Sulking mandarin

[craig_will2513]

Hi all.. Iv just yesterday (10th sept) added my first fish. A healthy looking mandarin.. I know they are hard to keep but i think iam ready.. Iv been adding the pod over a month or so so they should have had time to build up... My question is this.. At the min he is hiding behind the rock and hardly moves. After he has got used to his tank will he come out more. And whats there normal behaviour. Thanks for any help guys

 

[mr_X]

the normal behavior is for them to be hovering around searching for food. they do it non-stop all day and night until the lights go out. how did you acclimate it?

 

[carey]

My mandarin never stops moving, even at night most of the time she hovers around rocks hunting. Did you put him in with the lights on? He might still be getting used to the tank, but he should for sure be on the move during daylight.

 

[craig_will2513]

yeah he is moving but never away from the rock and always around the s\me place.. iv watched him for hours he is amazing.. also how do i tell if he is a he and not a she lol.. mr x i just acclimatised him in the normal way with lights on. floated the back for a while then slowly added my aquarium water to his bag

 

[carey]

My LFS ordered ORA mandarins for me so he got a male and a female for me to choose from. I took the female cause she showed more interest in eating mysis than the male did. I think, just think, the males have a higher dorsal fin, you can easily google them and maybe see if I'm right.

 

[craig_will2513]

whats orc mean please

 

[ilostnemo]

oceans reef and aquariums

 

[mr_X]

it's a company that sells corals and fish to stores. they claim to sell nothing but tank raised mandarins that eat prepared foods.

 

[Greenturtle]

But they can revert back to just copepods, which defeats the purpose of them being ORA

 

[carey]

Yeah right...I now know thats not entirely true. Mine was supposedly raised on pellets but doesnt eat them. All she ate was pods at first and I've been working really hard at getting her to eat prepared frozen food. So an ORA is no guarantee on them eating regular food FYI.

 

[craig_will2513]

how do you try to get them to eat the frozen food

 

[carey]

You try every food you can get. I have about 15 frozen foods I had from getting my scooter off pods. Id start with cyclops and plankton then if you get him eating that move onto brine and mysis. Mine has tried bloodworms but they were too big for her mouth. Lol mine is extremely tiny.

 

[craig_will2513]

thanks carey.. i think they are the most beautifull thing iv ever seen.. one more question i was thinking about getting a coral beauty.. woul the two live together ok