Acclimating Captive Bread Fish?

How do you acclimate a fish born and raised in captivity? Has never seen a coral or another fish aside from it's own kind. This fish has never settled on substrate of any kind, just a bare bottom tank.

Please I'm very serious about this. I am once again going to try an ORA CB Target Mandarin. I've spoken at length with ORA who has explained to me how these fish are kept.

But there is very little if any info at all on how to introduce a 1 1/2" fish into a tank with corals that may or may not sting. Fish that have their own territory and those little bugs it sees are actually food for it to eat.

I've begun with the help of a friend. Who has made me a lil acclimation box. I'm thinking of putting a small piece of rock and some substrate in it to begin the process. This box will be intank and via a large mag float I'll be able to suspend it near the bottom of the tank.

Anyone with other ideas or experience, please share!

 

I think fish just 'know'. its an instinct. I've got 3 tank raised fish that all did fine with no special acclimation.

 

Our tanks do not look natural to wildcaughts either.

Our fish also come from all different environments like grassbeds, coral reefs, mud. Some WCs have never seen a leather or an SPS or half the things we are introducing them to. Some things are innate and some are learned.

 

Agree with both. Also, IMOPE, fish are less stressed if introduced into their new home without a lot of human intervention. Just acclimate to the water and let him learn on his own. He'll be fine.

 

LolLolLolI usually eat Bread fish.

But everyone is right, captive bred or wild caught doesn't matter, the know how to survive is there.

 

I just went through a really bad experience is all. I received a sickly Mandarin and the trauma of watching that poor lil fish trying to navigate around my tank was horrible. She kept bumping into everything. Including the maxi minis 3 times. She wouldn't stay away from the goby/shrimp cave and the goby was not nice about it. And she just kept going right back towards the cave no matter what the goby did to her!! Granted she was sick in the first place but do you think a healthier one will fair better? They're so freaking tiny!!! And fragile!!

 

I would never buy a mandarin unless I could see it first. Like in an LFS. Once that belly pinches there's not much hope of recovery.

One trick I learned a long time ago was to get BBS cubes. Take a piece of cube and stuff it in a hole in the rock where the fish hangs out the most. As it thaws it will "puff" out baby brine and most times will entice the mandarin into eating prepared. It's worked with 3 of 5 fish I know of personally.

Target mandarins are readily becoming available from breeders so there is hope. Maybe hold off until you can find a true tank bred fish? I know you got an ORA fish but just because they are huge and know so much about our hobby, ORA doesn't mean they have all the answers. They did after all claim to raise H. zostrae that would eat prepared but after a year or so abandoned the project and stopped selling the animals. Because for one reason or another they will not remain on prepared foods and starve.

Also you should think about getting the mm's out of the tank if you want small goby's. Inwall had one eat a Bannerfish with a 6" banner and it was healthy. Just a thought.