Keeping Mandarins in Nano's 2

looks healthy to me

 

he is looking a lot better in those most recent pics, great recovery of that, in some previous ones he looked very skinny

 

Edit: sorry but kinda have to agree. Good luck to ya, I know how much youve worked for this fish, and that you'll continue to do so. Maybe a gravity fed 55g fuge is in order

 

I'm no Mandarin expert, but he looks 100% better than the one I saw in my LFS the other day.

Please do keep us updated NanaReefer. I am personally very interested, as this fish has been very high on my fish list, but am very concerned considering I have a 35 gallon (total vol) nano system.

Maybe I havent seen it, but is this particular fish one of the ORA Mandarins they claim will eat prepared foods?

Thanks for your journalism!

 

I am no expert either but have many years experience in keeping them. Evolved observations are 100 percent on the money IMO.It is very hard to observe the stomach of these fish unless you are viewing them from below because of the fin position which hides the stomach from the side view. There should be absolutely no indentations like the lateral line you see in the last pic he posted.These fish should always look chubby like psychedelic sausages.LOL I would definitely suggest increasing the ammount and/times you are feeding it.Heres a pic so you can compare.


While this is a picture of an Orange Target the body shapes of all Mandarins are the same.FAT! LOL I chose a top down pic so you can see the girth.
And heres some pics of mine.

 

I've looked at hundreds of Mandarin pictures. I agree they all look fatter then Dilly does. But I also believe that Dilly did have a growth spurt and will start putting on more weight now that his length seems to have reached its max.
I can only feed him as much as he wants. He comes up front 3-4x a day and when he does I'm there ready to offer the food, which he takes EVERY time. If anyone thinks I've got other things going on besides this fish. Well guess what? I don't!! I'm home bound differently-abled with much of nothing else to do. I chose this fish for a reason

 

good luck nana, honestly just good luck. I have faith in ya. Maybe a pod farm is in order?

 

Either the fish is not getting the nutrition that you think, or there may be an internal parasite. Was the fish QT'd or treated with Prazi Pro? Your fish is not going to die tomorrow, but it is showing signs that something more should be done. Take the criticism in a positive manner, everyone is here to help. Are you 100% sure that the fish is actually eating the food and not spitting it out? I know if I feed my Mandarin heavy for a couple of weeks, the weight gain is noticeable. They need a long time to get their share of food, especially the Nutramar.

 

I'm confused..I thought Dilly was fine..and it was Red baron that was in distress...oh well...Good luck EVERYONE !! ; ) lol I'm out.

 

I understand that but there are several reasons we warned you not tne is water quality as you are already experiencing.Larger tanks with larger skimmers are able to handle the added food required when feeding a Mandarin and the addition of Phyto to keep a healthy pod population. The uphill battle you and Dilly also face is metabolism.You are not going to change this fishes metabolism no matter how much time and effort you apply.This fishes digestive system has evolved to eat small foods all day long. Changing that to 3-4 very large meals a day is probably the reason he cannot handle more then a few pieces during that time.I hate to beat a dead horse but I really don't want others to see this thread and think maybe they should try doing this.This is why I stopped even posting pictures of my Mandarin to keep people from falling in love with it. They are very tempting because of their beauty.I have seen thousands of these fish die over the years and it is really sad.There is no question you love your fish, and are trying your best, and we are all pulling for Dilly, but as everyone who reads this thread can understand even with a person as dedicated as you, with ample ammounts of time to spend, its still an uphill battle and I will continue to advise people that this should not be attempted.Good luck to you and Dilly.