Does my mandarin look good?

[The Ugly Phase]

i have no clue what a healthy mandarin looks like i had loads of pods all over the glass but since adding him i no longer see them on the glass i do see him hunting and picking the rocks i have just added some more pods today half in sump half in display i just want to know if he looks a healthy weight or too skinny

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

It looks fine but a side pic is the best to see its stomach. Is it moving and hunting constantly? It shouldn't sit on the sand doing nothing for long periods.

 

[kevgib67]

i have no clue what a healthy mandarin looks like i had loads of pods all over the glass but since adding him i no longer see them on the glass i do see him hunting and picking the rocks i have just added some more pods today half in sump half in display i just want to know if he looks a healthy weight or too skinny

Difficult to make out in the pictures but from what I can see it’s stomach doesn’t look pinched, a good sign it’s getting enough pods.

 

[sjfishguy]

Looks good to me. And I would not assume that if you “see” less pods, that that means you don’t have enough

 

[The Ugly Phase]

alright cheers all

Looks good to me. And I would not assume that if you “see” less pods, that that means you don’t have enough

yea i think i need to start adding more regularly

 

[sjfishguy]

Ha, I meant it the opposite. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean you need to add more. I am saying you probably have more than you think

 

[The Ugly Phase]

Ha, I meant it the opposite. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean you need to add more. I am saying you probably have more than you think

oh ok hahah
i guess i read wrong :P

 

[BryanM]

As Mojo said: It looks fine but a side pic is the best to see its stomach. Is it moving and hunting constantly? It shouldn't sit on the sand doing nothing for long periods.

This is the way.... If it is active and hunting its fine. If it is not, you need to figure out how to get it to start eating and hunting pods.

This is the reason I don't have one. I might get a biota one that knows how to eat flakes... But I'm fairly afraid of not being able to get them to eat.

 

[The Ugly Phase]

i posted 2 pics this is kinda from the side is this not good enough?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

i have no clue what a healthy mandarin looks like i had loads of pods all over the glass but since adding him i no longer see them on the glass i do see him hunting and picking the rocks i have just added some more pods today half in sump half in display i just want to know if he looks a healthy weight or too skinny

Tough to see in these pics, can you get some clearer ones under whiter light? The first pic seems to show the fish having a white cast to its body.

One thing - mandarins can clear out even large aquariums of suitable food pretty quickly - you'll need to try to transition it to live baby brine or chopped mysids, or keep buying pod cultures to augment those in the tank. I had a pair of wild caught mandarins cleans out a 1200 gallon reef tank of "natural" pods in about 6 months.....

 

[The Ugly Phase]

Tough to see in these pics, can you get some clearer ones under whiter light? The first pic seems to show the fish having a white cast to its body.

One thing - mandarins can clear out even large aquariums of suitable food pretty quickly - you'll need to try to transition it to live baby brine or chopped mysids, or keep buying pod cultures to augment those in the tank. I had a pair of wild caught mandarins cleans out a 1200 gallon reef tank of "natural" pods in about 6 months.....

ill try get a picture from the side 2morro when my lights are white yea ill start adding more pods more often

 

[The Ugly Phase]

ill try target feed with brine and see if i can get it too eat i have tried little tiny pellets and it has no interest in those the mysis/brine gets eating too quickly by other fish but i do see it pecking the rocks

i did try to buy captive bred but the shop said it was in no condition to be shipped out so i got a refund and a wild caught i have had him since march

 

[The Ugly Phase]

another thing i dont have room for a fuge cause my sump is full of equipment but i am going to get a algae reactor can i pour the pods in the algae reactor and they will make there way to the display tank?