Mandarin goby pics?

rotarygeek

rotarygeek

Member
Any body have a mandarin goby and some pics they wanna share? I have decided that i really want this fish, so im going to get one in about 3 months. Going into a 30 gallon with about 56 gallons of LR in it, the tank has been set up since early january and im seeing lots of copepods and some coraline algea growth already. i just got 40 pounds of base rock for 20 bucks and yesterday so thats why im going to wait so long before i get it, i want to have it all live and that will also give me a chance to get some more copepods growing in here. If im not mistaken the more LR the better my water perameters are going to be, and the more hiding spots for the pods to hide in right? I dont have a sump or refugium but i havent ruled it out yet, im just really confined on the space to put a sump/refuge so i doubt it will happen. Would a mandarin, 2 true clownfish, and maybe an anemone be too much for this tank?
i have a penguin biowheel 350 (for a 70 gallon)
a 110 gph powerhead
a 170 gph powerhead
a 250 watt heater keeping it at 80 degrees.
all my water levels have been perfect except for the nitrates, around 20, but they dont seem to go down even with regular water changes of 4 gallons about once a week.
stock list is 1 yellow tail damsel (will be returned to the lfs before i get the goby)
5 blue clawed hermit crabs (can only find 2 now)
1 peppermint shrimp
soon ill get a cleaner shrimp too.
i am using a GLO t5 with a blue actinic bulb.
So if you have any advice for me, let me know. And if you have pics of your mandarins, please post them up. Thanks for reading all that!
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
I'm planning on getting one in my 180g tank sometime this summer or so; I just set this one up a few months ago and want to let it mature so there are plenty of pods. I'd actually recommend against getting one in your tank because you can't have enough live rock in there to adequately support the pod population long term. The mandarin will eventually starve, even if it takes a couple months. The only alternative would be to resupply your pod population once a month or even more, which can get expensive. Even adding a fuge might not help, but if you really want to try it I would definitely say add a fuge first.
HTH
 
reefmate75

reefmate75

Member
i had one in my 75 for quite awhile, i lost him when i had to move my tank when a anemone got shredded and sucked up into my skimmer and was backing water off onto the floor befor i added a sump becuase my wife was mad about all the stinky water all over the wall and floor which i dont blame her i had 110# of LR and i got him becuase i had so many pods i didnt like looking at the bug like critters all the time, im talking thousands of pods, he destroyed their population withen 2 months and i was thinking about buing some hahaha
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
Oh, I forgot to mention that I will be supplementing my own pod population with some store bought ones sometime in the next month or so to be sure there's plenty of time for them to multiply before I buy one. I've also got a fuge in my sump with about 20 lbs of live rock and some chaeto for them to multiply in as well.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Just a quick note monk. If you are thinking about supplementing with Tigger pods, be aware that these are a cold water species and will eventually either all be eaten or die off in the warmer waters of our tanks. Temps of the tide pools they grow in are from 8 - 30 degrees C (45 - 86 degrees F) with a mean temp of 12 to 17 degrees C. (54 - 63 degress F)
Just an FYI. The harpacticoid. copepod Tigriopus californicus
 
rotarygeek

rotarygeek

Member
Well if its going to be the only pod eater in my setup, and i buy pods every now and then, i think he would do ok. i hope. Is there any other kind of really awesome colored fish that would be ok to keep with my current set up? Maybe i can force myself to like something i can keep.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Take a look at some of the Fairy Wrasses. They are beautiful, colorful, and some only get to 3 or so inches.
 
interex

interex

Member
hey i have one in my 24g but in order to keep it in a small tank you have to do many things. I have pod piles grow my own pods and i have a refug HOB witch works great. i have about 50pounds of live rock in it and wish i had space for more.


 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2545050
Just a quick note monk. If you are thinking about supplementing with Tigger pods, be aware that these are a cold water species and will eventually either all be eaten or die off in the warmer waters of our tanks. Temps of the tide pools they grow in are from 8 - 30 degrees C (45 - 86 degrees F) with a mean temp of 12 to 17 degrees C. (54 - 63 degress F)
Just an FYI. The harpacticoid. copepod Tigriopus californicus
Yeah, I'll be getting "Reef Pods". There's a few sites that sell them, or if I end up picking out some coral from swf.com I'll get the copepods they sell here.
 
ecooper

ecooper

Member
Originally Posted by RotaryGeek
http:///forum/post/2545056
Well if its going to be the only pod eater in my setup, and i buy pods every now and then, i think he would do ok. i hope. Is there any other kind of really awesome colored fish that would be ok to keep with my current set up? Maybe i can force myself to like something i can keep.
I agree that unless you supplement aggressively, you'll not be able to keep one. Mine wiped out my entire pod population in my 75 and needed supplementing.
 
afboundguy

afboundguy

Member
I've had my green mandarin for about a month now... He was eating frozen food at the LFS so I bought him right then and there! He's doing good and still eating frozen food. At about 8pm he comes out from the back to the front of the tank and that's when I feed the tank. I turn off the powerheads so the food falls to the sandbead and he eats like a pig. I have a DIY in tank fuge for pod so he can eat 24/7. Here's some pics...


 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
The chances of getting one that is actually eating frozen are slim to none. So Rotary, please don't get one thinking it will eat frozen!
Sorry, but I don't think your setup will support one either. I couldn't keep a mandarin alive in my 75 that had TONS of pods and was very established.
 
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