Rescue mission.

[adonis311]

Some of you may remember the target mandarin my wife got me for Xmas, and I was so worried that he would starve to death because I didn't realize I had a sufficient supply of copepods to sustain him. Well I'm happy to report that my target mandy is doing excellent. Nice and fat and feeding well. I was browsing a new LFS in the area and I found another TR Target mandy. This is a female mandy to accompany my male, but it is incredibly starved (the LFS manager didn't take into account her limited diet) so I took her home for $25 to try to rehabilitate her. What other things can I do to ensure her survival and speedy recovery aside from increasing the amount of copepods in my tank?
Pic attached.
She's quarantined right now. She doesn't appear to have any parasites or any kind of other ailments, just very hungry.

 

[smallreef]

lots and lots of copepods into her QT tank... im assuming your going to need to get some in a bottle to see if she will even eat...

 

[adonis311]

I laid an open bottle on its side full of copes in her tank. Is there any supplements I could add to her tank that would help coax her to eat?

 

[smallreef]

Not that I've ever used or heard of for a mandarin
maybe someone else will chime in and say vitamins or something but I've not heard of anything...if she's not even picking at the pods...are they too big for her? Are they large tigggerpods or regular reef copepods?

 

[smallreef]

If you don't have a piece of live rock in there (one your willing to sacriffice to your QT)
that might help get her picking them off of it? And is there enough light that she can see them?

 

[adonis311]

Yeah she has a pile of live rock in her qt. the lighting is t5. I'm hoping shes just adjusting to the new place. I'll keep an eye on her and report as things happen

 

[deejeff442]

$25 for a rescue seems pricey.i see them for $20 sometimes.i cant believe a lfs has a fish they know nothing about(well maybe i can)
try to find warm water pods if you can.the ones you see in the little fridges die off and dont breed.but they are good for fast food if you can afford to keep buying it.

 

[adonis311]

All the Target mandys I've seen around here are all $45 and up. Maybe it's a supply and demand issue. Beside the point, however. Anyway she disappeared on me since my last post, but turned up again today at feeding time. Aside from stocking copepods I've also been point feeding her frozen mysis every day with a baster. She hasn't been eating them (not that I've seen) but I'm under the general assumption that she is in fact eating, otherwise I'm pretty sure the stress of a transport and move would have done her in by now.
New question though: Are target mandarins species compatable?

 

[deejeff442]

a very large system is needed to keep more than one.typically it takes 6-12 months for a mandarin to starve to death.

 

[adonis311]

Do you think that I could rehabilitate her in a 75gal with another mandarin for a few months and then sell her to a good home?

 

[deejeff442]

why get a second one then?

 

[adonis311]

Because I couldn't find it in my heart to walk by and let this fish starve some more. The conditions of the tank were pretty horrid, even by new fish store standards. Call me a sucker if you will. Anyway she's in my possession now. What would be a good tank size to keep the pair? It is tax time after all and my favorite LFS has a used 225 gal for $900.

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by adonis311 http:///t/390185/rescue-mission#post_3454892
Because I couldn't find it in my heart to walk by and let this fish starve some more. The conditions of the tank were pretty horrid, even by new fish store standards. Call me a sucker if you will. Anyway she's in my possession now. What would be a good tank size to keep the pair? It is tax time after all and my favorite LFS has a used 225 gal for $900.
A 225 would be great for a pair. I wouldn't keep a pair in a tank under 100 gallons.
As for keeping the two mandarins together, what is done is done. I would just seed the tank frequently with pods and try target feeding frozen. It took me awhile to realize that my mandy was eating frozen.