green mandarin eating habits

[avbryce1]

my lfs has a green mandarin that i've seen eat brine shrimp and some kind of pellets I really really want him what do you guys think??:thinking:

 

[vtecbro007]

go for it,...if hye does eat those stuff i would,..cus it wouldnt matter how much lr u hav n if u hav a good supply of pods

 

[photoman]

Sorry but unless you have a 100lb of LR your mandarin will die down the road. They will eat brine and such but it doesnt give them the right nutrients the need to survive.
My advice wait till you get a bigger tank if you plan on putting him in the 10

 

[avbryce1]

:notsure: well I got a yes and a no I think I'm gonna need a few more opinions . Also I have a HUGE pod population for such a small tank (I dont really know how I got so many but they shure do breed fast cause there all over my tank)

 

[viper_930]

Can you find out if it eats mysid? That would be a great food to feed it long term. The pellets can also supplement its feedings.

 

[avbryce1]

yes I can find out my lfs qt's all of their fish for a month before they sell them and he wont sell him to anyone elce unless I tell them that I dont want it . so if I can see him eat mysid than he should do allright ?
I did a search and I read that there arer a few people on this board that have had success keeping mandarins that ate pellits and mysid:happyfish

 

[photoman]

Well,
I have a 29 gal saltwater tank with about 35 lb of Live rock. Had a HUGE pod population and he whiped them all in about 4 months. He ate some brine and such for a while but he died 2 days ago because of lack of pods and wouldnt eat anything once he got to a stage. I tried to get a pod pack to repopulate for him but the LFS was always out.

So my friend.....I recommend you dont get one. They are a very cool fish but the just need a bigger tank.

 

[bot587]

it's hard to say, i would be careful on this purchase... do a little more research.