[jamestank]

A couple quick questions on my Mandarin fish that I have had for one week.

1. Tonight I noticed he is swimming all over the tank - mainly in the corners, starting at the bottom and swimming all the way up to the top of the tank. Is this strange? Maybe he's eating pods attached to the glass?

2. I have also noticed he has some frayed fins (including his tail fin). He is often perched on the live rock so maybe it is just from rubbing against the rock constantly. Could something else be causing this (another fish? I have a blue damsel that could be a suspect although I've never seen any problems).

Thanks

[marxsman]

Mandarins are hard to keep. First they must be in a well established tank that does have live food in there. most likely your fish is hunting food. He may also be avoiding other inhabitants in the tank. This is normal because mine did that as well but mine was also being picked on by a huge sally light foot.

Do you have crabs in the tank? This could be the cause of damaged fins.

Originally Posted by jamestank

A couple quick questions on my Mandarin fish that I have had for one week.

1. Tonight I noticed he is swimming all over the tank - mainly in the corners, starting at the bottom and swimming all the way up to the top of the tank. Is this strange? Maybe he's eating pods attached to the glass?

2. I have also noticed he has some frayed fins (including his tail fin). He is often perched on the live rock so maybe it is just from rubbing against the rock constantly. Could something else be causing this (another fish? I have a blue damsel that could be a suspect although I've never seen any problems).

Thanks

[szwedo]

It is pefectly normal for them to sit oon rocks because they are hunting food. I had a male green mandarin and a male green spotted mandarin. The first one i got was a green mandarin. He got sucked up in the powerhead. then i bought another one. he recently died coiled around the other powehead. the other mandarin didn't like him either. he chased him all the time. In my opinion they aren't that hard to keep. i bought mine when my tank was 2-3 months old. I think that they are a bit stupid though. I don't think crabs could hurt it though. maybe it was like that when you first brought it home?