Mandarin Goby isn’t hunting or eating

[MollyMac]

This is Ted, my Mandarin Goby, whom I love! My tank is 6 months old and he’s been in there for about 2 months. I added 2 bottles of copepods a month before I got Ted to allow them time to reproduce and flourish. My fish guy said to keep an eye out for the pods and other bugs at night or in the sump. As long as I see lots of them scurrying around I shouldn’t need to add more pods to keep Ted full. I noticed the population was a bit scarce about 2 weeks ago and added another bottle of copepods. Seems to be a good amount visible in the sump and around the rocks at night. Typically, Ted is out and about hunting all day and friendly with all the other guys (clowns, sailfin, damsels, scallops, shrimp, snails, etc). He never eats any of the frozen food or eggs that I feed the fish, nems, or coral. He just picks all around the rocks all day.

Then this morning I found him still down in the sand and not swimming around like usual. This afternoon he moved up into the crevice of this rock and has laid there all day.

- 220gallon tank
- Feeding Trigger Pods Live Copepods
- Added more live rock a month ago so currently having a slight diatom bloom
- Haven’t tested the water today but everyone else looks happy

Any advice on what to do or check?

 

[Jekyl]

As long as you're sure there is still ample food in the system and don't notice any aggression I'm not sure there is much to do. Maybe she doesn't like the name Ted. Mandarin are difficult to put into a hospital tank situation due to the food source issue. Hopefully others will chime in though. Notice any other issues? Breathing heavy, stringy poop, any other indicators?
#reefsquad

 

[Uncle99]

“He just picks around the rocks all day.”

Nothing wrong with that, that’s what a mandarin does.

 

[NashobaTek]

Tisbe pods are the favorite pods for mandrins, but if he's picking at the rocks he might be eating. If he starts looking skinny then he's not eating.

 

[NashobaTek]

Your other option is a target feeder for mandrins to feed brine shrimp babies that are freshly hatched every day. Look on YouTube and on R2R for the feeder PaulB made

 

[MollyMac]

Thank you Jekle. I kinda thought “he” might be a “she” but I’d already named her Ted and went with the story that she didn’t want to be the gender assigned at birth

 

[Jekyl]

Thank you Jekle. I kinda thought “he” might be a “she” but I’d already named her Ted and went with the story that she didn’t want to be the gender assigned at birth

I just not came to the same realization recently. The males have a spike on their back

 

[MollyMac]

Uncle99 Ted doesn’t look nearly as plump as yours but is out picking around at the rocks ALL DAY EVERY DAY. I’m going to run by my LFS and grab some more food just in case that’s the issue.

 

[MollyMac]

Oh and Jekyl no I haven’t noticed any other odd behavior like stringy poo or heavy breathing.

 

[NashobaTek]

Yep definitely looks like a she.
Here's my 3. 2 females and a male

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

just sitting there and not hunting is a sign of nothing to hunt. I'm sorry but a bottle of copepods is just a snack to that guy. If it does not eat the prepared food that you offer it, then you should consider to look for a new home for it before it dies. Sorry to say that

 

[Jekyl]

just sitting there and not hunting is a sign of nothing to hunt. I'm sorry but a bottle of copepods is just a snack to that guy. If it does not eat the prepared food that you offer it, then you should consider to look for a new home for it before it dies. Sorry to say that

My mandarin is about 2yrs old now and I've never fed it prepared food. She's the fattest fish in my tank

 

[MollyMac]

Thanks all for the advice! Much appreciated. Update on Ted. She seems to be totally happy now and back to her old self of swimming/hunting all day. I added another bottle of copepods to the tank and turned the skimmer off for a few days to give them time to reproduce without getting sucked up in the bubbles. I don’t see much in the tank but I think that’s just because the pods hide so well in the rock. That said, my sump is swarming with babies, juveniles, and adults so I’d guess there’s plenty getting back up to the tank for Ted to eat. Here are photos from this morning. I think she looks pretty plump.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Your Mandy doesn't look malnourished all to me. Sitting in one place all day is a bit strange, but not alarming. If it's picking at rocks, it's hunting. If you're worried about pod population, seed a different stain of pods and did phytoplankton to help them grow fast.