mandarin dragonets

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by t-bone
http:///forum/post/2732728
I was thinking of getting one, and have a decent amount of live rock and pods that I can see at night. I don't have a sump or refugium. Will he wipe out the supply on the lr or will it be able to keep up with his diet?
If your profile is current and you put a Mandarin in your 30 gal; the pods might last a week. That's why so many sources suggest they only be kept in large reef tanks. Just a guess; but I'll bet more Mandarins are starved to death than any fish we commonly keep. There are success stories; but these fish are very difficult & demanding for most hobbiests.

 

[carolinethedog]

I have a 38 gal 8 months old with pods but I am not sure if enough either, my friend got me started in this habit and he has given me great advice every step of the way. Anyways, he swears to me that they will eat cyclop-eeze. Anyone have a mandy eating cyclop-eeze?

 

[geoj]

The main thing I have noticed having kept my Spotted Mandarin is to keep the pod levels up you need to watch what you do to the tank. Things like cleaning or tank moving can drop pod levels. I also think a moon light gives a Mandarin more hunting time and helps keep weight on. Going on three years now.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by carolinethedog
http:///forum/post/2774868
I have a 38 gal 8 months old with pods but I am not sure if enough either, my friend got me started in this habit and he has given me great advice every step of the way. Anyways, he swears to me that they will eat cyclop-eeze. Anyone have a mandy eating cyclop-eeze?
Hit or miss. Even when they do often they wither away. Pods seem to have something in their makeup that Mandarins need. Thee are always exceptions, but far more deaths than success rates.

 

[sepulatian]

As mentioned, mandarins need copepods to live. They will eat frozen, but will slowly die of malnutrition. People are thrown off by their small size. Some think that they can live in small tanks, they cannot. It is best to have at least 100+lbs of very mature rock as well as a seasoned refugium to keep one of these guys.
Scooters need pods too but are more able to adapt to frozen. They still need pods in their diet though.
The nutrition in copepod cannot be replicated. These fish need it.

 

[bionicarm]

I would refrain from putting a Mandarin in any tank that hasn't been established for at least 8 months - 1 year. During that timeframe, I would be 'feeding' the tank with live copepods. The reproduction rate of a copepod is about 3 weeks. Depending on the type of other fish you keep in the tank, the copepods can reproduce at a rate higher than what their loses are. I have a local guy who 'breeds' copepods and sells them for a resonable price (5000+ for around $40). He told me that putting a bottle of those in my tank once every 2 - 3 months, should keep the copepod population up to sustain a manderin. Following his suggestions, I've had a manderin in one of my 55's for over a year now. I was fortunate to get one that seems to like frozen mysis and brine shrimp. But as others have said, a mandarin won't live long on just this diet, especially since he's competing with the other fish in the tank for this source of food.

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by CedarReef
http:///forum/post/2729947
they can be trained to accept prepared foods, but they need a well established reef with lots of copepods to survive long term. If you can get it eating mysis and bloodworms then you should be good, but he still needs the pods
They can't be "trained" to eat prepared foods. Very,very few mandarins accept anything but pods.