Mandrine in the refuge

Well my mandrine is starting to decline, he is really skinny and starting to lose color, I've tried just about every frozen food out there and hes isn't interested in it, so I put him in the refuge because there are allot of pods in there, as soon as I did he went nuts eating them so hopefully he does alright in the refuge until I can get some more pod growth in the DT.

 

If you have a lot of pods in your fuge I would suggest removing any mechanical media from the return pump so you can start to distribute more pods to the display tank. just a thought

 

it is such a cool fish. It probaly won't take long for him to put a hurt on those pods in refuge. Good luck and let me know as I am instrested in getting another.My first went on a hunger strike

 

+1. That way pods won't get caught on the way up to the DT. The mandarin should be happy in the sump/fuge for now. Its not too small and he has all of the food he wants. I'm assuming you've tried cyclop-eeze? A lot of people have had success getting mandarins to eat that stuff. Do mandarins eat bigger amphipods?

 

I'd hate to say it, but it wont last long in the fuge. A mandarin, specially hungry, will completely eliminate every pod from the fuge within a couple of days, depending on the fuge size.
I would suggest two things. Try more frozen/prepared. I have got mine eating frozen bloodwoorms, brine, and flying fish roe. (Edit: mine was taking the bloodworms and roe first, and i started mixing the brine with the worms). Make sure to defrost the food entirely, and squirt using a turkey baster or similar. You can get the fish roe at asian/international markets (its most commonly used as a garnish for sushi).
The second thing would be to look into setting up a stand alone system specifically for breeding pods.

 

Yeh it was one of those things were I had to do something, I hate watching anything starve. I've tried cyc and brine, I'll try the blood worms next, a least for now he has a fat belly. also it's harder in the DT because as soon as I squirt the cyclops or brine near him the Dang Yellow tang and wrasse go nuts and eat it all before he gets a chance to even check it out. so maybe know I can try different foods for him.

 

I started mine on froz. brine and bloodworms too. Now it eats mysys and even eats the eggs that my chromis lay on the rocks from time to time - real fat too (have lots of pods as well) K+ good luck!!! Cool fish

 

Yeah, definitley give the bloodworms and fish roe a try.
Heres how I feed mine: I get all the food ready for all the fish, and shut off the pumps/powerheads. I will toss in some food for all the other fish in the opposite side of the tank the mandarin is in. Then, as they go nuts over it, squirt in the food for the mandarin. Then immediately add in more food for the regular fish. Keep adding to keep them busy, as at least with mine, the mandarin is a slow, timid eater. The idea is to try your best to keep the other fish occupied. Also, try feeding them all in the same locations everytime, that way they will be even less likely to stray during feeding.
And just to add, feed the mandarin A LOT of food. When I rescued mine, it was skinny beyond belief, colors were off, etc. That was 2 months ago, and it's still gaining wait to this day. So don't get discouraged; it's not impossible to bring one back from the thin side. I feed my mandarin by itself 2X what all my other fish get combined.

 

also place some cheato in your display tank. My mandarin eats frozen also, but I will grab a handfull of the cheato out and hide it behind rocks..enough so the light hits it but not enough to see it. I then alternate that out with newer cheato that I have in my other tanks...My other tank does not eat pods so this will allow it to replenish

You can also try artic pods...most fish go crazy for them. That might help you get him to start eating frozen more

 

I have chromis in the tank that have laid eggs in a few different spots and have become very territorial. Anyway, these mandarin's must have skin like armor because it will swim to the eggs and start picking at them even with the chromis attacking him and it doesn't even care, just eats, and eats. The scooter in my tank will do the same but will eventually give up after the beating but the mandarin just don't care!! Funny to watch!