Mandarin Help

[jshaw1980]

Hi everyone,
I recently upgraded from a Biocube 14 to a Biocube 29, all my corals, 2 clowns, and watchman goby are doing great, spotted mandarin however is acting weird.

*Disclaimer: I'm not looking to be bashed for keeping a mandarin in either Biocube, I add lots of pods, hatch brine shrimp 2-3 times/per week, and she eats frozen food. She appears healthy and non-anorexic.

Ok, so the mandarin is still eating but just seems shocked/scared by her new, larger environment. She has been spending alot of time in caves, just comes out to eat and then goes back to the cave areas. I have also spot fed her a few times as well. Has anyone encountered an issue like this? Is there anything more I can do to make her more comfortable? Do you think she will snap out of this bahavior after some time in the new tank?

Thanks everyone!! =)

 

[143MPCo]

I think you just need to give her time to adapt, if she was not eating it would concern me more but, lets see what others think [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG]

 

[jshaw1980]

Thats what I was thinking too, she's only been in the new tank 3days now. She actually hangs out w/ the watchman goby all the time now, I'm wondering is she forgot that she's a mardarin..haha

 

[Shep]

Yep! its probably just a little freaked out about being in a new home. Just give it time, all that matters is that it is eating well.

 

[jshaw1980]

Sounds great, much appreciated!!

 

[eatbreakfast]

Getting caught and moved can be quite a traumatic event for a fish. As far as they are concerned they just experienced a "near miss" by a predator. Being a bit tentative should be expected.

 

[jshaw1980]

Good stuff, thanks! Do you know a rough timeframe until the mandarin will be back to her constant hunting?

 

[eatbreakfast]

It varies fish to fish. Just as some people are more cautious after a close call, so are certain fish

 

[jshaw1980]

Gotcha, thanks!!

 

[jshaw1980]

Happy to report that Spoot, my spotted mandarin is back to her normal self again!! Thanks again 143MPCp, Shep, & eatbreakfast!

 

[143MPCo]

excellent!!

 

[143MPCo]

just an fyi;), use the "@" in front of anyones user ID and they get an almost instant system generated notification via user preferences.

That helps the person you asked the question or sent info to know you addressed something to them:D

 

[jshaw1980]

@143MPCo Sounds good, thanks for the tip!! I'm still a Reef2Reef newbie.. haha

 

[michael1138]

Having gone through this twice in the span of a month and a half due to defective nano cubes (Side glass cracks), my stock was shocked to say the least...I've found that keeping the lights low (if not off for the first few days) plus feeding enriched foods more often seems to ease the transitions. I ended up upgrading to a larger tank and noticed my ruby red was disoriented. The corals were a bit irritated as well but as others have said, patience and close monitoring is the key.

 

[jshaw1980]

@michael1138 Sorry to hear bout the bad luck, will keep your tips in mind if I upgrade again. My mandarin took a good 5-6 days to get back to normal. Was a success tho, didn't lose any of my saltwater friends! What kind of nano tanks were defective?