Mandarin goby

angelfish

angelfish

Member
Mandarins are not that hard to take care of but their staple foods come mainly from lr at least 100lbs to keep one from starving. If you get one with less than that you take a chance of starving it within the next few months and then it's gone.
 
jacques

jacques

Member
It is very difficult to get a mandarin to eat. Half the battle is getting it to consume something. The chances of one eating are more likely to occur in a well established tank than a newer setup however, this does not in itself guarantee success. I speak from experience when I say it is a sad, sad sight to watch such a beautiful creature wither away due to starvation. My tank was established but I could not get the mandarin to consume anything. Think long and hard before investing in one. It was a very sad experience for me. HTH,
J :(
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
I've had a Madarin and a Spotted Mandarin for little over a year now. Both in tanks with plenty of LR and copepods. When I purchased them at LFS, I asked LFS guy if he had any Mandrins that would take frozen brine. He fed them for me, they ate the brine shrimp, and I felt comfortable knowing that .. so I bought them.
They both are doing well, but do have special diet requirements.
Good luck ...
Broomer
 
perps

perps

Member
Well i have a madarin goby for about a month now. And i have never seen him eat. I added some base rock last week and notcied that he started picking on it.. So later in the week i added some LR. He hasn't left the rock since. I'm thinking of adding more because i only added 3 small pieces... like 5 1/2 lbs.. Dam LR is expensive..
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
Special diet meaning they naturally eat small custaceans, copepods, amphipods...etc.
Lots of LR necessary, or if you get lucky, you may find one eats brine shrimp as well
Broomer ;)
 
shel

shel

Member
LL
I have a Manderine. He is eating well, but I would try it unless your tank is very established with plenty of lr. I have 150-160 lr, the tank is doing well. It does eat frozen brime, but it takes him so long to get a peice, that it is lucky if he gets 3 pieces. All the other fish get alot quicker. Think alot about it before you decide. Such a pretty little guy to watch starve to death. :(
Shel
 
fantomkoala

fantomkoala

Member
Everyone keeps saying LR is essential for the madarins surivival, but LR is nothing more then a breeding ground and a hiding place for the copepods which are the natural food for mandarins. I personally feel the best way to care for a mandarin is to set up a refugium which you can seed with all the litter critters your mandarin will eat. That way they can reproduce in safety and and you never have to worry about the mandarin depleting there population and thus starving itself.
 
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