How do I tell if my Mandarin is getting enough to eat?

Kit with Cat · #1 01-02-2012, 08:30 PM

I've been told Mandarin dragonets can devastate an entire population of pods in a few days. How do I know if this has happened? I have a refugium as well, but I don't know if that will be enough to feed him? Also, I've been looking for pictures on the net of how a well fed Mandarin should look like and what a starving Mandarin looks like, but I can't find any. Any help would be awesome...thanks so much!
Kit

paddyob · #2 01-02-2012, 08:34 PM

As with any fish...

A concave stomach is bad. Meaning it's empty. If the tummy looks fat it's ok.

How big is the tank? Any other competition?

I have a mandarin in a 20g with a HOB fuge. Doing well.

Kit with Cat · #3 01-02-2012, 09:32 PM

My tank is 90G, HOB fuge, the rest of the tank mates are:

Bicolor Dottyback (do they eat pods too?)
Hippo Tang
2 x False Perculas
Diamond Goby

I can't say he looks fat so far..but he's doesn't look sickly thin? I've been thinking about getting a melanurus wrasse (to get rid of red planaria..which I was told the Mandarin might also eat)...is this advisable?

lastlight · #4 01-02-2012, 09:33 PM

melanarus will go to town on your pods be warned.

paddyob · #5 01-04-2012, 01:23 AM

Spotted mandarin will eat flatworms. I have not seen a lot on greens eating them.

daniella3d · #6 01-04-2012, 01:48 AM

I have 2 mandarins in my 75 gallons and tons of pods. I see them everywhere but the mandarins do not only eat pods. I give them live white worms and they go nuts for these. I feed them white worms each day or every other day. They are fat and happy.

Feeding live white worms is a good way to make sure your mandarin is not going to go thin or be short on pods.

I have been feeding my copperband butterfly with white worms for a year and he's fat and heathy and he does not eat much else. I add Selcon to the bread I feed the worms, so that enrich them with good nutritious UFA. If you can get a culture and start your own production, it is easy to care for and you would always have a source of live food for your fish.

I don't see my mandarins eat flatworms, but I am sure they eat some because I hardly see any now. I used to have a lot of them. I don't have a wrasse so the only ones that could be eating the flatworms are the mandarins.