Green Mandarin Swimming at the top?

Question

Our green mandarin is acting funny all of a sudden. He has started hanging out at the top of the tank which he never does. He is not moving his back tail as much. We do have a sebae annoneme and i read that it may sting them. Please help!

Answer 1

Sorry to hear this! I am also sorry to report that the Green Mandarin has a very poor track record of surviving in captivity...

The Green Mandarin is considered to be a moderate to difficult fish to keep. It does require a very specific diet of small crustaceans (pods), and should only be kept in a well established tank (>6 months), with a good refugium and lots of rockwork. It is suggested that there should be a minimum of between 40 to 80 lbs of live rock per fish.

Although the mandarin stays a small fish, it should be kept in at least a 30 gallon tank due to its' need of extensive rockwork. Usually, you can find them in the trade ranging from 1 inch and up. They generally grow to be about 5 inches in captivity. The Green Mandarin prefers a temperature of 72-78°F (22-25.5°C), sg 1.020-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4 and dKH 8-12.

If you've tested the water and it reads well, then I'm 98% sure it's because the poor thing is starving to death... If you have enough live rock and are sure that is not the case, then chances are yes, your sebae is stinging him.

I hope this helped a bit, best of luck! Green Mandarins are so beautiful, I hope you don't lose him!

Answer 2

hes either not feeling good or its a she and shes going to give birth!

Answer 3

Green Mandarins dont "give birth" they lay eggs. Depending on your tank size, it might not have enough food in the form of microscopic organisms.

It is very likely that it may have been stung as well. Either way, things arent looking to bright.

Hope I helped!