Dead mandarin?

[milsj099]

just found one of my mandarinfish dead
i have had him for 5 days and have never really seen him other than when i released the other mandarin, hes always been round the back, i assumed he was hunting for pods and he was on frozen, this sunday i added a second mandarin, i introduced them to each other and they didn't mind each other,(they both ate frozen) then when i checked today evening the first mandarin was dead (But he was white,no color) the tank is a 50 gallon with lots of live rock

i cant understand why he died as he wasnt bullied by other fish (unless the other mandarin attacked him) and he was fat

any ideas? how can i keep my other mandarin alive

[Daddeo]

Putting two mandarin's together in a tank is a bad idea, especially a tank that small. They fight like heck and will kill one another. To keep the one you have left alive, make sure you have a suitable reproducing pod population or seed your tank with them in addition to the frozen. Good luck!

[trinidiver]

how long has the tank been running

[EllieSuz]

They turn white when they sleep. Are you sure it was dead? How mature is your tank? A fifty gallon tank will never support two Mandarins. They eat a pod every few seconds and can decimate a pod population in days. Having one that eats frozen food is nice, but unless you can feed it multiple times a day, it won't suffice. The only chance you have to keep the one remaining is to have a mature refugium where the pods can reproduce without predators.

[Daddeo]

I've never had one turn white when sleeping, just a loss of color intensity. Have you removed the "dead" mandarin yet?

[snorvich]

Two of the same sex will not work. Two in an immature 50 gallon will not work. The remaining one, if not hunting, is unlikely to make it as it may have been cyanide caught.

[ange062]

http://coralmagazine.coverleaf.com/coral/20111112#pg57

Lot's of people have had luck with multiple mandarins in small tanks. Don't spread misinformation.

[MrTuskfish]

http://coralmagazine.coverleaf.com/coral/20111112#pg57

Lot's of people have had luck with multiple mandarins in small tanks. Don't spread misinformation.

Lots of people have done lots of things; sometimes with success. However, I sure don't think that is a reason not to go with what is going to happen most of the time. Especially on a forum where many (most) of the readers need a "most likely' answer, not a "maybe you'll get lucky if you're an expert hobbyist" answer.

[snorvich]

http://coralmagazine.coverleaf.com/coral/20111112#pg57

Lot's of people have had luck with multiple mandarins in small tanks. Don't spread misinformation.

In general, the odds are against. And it is not "misinformation"

[EllieSuz]

One of the problems with keeping Mandarins is that people don't post when they lose a Mandarin to starvation. So, on the rare occasions when they can sustain one, we hear about it. When it starves to death, the poster seldom admits it. I have had good success in keeping Mandarins in a 40 and now a 60 gallon tank, but it's a mature system, with a big bunch of Chaeto in the 'fuge. I even took a very young one in that was seriously thin and now he's fat and happy. Would I try a second one? Absolutely not!

[reyrd]

Same thing happened to me. I was able to keep the male green mandarine for about a year eating primary live blackworm, occacionally frozen brine schrimp and bloodworm. When I introduced the female, the male was very excited and swim around the female but then his health deteriorating and died within a week and the female died soon after. I am very interest in learning more about these fish's requirement.

[sponger0]

Typically you would need a 125 gallon or plus well established tank to support 2 mandarins. Between having enough food i nthe tank, aggression issues and being territorial to each other. Any of those things could contribute to the loss of the mandarin.

Not everything is set in stone. More like guidelines. But these guidelines are there for a reason...not just cause.

Best thing to do to keep the one you have alive is to get some pods and put them i nthe tank. Seed it frequently.

[sanchoy]

I had a pair of mandarins for 5 years. The male jumped out last year. So last month I bought a new smaller male to pair with the female. Big mistake, even in the 250 the female would chase the little male. She pinned him down for days. A week later I found my Female mandarin of 5 years dead and the make is missing. Could be the mucus that killed the female but it was a bad loss