeah I’ll definitely contact them to see if some kind of deal can be made. Unfortunately my next day off from work would be Friday, so that’s just more time being lost. For all we know by that time it might take a turn for the worse.

 

[litsoh]

It should be constant as if its in a feeding frenzy. Are you seeing presence of pods everywhere? You can check with a flashlight after lights out and you will know. If you see a few, likely inadequate supply

For reference this would be the tank it would be going in. 6’ 125 gallons and plenty of pods visible.

 

[litsoh]

Is anyone also able to tell from the pictures if it is a male or female? I don’t know how early on the sexual dimorphism occurs.

 

[JNalley]

Is anyone also able to tell from the pictures if it is a male or female? I don’t know how early on the sexual dimorphism occurs.

the easiest way to tell is the dorsal. Male dorsals when raised have a mast/point at the very front, while the female is more rounded.

Edit: The front dorsal is down, so you can't really tell...

 

[vcollins9850]

Is anyone also able to tell from the pictures if it is a male or female? I don’t know how early on the sexual dimorphism occurs.

I think female

 

[JNalley]

For reference:

 

[Brucemull]

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.

I would love to get a pair@25 each here in Florida occasionally you'll find them but double that price

 

[Paul B]

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

I didn't say "no" fish, I said Mandarins as they need to eat every 10 or 15 seconds and you can't feed pellets or frozen like that constantly unless you have absolutely no life. Mandarins have a stomach like a seahorse and can't store much if any food so they need to eat constantly.

 

[litsoh]

So the Mandarin is from Biota and stocked in the tank with a Coral Beauty also from Biota and a few QM Cardinals. So I guess the only risk would be from QM which admittedly I'm not too familiar with their quality other than it being in their name lol. Do they generally have a good track record?

 

[fish farmer]

The fish is still at the LFS, but I’ve been asking about it for a couple of weeks, I wanted to post it here to get some other opinions on whether I should take a chance on it. I know they’ve been trying to feed it some TDO B2 Pellets, among other things. I believe they’re going to be trying some live BBS so I asked them to keep me updated.

When I had a new Mandy I was deliberately blowing food toward it with a turkey baster, so it thought the food was alive. I started with plankton (cladocerans), which it did chase and eat. I eventually got mine to chase down frozen mysis.

 

[litsoh]

If not eating, will eventually feed off its liver

In the case that a fish does feed off its liver, is it essentially moribund at that point?

 

[litsoh]

Here’s another photo that the LFS sent