Who Gives A Fish Forums

I'm at a loss, had my mandarin for about 3 months and he's been fine, always swimming about looking for pods. He's usually a good eater, munches on frozen, formula one, small pellet and the pods, always had a nice colour and a fat belly. But since yesterday, he's just sat on the bottom, not moving, heavy breathing.

No new stock's been added in the last month or so and all the water parameters are normal, apart from the nitrates, which are around 20ppm. I did add some Bioreef ampoules the day before he went downhill, but I wouldn't have thought they'd cause a problem. Also got some freshly hatched brine from the LFS, added them to the tank, wondering if maybe he got a shell stuck in his throat.

All the other fish are fine, no flicking or stress signs, apart from the leopard wrasse, which always does it, and I've read that's normal for them. Snails and coflakes all good.

His colour's still normal, not faded or gone dark. Would it be worth making some fresh salt water tonight, and if he's no better tomorrow, putting him in a bucket with a heater and circulation to see if it's the tank water affecting him? Or would that just stress him out more?

I wouldn't bother putting him in the bucket, seems like more stress than its worth. Maybe just give it a few days and see how he goes, he's still eating and colouring is fine, just a bit lethargic, so could just be a minor thing.

He's looking a bit more lively today, moving about a bit and not just stuck on the bottom, still breathing heavy though.

Maybe it was just a phase he was going through, or possibly he'd overeaten, I know it sounds weird for a mandarin to overeat but it's possible, and that's why he was sluggish. Give it some more time and hopefully he'll be back to his old self.

finnley_9 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 26, 2025 1:46 am Maybe it was just a phase he was going through, or possibly he'd overeaten, I know it sounds weird for a mandarin to overeat but it's possible, and that's why he was sluggish. Give it some more time and hopefully he'll be back to his old self.

He's back to normal now, swimming around the rocks, constantly on the lookout for food and grabbing whatever comes his way.

My wife reckons he might've had some sort of fishy cold or something, 'cause when we first saw him eat again, he was kinda spluttering a bit.

Glad he's back to his old self, he's one of my favourite fish and I know how hard it is to find a healthy, greedy mandarin.