New mandarin sick after two weeks? Need help identifying asap!

[Lavey29]

Tigger pods flatly won’t colonize your tank - I cultured these for months and added them almost daily, they never took. A couple days after adding them they were all gone.

They’re also not great for mandarins as they swim in the water column, where they get wiped out by all the rest of the fish, and even worse won’t be eaten by the mandarin because it’s hunting on the rocks.

Tisbe do colonize, as do random pods that come in on live rock and CUC.

They do swim when first added but eventually make their way to rocks and sand because the little guys know floating around in the ocean means a short life span. I had tons on my rocks and sand which as you mention is where mandarins hunt. The other pods are great feed sources to though but overall pods provide very miminmal nutrition which is why mandarins pick constantly also combined with their internal organ design.

 

[DannyGT]

Excellent follow-up posts! Informative content with well-grounded opinions.

I have seen pictures of skinny mandarins and feel mine is somewhere between the skinny and chubby ones, so I am uncertain... Additionally, I agree with the fading. I have observed him fading quite a bit at night, but the blemishes are indicative of rot, as he now has holes in his fins. The blemish on the tail has slightly cleared up and has not turned into a hole, which is a small positive. All other fish seem to be normal and happy.

I will try those other pods, but my local fish store said the same thing. Shipping Tigger's is just so much easier. Did not realize they were water column swimmers. All the other fish would have surely decimated them. I believe I managed to get some into his belly, as I did it under blackout conditions, so I am sure some are lurking in the rock work and sand. He is non-stop pecking...

 

[Kasrift]

They do swim when first added but eventually make their way to rocks and sand because the little guys know floating around in the ocean means a short life span. I had tons on my rocks and sand which as you mention is where mandarins hunt. The other pods are great feed sources to though but overall pods provide very miminmal nutrition which is why mandarins pick constantly also combined with their internal organ design.

I'm not saying that you are wrong, but this is partially true. Their naupalli stage are more benthic. If you buy tig pods, most are swimming. If you've tried culturing them you'll see they still swim alot.

 

[Lavey29]

I'm not saying that you are wrong, but this is partially true. Their naupalli stage are more benthic. If you buy tig pods, most are swimming. If you've tried culturing them you'll see they still swim alot.

I'm far from knowledgeable with pods but the Tigger pods kept my Mandy going for the multiple years I had him but was costly.

 

[Kasrift]

I'm far from knowledgeable with pods but the Tigger pods kept my Mandy going for the multiple years I had him but was costly.

The best way to establish a tig pod population that is sustainable is either a refugium or seeding a tank early for more than 30 days so they can generate their lifecycle without predation.

 

[Lavey29]

The best way to establish a tig pod population that is sustainable is either a refugium or seeding a tank early for more than 30 days so they can generate their lifecycle without predation.

Yes I have had a successful fuge with the tank for 4 years. All types of copepods and amphipods there thriving.

 

[DannyGT]

Quick update. He's still alive. Def must have been fin rot, but it appears to not have progressed any further. Does anyone know if he'll be able to grow these parts of his fins back, and if so, the timeframe it would take?

I have loaded the tank with every form of pod there is, twice, and so far, so good.

I'm also experimenting with creating a Fuge in the second bay of this AIO. It's after the filter floss, and before the bio-media > chemical media. Not sure if I'm the first to attempt this in this tank, but I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[DannyGT]

A quick (bad) picture for reference. I'm using the triple bay In-Tank media holder as the container to hold the cheato....



I'll write up a detailed post if this does work out!