Where did the Mandarin Goby go?

[phoenix20]

Hey ARC

I've got a 45G tank with the following critters

Coral Beauty Angelfish
Royal Gramma
mandarin goby?
yellow watchman goby
blackfin flame wrasse
3 peppermint shrimp
~40 snails, ~40 assoritated snails

About two months ago, I added the mandarin goby. The first week, he was pretty cool and hung out at the front of the tank. After that first week, he went and dissappered somewhere in the live rock? I haven't seen him sense.

Has anyone else had issues with dissapearing mandarin gobies before? Are they somewhat shy, or is my guy dead under a rock somewhere? Is not seeing a fish for 2 months irregular? Was putting two gobies in the same tank an awful idea? Could the yellow goby have had the mandarin for lunch?

The yellow watchman goby comes out quite a bit -- esp when there is frozen food dropping into the tank. I would have thought that the mandarin would have surfaced by now, but I'm still looking.... :confused2:

 

[gwhiz]

How long has the tank been up? Do you have a fuge?

 

[phoenix20]

The tank has been going for 6 months. Negative on the sump / fuge. The tank is above the fireplace, and unfortunately I don't have room for either. =/ I'm using hang-on carbon based filtering -- the marineland emperor 280.

I also have an in-tank protein skimmer driven by a rena 400 air pump. There is a 200W ceramic heating wand in the tank as well.

 

[gwhiz]

The mandarin probably starved to death. They pretty much eat pods-and you need an established tank and fuge to generate enough pods to keep 'em healthy.

 

[johnr2604]

It probably starved. Mandarins only eat pods so unless you have a larger well established tank with a fuge you have to suppliment pods.

 

[drnecropolis]

Agreed with the 2 post above me...Always research the needs of an animal before you add them to the tank..

 

[millertime]

Mine has always been very active... and he eats any food I put in there! I also have copepods though. I've heard if they die they will poison your tank?? So you should get them out quickly if they die!

 

[derek_s]

Just to be a non-conformist, I'm gonna submit to you a improbable but not impossible answer: Your Mandarin was exposed to unusually high levels of stray, interstellar based gamma radiation in transport. Once added to your tank, a very specific environmental condition (no pods) triggered a cellular response aided by the radiation in the mandarin. This in turn caused it to mutate very rapidly into a 5th dimensional state, where the body enters a carcass state of being, but the life-force morphs into an un-observable state of energy that transcends the known universe.

J/k. What the other guys said.

 

[steve]

Lemme go find where derek copied and pasted that from...

 

[FutureInterest]

Rip

 

[johnr2604]

Millertime;211473 wrote: Mine has always been very active... and he eats any food I put in there! I also have copepods though. I've heard if they die they will poison your tank?? So you should get them out quickly if they die!

There are exceptions to every rule. I had one die in a tank a long time ago with no ill effects

 

[linda lee]

corvettecris;211479 wrote: Just to be a non-conformist, I'm gonna submit to you a improbable but not impossible answer: Your Mandarin was exposed to unusually high levels of stray, interstellar based gamma radiation in transport. Once added to your tank, a very specific environmental condition (no pods) triggered a cellular response aided by the radiation in the mandarin. This in turn caused it to mutate very rapidly into a 5th dimensional state, where the body enters a carcass state of being, but the life-force morphs into an un-observable state of energy that transcends the known universe.

J/k. What the other guys said.

Next time you get that prescription filled, save some for me.

 

[lorenk]

You realize this only applies to green mandarins, right?

corvettecris;211479 wrote: Just to be a non-conformist, I'm gonna submit to you a improbable but not impossible answer: Your Mandarin was exposed to unusually high levels of stray, interstellar based gamma radiation in transport. Once added to your tank, a very specific environmental condition (no pods) triggered a cellular response aided by the radiation in the mandarin. This in turn caused it to mutate very rapidly into a 5th dimensional state, where the body enters a carcass state of being, but the life-force morphs into an un-observable state of energy that transcends the known universe.

J/k. What the other guys said.

 

[ace1204]

I have a green clown goby and havent seen him since the day i put him in the tank lol

 

[jamescook]

My mandarin lives in my mangrove fuge tank. there used to be an awful lot of pods and not so much now, but he's fat and happy. I just wanted to post that i have seen that fish eat mysis shrimp. he sucked it in and i'm pretty sure he didn't go...oh my this isn't a pod i better spit it out. fwiw

 

[george]

The consensus is correct that your tank was too immature to support a mandarin. However, there is no size requirement for a tank to support a mandarin. You need a sufficient source of pods. I kept a mandarin quite happy for 2 years in a 25g tank and then a 40 breeder until she was sold. My refugium was a 25g tank and I grew phytoplankton (very easy) to further boost the pod population.

A refugium is an invaluable asset to an aquarium as a living, self-renewing food source for all the fish, inverts and corals. The bigger the refugium, the healthier the tank. They're also fun to look at for all the things that grow in them.

My next setup will sport a 55g refugium.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

jamescook;211579 wrote: My mandarin lives in my mangrove fuge tank. there used to be an awful lot of pods and not so much now, but he's fat and happy. I just wanted to post that i have seen that fish eat mysis shrimp. he sucked it in and i'm pretty sure he didn't go...oh my this isn't a pod i better spit it out. fwiw

agreed. mandarins CAN and WILL eats other foods, just not often. I (luckily) had one that ate almosts every prepared food I had. It was funny as hell watching him try to eat krill. Just kept sucking and sucking until a little piece broke off.

 

[phoenix20]

Well, I feel pretty awful having killed my first fish. :fish:

Lesson learned though. I'll never let the wife perform an impulse purchase at the LFS without adequate research of the addition...

 

[jaustin]

I have a yellow target maderin in a 65tall with a 30g sump/fuge. He was starving at the LFS but he was active. I've had hime for a little over a month now and he's FAT! His belly is fat and his tail is all filled out like a catfish, lol.

They need lots and lots of pods as stated 17 times above.

 

[flyingarmy]

Let you system get more estalbish and get another. Mine is absolutely one of my favorite fish, other than my Copperband. If you need some cheato full of Tiger pods for your refug, let me know.