A dumb choice always leads to dumb problems, and i need HELP

[killafins]

Okay, I decided to go to the LFS to drop of Moridin (the hermit i had so many problems with)... but i got nervous and didn't want to trust any stranger to take this guy and kill it off if it causes him/her any trouble... so i bought a breeding net and he lives there. Is that cruel? If so be honest... i sordove feel it is but i am not sure...
Well, any way. I couldn't just go to my LFS and not look at the fish tanks and i saw the most beautiful fish (in their own way of course) a bat fish, an angler (if that's the right spelling), two arrow crabs, a french angel, a blue tang; etc. well... i saw the arrow crab and had to have it. These crabs, from what i heard, are not aggressive and clean the tank well... well the tank next to it had a morrea eel and a manderine goby. This goby was the most beautiful thing i ever saw. its' colors, its reflection of colors, the pattern of colors, the head with its colors!!! It seemed to have cast a spell on me because normally i would have grabbed the baby morrea eel for $15; which was surprisingly cheap at this FS, instead of this $10.50 manderine; but i couldn't help myself.
The LFS owner said that he had the goby for a few weeks and that its been eating brine shrimp just fine.
Well, stupid me i grabbed the arrow crab, goby, bacterium rock, and the barrier for the crab and went home. I did not research, don't know anything about gobies and am screwed. All i know is that its a picky eater and sometimes needs live food! But oh my lord... I need help! Its not even an inch long and needs live food? I don't eat fish myself, how can i force a live fish down its throat.
Please, if anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciative. Thank you... HELP!!!

 

[katara]

Your mandarin does NOT eat live food...If your lucky, it will accept live brine which you you can hatch on your own or buy weekly from your lfs for about $1.25..it will feed on your pods(assuming you have at least 1.5 lbs. per gallon of live rock in your tank)but it will wipe that population out quite quickly.It will NOT accept any other foods and watching it starve to death is ghastly.So, if I were you, I'd check w/ my local lfs..or buy the brine hatchery..if you're willing to commit.HTH

 

[birdy]

Many people say they need at least 100# of live rock to live, so they don't deplete the pod population. I have on in my tank with 90# of LR but I also have an above tank refugium and there are tons of pods in it and they make there way to the main tank to be eaten by my mandarin. Some people have luck spot feeding them (mine is scared of me though). If it does not eat live food or frozen and you do not have a lot of LR it will slowly starve to death, and you would want to consider returning it. They are my abosolute favorite fish.

 

[killafins]

So it will or won't eat frozen brine? before i put the frozen brine in my tank i dissolve it in warm water to illiminate the factor of ick... but i never saw it go for it. so live brine might work, but how about frozen brine?

 

[flydan]

Hey,
It MAY eat frozen brine, but your damsels and clown are much more aggressive eaters and will not leave any food for the very timid Manderine. (You risk over feeding your tank and messing up your water if you try to make sure there are scraps for the Manderine.) They do need a lot of lr with it's pod population to survive. Most slowly starve to death in captivity.
Good luck,
Dan'l

 

[killafins]

how about if i squirt the frozen or live in front of it with an eye drop?

 

[zafirablanca]

Please try to slow down. The hobby can be intoxicating and beautiful creatures can be tempting. But, we are stewards of their health, well being and quality of life and that should be taken seriously. This board is a great resource for advice and research.
Please tell us the size and age of your tank, #s of live rock, #s of live sand, sump?, skimmer?, refugium?
These things are critical to the survival of a Mandarin. They cannot survive on prepared foods. Most end up starving if not in an ideal environment specific to this fish.
Try doing a forum search for Mandarins, you will get other threads on the subject and get alot of information really fast.
Try doing this kind of research before purchasing livestock. It is less stress on both you and the animals.
Yes, they are very beautiful. I wish you luck.
-Christine

 

[dindi]

Madarins are beautiful and they are should not be sold by pet shops. They require copepods and that is it. I have had mine for 4 mos now and I will tell you I spend more time feeding it by changes in my LR in my refugium daily. He will eat newly hatched brine grown in ZOE by kent but it is a HUGE hassel . He hunts and hunts and I think |I'm a bad mom but the bottom line is they should not be sold and if they are the person buying needs a 200 gal tank with 100lbs of LR and nothing else unless they are sea horses, they are lazy feeders, they take their time so they can't be added to community tank with lots of fast feeders. GOOD LUCK