Saltyduck Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 One of my maxi-minis is currently eating my green mandarin. He's about 1/3 of the way done and while it's a pretty big maxi-mini I'd be very surprised if it can eat the whole mandarin. I'm worried about the toxic levels that the dead fish can cause in the tank before the maxi-mini can consume the fish. Will the MM spit it out at some point? Or is there some way I can convince it to spit it out? I tried to stick the net in there to get it out but MM is holding fast. Link to comment
Reefmaster1996 Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 One of my maxi-minis is currently eating my green mandarin. He's about 1/3 of the way done and while it's a pretty big maxi-mini I'd be very surprised if it can eat the whole mandarin. I'm worried about the toxic levels that the dead fish can cause in the tank before the maxi-mini can consume the fish. Will the MM spit it out at some point? Or is there some way I can convince it to spit it out? I tried to stick the net in there to get it out but MM is holding fast. I would let nature take its course and let it be, but monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels if it is a small tank be especially careful. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 The anemone will poo out what it can't digest fairly quickly after eating - mine usually do it in a day or two. Just watch for it and quickly scoop it out. Sorry to hear about it, though. Something was likely wrong with the mandarin, so on the bright side, you can rest assured that it may not be suffering or in pain anymore. Link to comment
cital Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 One of my maxi-minis is currently eating my green mandarin. He's about 1/3 of the way done and while it's a pretty big maxi-mini I'd be very surprised if it can eat the whole mandarin. I'm worried about the toxic levels that the dead fish can cause in the tank before the maxi-mini can consume the fish. Will the MM spit it out at some point? Or is there some way I can convince it to spit it out? I tried to stick the net in there to get it out but MM is holding fast. My maxi mini has eaten two of my fish (one yasha goby and one 6 line wrasse), so I am no longer adding fish in my current tank, I am going to be transferring tanks soon, and I will not be keeping the maxi mini! Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 My maxi mini has eaten two of my fish (one yasha goby and one 6 line wrasse), so I am no longer adding fish in my current tank, I am going to be transferring tanks soon, and I will not be keeping the maxi mini! Don't blame the anemone, it is doing what it does. The fish were sick or dying and they got too close. Link to comment
chrssprngs Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Convince the MM to give it up? Call in Samuel L Jackson. This is a definite hostage situation that is going south in a hurry. Link to comment
Saltyduck Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 I'm not upset or mad at the MM, I really like this MM. It's just doing what comes natural to it. It's welcome to eat whatever it wants to. I just worry about the parameters in my tank. Thus far MM hasn't given it up quite yet and seems still quite intent on eating it. I keep checking on it to be there when MM decides to its too big for it. Link to comment
Saltyduck Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 Archibald the Anemone has surrendered the fish. Link to comment
cital Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Don't blame the anemone, it is doing what it does. The fish were sick or dying and they got too close. I'm not mad at the mm, it's just part of nature, I am more upset with myself for not doing enough research before buying one. However, my fish were not sick or dying, they were perfectly healthy. Btw, I do not plan on killing the mm, I would never do that, I will just return it to the lfs when I switch tanks. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 ...my fish were not sick or dying, they were perfectly healthy... A healthy fish, even one as slow and as poor of a swimmer as a mandarin, would not get caught in an anemone. Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I gotta agree with Ben. My dragonet touched my haddoni all the time, just barely. Their slime coat gives them a split second's chance to escape. There may have been something unseen like reduced slime coat or something else going on. Most fish instinctively steer clear of nems. Regardess, still a bummer to lose a fish that way. That's why I got rid of my haddoni, never ate a fish, but was hell on my CUC. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I gotta agree with Ben. My dragonet touched my haddoni all the time, just barely. Their slime coat gives them a split second's chance to escape. There may have been something unseen like reduced slime coat or something else going on. Most fish instinctively steer clear of nems. Regardess, still a bummer to lose a fish that way. That's why I got rid of my haddoni, never ate a fish, but was hell on my CUC. I've never seen any of my anemones grab a snail, but my acans do whenever they can lolol. Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I've never seen any of my anemones grab a snail, but my acans do whenever they can lolol. You ever, or currently have a haddoni? They're the great whites of the anemone world. They're ultra-sticky and FAST. Unbelievably so. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 You ever, or currently have a haddoni? They're the great whites of the anemone world. They're ultra-sticky and FAST. Unbelievably so. I've seen them in action, they're pretty snazzy. Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I've got a huge (well, probably by maxi mini standards) MM. It's about 6" across. It just finished a pretty fair sized red leg hermit off yesterday. I never thought a nem could sting through a crab shell. The only thing I can figure is it must have been in the process of molting and fell off the rock into the nem. Link to comment
colbertbr Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 A healthy fish, even one as slow and as poor of a swimmer as a mandarin, would not get caught in an anemone. Not true. I have a fish buddy that lost a YWG to a carpet. Used a tube to put the fish in the tank. It settled on the bottom for a few minutes and then got spooked right in to the nem. Got eat right up. New fish might be stressed but not necessarily weak. Nems in the wild eat fish. Nems in your tank are capable of the same. Link to comment
Saltyduck Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 A healthy fish, even one as slow and as poor of a swimmer as a mandarin, would not get caught in an anemone. Odds are it wasn't. I haven't had the greatest luck with the LFS that it came from, but I sometimes like to try my luck and "rescue" something from it. I've had these anems for months and they've never eaten anything. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Not true. I have a fish buddy that lost a YWG to a carpet. Used a tube to put the fish in the tank. It settled on the bottom for a few minutes and then got spooked right in to the nem. Got eat right up. New fish might be stressed but not necessarily weak. Nems in the wild eat fish. Nems in your tank are capable of the same. Nems in the wild eat sick and dying fish. Again, healthy fish are able to escape, their slime coat helps that. A sick or dying fish is not only weak, but the slime coat is thin and possibly gone. A brand new fish from a store? Probably stressed out and weak because of stressing out, especially if it had not been at the LFS for very long. #### like that just happens, I had a lyretail anthias pretty much not even make it home, and she was healthy for the past few weeks at the store. Odds are it wasn't. I haven't had the greatest luck with the LFS that it came from, but I sometimes like to try my luck and "rescue" something from it. I've had these anems for months and they've never eaten anything. Mine eat like piggies and are sticky enough to where I almost have to pull them off their rocks to make them let go, they catch anything that floats by, but they have never taken a healthy fish, even the mandarin(s). Link to comment
colbertbr Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Do you have any links to scientific literature that says that anenomes only eat sick fish? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Do you have any links to scientific literature that says that anenomes only eat sick fish? You can see it in your own tank. Healthy fish can get away, sick fish cannot. Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Lots of messages here on a topic that I think lots of hobbyists may have experienced but IME and IMO this only happens indeed if the fish is either stressed (e.g just put in the tank) or is sickly and happens to get too close to the anemone and gets stung and then eventually is caught by the A. Well if nothing else that's a banquet meal for the A. and if the fish was sick then you would not need or want them in the tank anyway. FWIW Albert You can see it in your own tank. Healthy fish can get away, sick fish cannot. Link to comment
colbertbr Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 You can see it in your own tank. Healthy fish can get away, sick fish cannot. but IME and IMO this only happens indeed if the fish is either stressed (e.g just put in the tank) or is sickly and happens to get too close to the anemone and gets stung and then eventually is caught by the Science! "IME" and "you can see it in your tank" is bull####. You are passing something off as fact. You are telling another hobbiest something that can absolutely have a negative effect on his tank and you have zero proof. If you can find me actual literature that verifies that even wild anenmomes ONLY eat sick fish then I'll admit you're right. Until then stop passing your guesses off as fact. Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Science! "IME" and "you can see it in your tank" is bull####. You are passing something off as fact. You are telling another hobbiest something that can absolutely have a negative effect on his tank and you have zero proof. If you can find me actual literature that verifies that even wild anenmomes ONLY eat sick fish then I'll admit you're right. Until then stop passing your guesses off as fact. Sorry to say but you'll have to do a search on the Net yourself ... I do not make it a habit to respond with details to messages like the one you sent. No offense taken though. BTW I have been in the hobby for 25 or so years ... just of your info. Albert Link to comment
belsenj Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I'm new to the hobby, but have done my fair share of reading I have a MM and 3 fish for a few months now. My fish KNOW NOT to go near the MM. (Fire Clown, Dottyback & Yellow Tail Damsel). I also feed my MM so it won't go hungry If I came home to the MM eating one of my fish I would assume something else happened to the fish first. Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I'm new to the hobby, but have done my fair share of reading I have a MM and 3 fish for a few months now. My fish KNOW NOT to go near the MM. (Fire Clown, Dottyback & Yellow Tail Damsel). I also feed my MM so it won't go hungry If I came home to the MM eating one of my fish I would assume something else happened to the fish first. In most cases yes but as we all know, there are always exceptions in this hobby so a fish could get close to one and get stung and disoriented and stung again and who knows what happens next. I have seen it happen so yes a healthy fish can get trapped as well but it is IMO not the norm Albert Link to comment
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