Something Bit Mandarin

[Rechellef]

When I feed my tank this morning everyone was fine. I have 1 blur Mandarin dragonet, 1 Firefish, 1 Ocellaris, a few hermits and various snails. When I came back from walking the dogs, I found this significant chunk taken out of my Mandarin. I have no large, predatory animals in my tank so I am flabbergasted. My dragonet is starting to eat some Mysis so could my greedy Ocellaris bit her that bad?  I put some Stress Guard in the tank.  Should I put the dragonet (if I can catch her) in a breeder box?  I don't want her to starve as I have a decent population of copepods and amphipods. 

[Rob22]

I would leave it in the main part of the tank. Mandarins have a thick slime coat that protects them from predators due to it being extremely bitter, smells horrible to fish and is poisonous. This is why they are for the most part left alone by predators. Placing the fish in a breeder box will stress it more and make it up it’s poison production which it likely already has due to the bite. Actually, if you don’t run carbon, I would suggest you do for a few days though I don’t know if it will make a difference or not. If you already run it I would change it out in a day or so. 

[Beer]

Check the clown’s mouth. I’d suspect that more than the fire fish. Look for white tissue, like it got a chemical burn. Wouldn’t be the first time a clown nipped a mandarin, though it is usually the last. It typically only takes one taste for a fish to learn that mandarins are not a tasty snack and that they should be avoided.

 

How is the dragonette doing now?

 

Leaving the dragonette in the tank with everybody else will likely lead to the least stress and quickest recovery. If it wasn’t for the slime coat and toxicity (only when eaten) of the mandarin, isolation would likely be a good idea, but if she isn’t being pestered, isolation will only lead to stress and a longer recovery time. The lack of food will not be helpful, especially if she is not trained to prepared/frozen.