Is my mandarin dragonet starving?

[jeffchapok]

I've had this guy for 4 months in a 150 gal, 3 year old, well established tank. There are 12 other fish, the largest of which are the 2 tangs you see below. The only other fish I think might eat pods is a six line wrasse, but I seldom see him picking at rocks. He eats suspended foods, frozen and pellets, just like all the others.

The mandarin is constantly picking at the rocks, but recently I've noticed him also up around the overflows and out in the open more. This is unusual and I wonder if he's desperate for food. He also looks very thin to me. All the rest of my fish are chonky.

I add live tigger pods every other week at night with the lights out and the pumps in feed mode. But this is getting kind of pricey ($25 per bottle) and if I need to increase the frequency, I may just see if my lfs will take him in trade. I've tried rasing brine shrimp but I've never seen him show interest in them.

Thoughts?

 

[homer1475]

Stop dosing pods, and dose phyto to feed the pods you have so they will reproduce at a rate in which they are sustainable.

It does look a little thin to me also.

 

[Tamberav]

Looks thin, mandarin are supposed to be little fat sausages. They will peck at the rocks even if there is no food there... they will peck at a speck.. say of debris then spit it out through the gills... so pecking doesn't mean eating.

Pod numbers will always regulate based on available food. Unfortunately even big tanks can be lacking pods. Buying bottles doesn't really help much. Pods will cannibalize and eat each other and some are lost to the filtration. I would find him a home or as the other poster suggested, find a way to naturally increase pods by dosing foods for them.

 

[Lavey29]

Mine has been doing the same thing but he seems to find food in those unusual areas which is why I think he repeats the behavior now. He seems to have his usual patterns searching around the tank. Try Coral Feast Ova. Mine loves that food too.

 

[I never finish anythi]

Yes it's very thin tbh.

 

[OrionN]

That is a very thin Madarin. The Sixline wrasse is the competitor for food of the Mandarin. They eat the same thing. The tangs, the damsel and the chromis should be no problem. What other fish are there?

 

[jeffchapok]

Clowns, flame hawk, 2 pajama cardinals, coral beauty and a couple of gobies.

I'm dosing phyto now. I'll add another bottle of pods this week. But if he doesn't show improvement soon, I'll trade him in.

 

[OrionN]

The Dwarf Angel is also a food competitor of your Mandarin. Both the wrasse and the Angel will eat prepared food but will also peck at the rock all day.

 

[Cell]

If it doesn't show improvement soon it will likely be too late to recover. Add more pods and hatch baby brine shrimp.