My fish wont eat!

[XxVooDooxX]

Ok, I am very new to salt water, I'm starting a live rock/reef tank. I am going very slow and only have 1 anemone that I bought paired with a clown. I also have a mandarin goby which I was told was a "great starter fish!" after doing my homework I now know this could not be further from the truth. My tank is healthy, salinity is perfect with no toxins in the water. I added the clown and it's anemone friend today and have had the goby for a week. I haven't seen the goby eat! Will she starve?!? Is she nocturnal? Please help!

 

[Just.A.Bit.Salty]

Yes the goby will starve you would have to attempt to get it to eat prepared food but good luck with that. I highly suggest bringing it back to the LFS for store credit because most likely it will starve to death in your tank.

 

[XxVooDooxX]

That truly makes me sad. It's such a pretty fish but I don't want it to die! Could you recommend a good starter besides the clown?

 

[melosu58]

Always best to make sure you watch the fish eat at the LFS. That way you know he is eating but let`s figure this out. A mandarin is a very finnicky eater. They only eat pods unless trained to eat prepared foods. Maybe you can get some pods in a bottle from your LFS. These fish need a very mature tank with lots of LR so to keep a large amount of pods on hand. Most of these fish starve to death since most tanks dont have an adequate supply of pods. Your LFS didnt help you out on that one. He should not have sold you the anenome as they need mature tanks of at least one year. As far as the mandarin try feeding frozen mysis shrimp or some vitamin fortified brine shrimp. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Maybe there is another LFS around that might be able to give you better advice.

 

[Hinds04]

There are tons... check out liveaquaria.com they have a section called fish for beginners I believe.

 

[carey]

Silly question, but what is a "pod"? I'm following this thread as I am working on my first SW tank.

Thanks

 

[Purevil21]

Copepods, they are tiny living organisms that Mandarins need to survive. They eat thousands of them, ORA just recently started tank raising these animals to survive on prepared foods, but training them on your own would be difficult, perhaps impossible. Your best bet is to go get store credit for the mandarin somewhere. The mandarin is one of the most difficult fish to keep, even in a matured tank.

You also need to find a new LFS, the one your going to is obviously irresponsible and only care about the quick sale. My LFS knows everything about my tank, and will not sell me anything they don't feel will thrive there. Your best bet is always to do your own research before you buy anything, I got burned a couple times when I first started. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way.

 

[melosu58]

Silly question, but what is a "pod"? I'm following this thread as I am working on my first SW tank.

Thanks

You Can't Tell Your "Pods" Without A Program by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

 

[XxVooDooxX]

Ok another beginners question. What do glass worms look like. I got a feather duster and when I put it in my tank there was a small pinkish worm that was about a half inch long. It was attached to the coral and has since burrowed into the sand bed. Should I be worried?

 

[Sqasnatch]

You will come across many different types of worms, can't really help without a picture. Sounds like a fireworm. They will eat anything to possibly everything. But might not bug anything.

 

[melosu58]

Usually pink ones are just bristle worms. They are harmless janitors.

 

[XxVooDooxX]

If that's the case then great! Unusual that it would come from the tank I got the feather duster from. How fast do they grow? I know they can get pretty big

 

[melosu58]

I have several in my tank and they dont bother a thing.

 

[mr_X]

i wouldn't worry about the worm. fireworms are very rare, and not pink, but very red. it's most likely a common bristleworm. a detritus eater. harmless.

i'd also like to say that you could not buy enough pods for that mandarin. it will probably eat about a bottle of pods a day. not cost effective.
you should return it, and if it was the employee at the LFS that told you it was a great starter fish, they should give you a refund, not credit.

 

[XxVooDooxX]

Well, I took the advice given. I took the mandarin back but couldn't get anything but store credit. The biggest problem I'm facing right now is that I'm in northern Nevada so needless to say, the pickings for livestock suppliers is very slim. Thank you for all the helpful info!

 

[XxVooDooxX]

Ok so this little guy popped out of one of my live rocks today. What is it? Anyone know? Sorry the pic isn't that great. I'm taking it from my phone!

 

[mr_X]

aptasia anemone. it's a pest, because they reproduce rapidly and spread to biblical proportions. in a fish only tank they wont do much harm but in a reef they will take up valuable real estate, sting corals, and just be plain ugly.

the good news is they are fairly easy to kill.
inject them with vinegar
inject them with boiling water
squirt kalkwasser paste on them
use a commercial product called "joes juice"
take the rock out and burn it with a lighter.

just don't smash it in the tank or try to cut it. that will only help it spread.

 

[XxVooDooxX]

ok well Im slowly building a reef tank so should I just pull it? Or should I monitor it and try to keep it under control? As I said this is all very new to me and its people like you that could greatly help in my cause to forge a beauty of a reef!

 

[mr_X]

no monitoring is necessary. i already told you what you have to look forward to...lol.
these are something you are going to see from time to time. if you are going to be keeping corals, you'll be introducing things from other tanks, and the chances of seeing more aptasia or other pests are good. i would buy some joes juice. it comes with an applicator, and good instructions.

 

[XxVooDooxX]

Fantastic! Thank you