Help!!!sos

[Jewfish]

OK I NEED HELP ASAP. I BOUGHT THIS TANK ON EBAY. THE WAY THE MAN KEPT HS TANK WAS A SHAME. I BOUGHT THE TANK BECAUSE I FELT SORRY FOR THE FISH. I NEED SOMEONE WHO IS WILLING TO REACH OUT AND NURSE MY FISH BACK TO HEALTH. IT IS A MANDARINE FISH. I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING BUT SHE IS A PICKY EATER, AS MOST OF HER KIND ARE. I NOTICED TONIGHT THAT HER STOMACH IS SOOO!!!!!! SKINNY. IM FREAKING OUT BECAUSE SHE IS MY FAVORATE FISH. CAN ANYONE WITH AN ESTABLISHED TANK HELP ME NURSE IT TO HEALTH. I NEED SOMEONE WHO IS TRUST WORTHY AND WILL RETURN MY FISH TO ME ONCE SHE GAINS SOME WEIGHT. HOPEFULLY I WILL HAVE ENOUGH LIVE ROCK TO SUSTAIN IT. I HAVE ONLY HAD THIS TANK FOR 1 MONTH. PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP....THANK YOU GUYS

[ReefWreak]

Try feeding some frozen mysis with selcon, see if it at least eats frozen food. If not, go tomorrow and pick up some brine shrimp, and hopefully it'll eat that.

Kind of tacky asking someone to help you, but they've got to be trustworthy enough to give it back... I do understand your concerns though.

I would set up a small quarantine tank with new water that wasn't from the old tank, acclimate the fish to that, and then you can worry about feeding it knowing that at least the water quality is decent. Then get some big waterchanges going on the main display.

Hopefully at least you got a deal on it all...

And don't use caps, even though I understand your desperation.

[Jewfish]

HE DOES EAT THE BRINE BUT THERE IS NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE THERE

[ReefWreak]

Please turn off caps lock.

Anyway, eating brine is not a good nutritional supplement long term, however, if he's a skinny little thing, than having him eat brine shrimp is MUCH better than having him eat nothing at all. Try frozen mysis or some frozen cyclopeeze if he's eating. The problem comes when a fish doesn't eat ANYTHING at all. Then it's hard to get them to eat. If he's already eating, then just feed him, and wean him to a diet that is more nutritious. Feeding brine isn't going to kill him in a month (to my limited knowledge).

Cyclopeeze and/or mysis are the best nutritionally as far as frozen food I believe, unless you go with a homemade mixed recipe.

[jessp]

mix frozen mysis w/ live brine, that is usually a good way of getting a few mysis in his gut.

[Jewfish]

thanks

[bawla47]

id definately start a small pod tank if you can, unless your able to get him to eat frozen.

[jman77]

frozen bloodworms , i have yet to see a mandarin that does not take to frozen bloodworms.... You can start it off on it, then move to pellets or mysids

[Jewfish]

thanks jman i will try it