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Mandarin's Hi-fin - Tissue Loss

1K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  Townes 
#1 ·
Was just looking at my mandarin today when I noticed his hi fin is just a white spine rather than full of colorful tissue. Why would this happen and is there anything I can do?

Getting him out of the DT is not an option.
 
#3 ·
29g biocube
11 months old

pH 7.9 (I'm fighting it)
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0

Fish:
x1 Helfrichi Firefish
x2 Baby False Percs
x3 Copperbanded Cardinalfish
x2 Gumdrop Coral Crouchers
x1 Green Mandarin

Nobody is harassing him and I see him constantly eating pods throughout the tank. I don't get it.
 
#4 ·
That sounds like a busy 29 gallon to have a mandarin living in. How long have you had the mandarin? That size tank and having 11 months established, I would not state those are the issues however I wouldn't rule them out either.

Find out where it sleeps at night and check to see if any worms/pests might be bothering it.
 
#6 ·
I have read around and it seems that the minimum size tank to hold a mandarin is around 100 gallons. This ensures that there is enough live food on the rocks for the mandarin to eat and that the 'food' source will replenish itself. It could be that he has depleted his natural food source. I would watch him closely and see if he regenerates. If not, then he may need another home.
 
#8 ·
The way your tank is set up I think you are fine with him. Its not like a normal tank where you have wrasses and others competing for the food. If you can still see pods then you are fine. IMO

I would watch him and not worry too much about the top fin. It will grow back. maybe just some territorial fights with the new additions.
 
#9 ·
You can keep them in anything 30 gallons or larger. Although it's desirable to have live copepods reproducing in the live rock, Mandarins will accept other foods such as live-brine shrimp or bottled "arcti-pods" that you keep in the fridge. As for the issue with the fin, I had something similar happen to my spotted mandarin. I never did figure out what happened to his fin, BUT it eventually healed and looked normal again. I just kept a close eye on him and his activities/interactions for a while.
 
#10 ·
Whoa!
OCCASIONALLY you can get a mandarin to eat prepared foods but it is not the norm or all that common. People have been starving the poor things to death for years trying.
The general recommendation is a mature tank with at least 75lb live rock. A refuge will help, having no other active pod eaters like wrasses will help. Adding a 20$ bottle of live pods a week will help, but they would eat that much in a day so they would probably still starve to death.
Having the self control to just not put one in a small tank will help the most.
 
#12 ·
Well I can still see him eating pods all over tank and the little white spike has fallen off. I think it is starting to heal and other than looking at that fin, he is eating and acting normally.
 
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