I purchased a Mandarin Dragonet the other day. I had a few to choose from and was careful not to choose a mandarin that seemed lethargic, sick, or injured. This one was actively swimming around the tank and after purchase and acclimation he proceeded to do the same in my tank and still is. The tank has been fish less for many months -since early june of 2016 - after my last fish died of ick. I purchased "trigger pods" and seeded the tank with them the night after tank introduction just incase the population in my tank wasn't enough. But suddenly I spotted this pale spot near his tale that I don't remember seeing the other day. He isn't exhibiting any abnormal behavior and is actively feeding all day. It doesnt look like ick it is a larger pale portion of its skin. It may be nothing but, I would prefer the opinions of others just in case. I've attached a short video the best I could take at the moment.
Pale Spot on Mandarin Dragonet
- Thread starter tnuhnivad
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another pic please. probably fine though. need to see its body better to check that its eating.
Start getting that guy on frozen soon. mimi mysis, baby brine, nutrimar ova.
Start getting that guy on frozen soon. mimi mysis, baby brine, nutrimar ova.
melypr1985
totally addicted
Another picture will be needed. We can't see much on the video. From this video it looks like just a lighter portion of his coloring.
Ok I went out and this was just a quick vid/post I threw together but will for sure upload some better images. I also attempted to feed a combination of frozens soaked in s.e.l.c.o. boost last night. He didn't eat them at first but as the food settled to the bottom I watched him pick and eat a few chunks of shrimp.
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As requested some more pics and a short video of the little guy hunting for some pods. I had just attempted to feed him frozen shrimp soaked in s.e.l.c.o. boost -to no avail- which made my skimmer go a little crazy and spew bubbles just before shooting the video. You might notice some smaller white dots that look like ick on his fins but, I can assure you they're just bits of sand. I looked at some pictures I took the day I got him and he didn't have the pale discoloration close to his tail. He often rubs up against various pieces of HOB equipment in the tank. I have no idea what it could be if it's anything at all.
Leslie Tabor
Valuable Member
My female has a pale spot on one of her pectoral fins. I have had my pair since June, with no change. I am pretty sure it is just her coloring at this point. I would watch it very closely just to be safe.
+1 If he's rubbing himself on equipment that indicates "something" is irritating his skin. Photos of flukes below for comparison purposes.
He doesn't purposely rub up against the HOB equipment. A better word might be graze. He often will graze the equipment while swimming around. If you guys think it might be flukes I'll definitely keep an eye on it. Keep in mind I haven't had a fish in this tank in almost 8 months.+1 If he's rubbing himself on equipment that indicates "something" is irritating his skin. Photos of flukes below for comparison purposes.
melypr1985
totally addicted
As requested some more pics and a short video of the little guy hunting for some pods. I had just attempted to feed him frozen shrimp soaked in s.e.l.c.o. boost -to no avail- which made my skimmer go a little crazy and spew bubbles just before shooting the video. You might notice some smaller white dots that look like ick on his fins but, I can assure you they're just bits of sand. I looked at some pictures I took the day I got him and he didn't have the pale discoloration close to his tail. He often rubs up against various pieces of HOB equipment in the tank. I have no idea what it could be if it's anything at all.
He's pretty skinny. That line running down his body shouldnt be visible. I see the spot you're talking about and if it's not a parasite + infection then it's malnutrition. You'll want to do eveyrthing you can to boost up your pod population and put some weight on him. You may try the BBS feeder that paul b came up with. It's easy to do (i made one myself) and can help put some weight on mandarins without the other fish eating all the shrimp. I'd say boost his food supply no matter what and wait to see what the spot does in the mean time. If it get's worse, then we'll want to address it. If it get's better with more food, then awesome.
The spot is basically gone. It isnt a parasite there"s no visible bump. He's still doing ok and actively swimming but still looks skinny. Im not sure if the pods I put in the tank took or if he ate them before they could populate. Ive been trying multiple times a day to feed soaked frozen and pellet food but he shows no interest whatsoever even with flow off and placing the food directly in front of him with a turkey baster. Im worried I might have to take him back if I cant get him to eat. Hes pooping though so hes eating something. Ill leave the flow off for a bit after i put the food in but I never see him eat the frozen left overs. What is a bbs feeder? Can someone link me? If anyone else has experience weaning a mandarin on frozen can you tell me on detail your method? I was going to go buy some live shrimp and try to get him to atleast eat those for a bit before trying the frozens again.
melypr1985
totally addicted
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