bought a mandarin

[thisistodd]

hey all. today, i bought a mandarin because it was only $7!!! it is soo cool looking, i dont know what kind of mandarin it is, but i remember seeing some stuff about how hard they are to keep. i figured id give it a try for only 7 dollars. What should i feed it or keep in the tank to feed it??

 

[lovethesea]

As long as you have about 100# of LR and a mature tank, he will eat the pods that you have in your tank. Also make sure you don't have another fish that relies on pods.
does he look like this??

 

[marineman]

Please don't try fish based on their cost. Read about their needs in captivity and if you can meet them purchase one. Anyway I have a mandarin in each of my tanks and are doing well on frozen brine shrimp and tons of live rock to pick off copepods and various tiny creature that occupy mature live rock. Hope your tank is about 6 months old with lots of live rock. Good Luck with this really cool little fish( synchiropus splendidus ).

 

[thisistodd]

well i better get some more live rock. so far he seems to be picking at the rocks alot. i did ask about it so it wasnt based on just price. they guy at the lfs said it would it brine, and he has never steered me wrong, so i will find out. thanks so much for all the advice

 

[thisistodd]

and yes he looks exactly like that. what kind is it??

 

[lovethesea]

green mandarin dragonette

 

[goldenboy]

I've got a psychedelic that I had to qt. It been living off frozen brine for over 2 weeks now. Luckily the ich didn't kill it, cuz I got a good one...

 

[jsb]

I saw one of these at a pet store chain called petland Saturday. It didn't have a single piece of LR in the tank. It had a CC substrate too. I thought what a shame. I could tell if he was finding anything, but I was betting against it. I want one so bad too, but my 25 lbs won't cut it. They had a few beautiful Flame angels too. I'm starting to change my mind about the Coral Beauty (my next fish). I'm trying to stay patient.

 

[swaquarim]

Try sticking a piece of frozen mysis shrimp down into your cc base and the manderin should learn to come over and pig out on it.I have kept manderins alive for years now useing this method.I have no live rock.PLEASE I know this is an EXCEPTION rather than the rule but it works for me so if no pods are available and you already have the fish give it a try.Good Luck.

 

[thisistodd]

do you guys notice the mandarin excreting stuff from its gills as its eating??? what is that? is it just stuff it ate that it doesnt want?
wierd:notsure:

 

[klearstar]

Todd,
Yeah, mine does that all the time. It will spit it out or send it through the gills. Nothing to worry about. I thought mine had ick at first but noticed that it was just sand covering its body.

 

[etd5862]

I've had a mandarin for 3 years with 45lbs of live rock. He's been fine, but recently I read that mandarins would take Cyclop-eeze (a frozen decapod). There is none to be had locally, so I tried Red Sea's Sweetwater Zooplankton (mostly cultured Daphnia found in a jar, not frozen). The first time I tried it he ignored the food. I had my powerhead off at the time. The next time I put the powerhead on for water movement and he went after any of the Daphnia that bobbed by. He won't leave the rockwork to get the food, but will excitedly take any of it that comes his way.
I suspect that mandarins prefer food that looks and acts like live prey, so you may have luck with other forms of food in their natural state.

 

[dorie]

Good Luck, They are a great addition to any tank, I have one and his is gorgeous, but I agree you need a mature tank with 100+ lbs of LR & LS to have him florish.

 

[jmg]

i was at the LFS today lookin at these.. they are definately beautiful... until the brittle star wrapped around one of the 2 in the tank and killed it... i was like uhhh that stars got the goby... and the owner said CRAP! then looked around and finally said oh well... then i watched as hermit crabs slowly picked at the dead gobys mouth and tummy... it was sad. i like em though. very pretty. but i think ill stick with the aggressive fish

 

[jsb]

I tried to feed my scooter blennie the lump of brine, just to see if he'd ponder the idea or not. I couldn't get a lump to stay still. I guess I'm going to have to turn the power heads off. I'm beginning to wonder if he is running out of pods. I don't see as many on my glass anymore. I've only had him a week. Geez...

 

[nflnutswif]

OK, Goodmorning Ya'll ! I've been a message board stalker for quite awhile now and thank this site for the multitude of information I've learned. I have a 50G Hex (I know HEX!!!):nervous: But It's healthy and beautiful. BUUUUUT I found or rather my manderine goby found something that comes out at night that looks like a pinkish centipede!!! (?) It's as fast as lightning when the flashlight is on it. My goby knows it's in the rocks and hangs around waiting for it to pop out!
WHAT IS IT?
Thank You,
Go Texans!

 

[jrpage]

nflnutswif
More than likely just a bristle worm. They are great little sand cleaners and are nocturnal. They can grow quite big. I had one come out the other night that was over 3 inches...just kept coming out of a little rock. Have no idea how it even fit there
HTH
Rhonda

 

[jrpage]

Originally posted by JmG
i was at the LFS today lookin at these.. they are definately beautiful... until the brittle star wrapped around one of the 2 in the tank and killed it... i was like uhhh that stars got the goby... and the owner said CRAP! then looked around and finally said oh well... then i watched as hermit crabs slowly picked at the dead gobys mouth and tummy... it was sad. i like em though. very pretty. but i think ill stick with the aggressive fish
What kind of brittle star? a green one?
Usually brittle's will only go for what is sickly and dying - hermits too. Maybe the little guys wasn't fareing well in your LFS' tank?
Just a thought.
Rhonda

 

[marineman]

was it a green brittle star ( a known small fish predator ) avoid these in most tanks, they are opportunistic hunters! Lfs may not of been aware of this, poor mandarin!!! If he was sick or dead most all brittle stars will consume him.