Mandarin success Story

stang5_o

stang5_o

Member
I was at my favorite LFS today, and was talking to the owner as usual. Very nice guy, always gives me good advice that has worked great for me so far. Well, anyway, on the counter in the store, he has a 5 gal minibow nano reef set up. I was looking at it today and noticed he had a Green Mandarine in it. I asked him how long the tank had been set up, and he said almost two years. I told him that i had heard that it was impossible to keep a mandarine alive in a small tank, and he said that it was one of the first fish in the nano. It had been in there for over a year and a half. He got it when it was small an it was eating frozen foods. It was obviously fat and happy cruising in and out of the many caves and holes in the rockwork.
I realize that this may just be luck, but i just wanted to share this to let people know that it is possible. Im not saying its ok to keep on in a small tank. I just thought it was interesting.
 
jvalason

jvalason

Member
I saw one in the LFS yesterday...The substrate was pebbles from a FW tank and he was almost all bones. I just started my fuge and there are only a few pods on the cheeto so I counldnt help him...so sad. I made the mistake of getting one last year when I started and it starved to death.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by jvalason
I saw one in the LFS yesterday...The substrate was pebbles from a FW tank and he was almost all bones. I just started my fuge and there are only a few pods on the cheeto so I counldnt help him...so sad. I made the mistake of getting one last year when I started and it starved to death.

Did you tell the manager?
 
jvalason

jvalason

Member
yeah they said he was "sick"
No sense in arguing if someone dosent want to listen. The funny thing is this place has beautiful FW tanks that are spotless. All the SW has pebbles and hair algea like you would not believe. I bought a really nice star polyp from there thats about it.
 
murph

murph

Active Member
IMO Mandarins are a perfect example of how far we have to go with this hobby.
I have a book published in 1997. The author attributes high Mandarin mortality to sensitivity to water quality and disease susceptibility making no mention of its difficult feeding habits.
Of course since then exactly the opposite has been proven with Mandarins being quite hardy in the above respects. Often being the only fish in a ich ridden tank not to be effected.
Now the conventional logic is a tank filled to the brim with LR over a year old. This is fine but other answers to the keeping of Mandarins may be starring us in the face but notice has not been taken. Kind of not seeing the reef for the live rock type thing.
With the ready availability and relatively cheap price of this species further experimentation should be a top priority. Think of it this way. If simpler methods that can be easily duplicated by the beginning hobbyist are found all of those other Mandarin have not died in vain.
Like I said, a simple answer is quite likely there and once figured out, we will all most likely be kicking ourselves in the butt for not thinking of it sooner. Of course this will never happen if the "nay sayers" win out and nothing new is ever tried.
 
promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
Great..so you're over here telling this story too.This is all some people need to see.. 1 success story,then they will figure they can do it in a nano too. I wish this fish was'nt so inexpensive...maybe fewer would die. :mad:
 
stang5_o

stang5_o

Member
Originally Posted by promisetbg
Great..so you're over here telling this story too.This is all some people need to see.. 1 success story,then they will figure they can do it in a nano too. I wish this fish was'nt so inexpensive...maybe fewer would die. :mad:

Actually, i was telling this story not only for the "some people" that you speak of, but also the people who have been in the hobby for years and have tried in the past to keep a mandarin. I myself have not tried to keep one, because i know that i dont have the experience to try it. I meant for the "story" to be a positive one, and not for every nut with a bowl of water to try to keep a mandarin. I was only telling what i had seen to let people know that it IS possible to keep a mandarin in a tank with a low pod population, providing the fish will eat prepared foods. From what the lfs guy is saying, its easier to get them to take prepared food it you get them young. I was passing this along so maybe some people would be more likely to buy a mandarin that eats prepared food instead of letting it starve to death slowly when the pods are all gone. There was no ill intent behind me posting this at a couple boards, it was meant for information only. Not every one is a dumb as "some people", and may view this thread as a positive thing.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by promisetbg
Great..so you're over here telling this story too.This is all some people need to see.. 1 success story,then they will figure they can do it in a nano too. I wish this fish was'nt so inexpensive...maybe fewer would die. :mad:

I agree with you. Sorry, stang, no offense meant.
 
promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
If you had raw statistics of how many fish die because of this hobby it would appall most people. Certain species of fish are diet specific, and should only be kept by experienced aquarists. It's the same with certain corals..some are hard to keep. It does'nt mean we should'nt try to keep them..it just means that giving marine animals the best possible chance at thriving is best. Keeping a mandarin in a tiny nano is not an ideal situation.
 
stang5_o

stang5_o

Member
Originally Posted by promisetbg
If you had raw statistics of how many fish die because of this hobby it would appall most people. Certain species of fish are diet specific, and should only be kept by experienced aquarists. It's the same with certain corals..some are hard to keep. It does'nt mean we should'nt try to keep them..it just means that giving marine animals the best possible chance at thriving is best. Keeping a mandarin in a tiny nano is not an ideal situation.
I totally agree.
And to anyone else who reads this DONT KEEP A MANDARIN IN A NANO.
Even though the guy at the LFS has done it, that doesnt make it ok. All i was doing was
sharing what i has seen. I had no intentions P!ss!ng anyone off.
The point was to share that this mandarin was fat after living on frozen food after all that t
time, not the size of tank it was in.
 
promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
I'm sorry..I did'nt really mean to come on so strong or offend you. I have a real passion for this hobby..and I like to educate people so that they research properly. Each person will ultimately make their own choice. Unfortunately many species die at the hands of inexperienced or misinformed aquarists..that's a fact.
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Just wanted to chime in on this issue because I keep a mandarin an a smaller tank... 35 gallon reef. Although I am not ready to declare success because I've only had this one for months and IMO success in this hobby should be measured in years. But, it can be done.
My mandarin is not taking frozen foods... yet. However, it does love the baby brine shrimp that I hatch daily. On top of that, I purchase bottled pods periodically. I also have a pod filled refugium on my larger tank. Every couple of days, I take a clump of chaeto (pod breeding ground) and place it in the mandarin's tank. I replace this every couple of days.
I'm not advocating that this fish is a good option for most smaller tanks. But, if you are willing to take the time or spend the $$ to support this fish, it can be done. JMO.
 
stang5_o

stang5_o

Member
Originally Posted by promisetbg
I'm sorry..I did'nt really mean to come on so strong or offend you. I have a real passion for this hobby..and I like to educate people so that they research properly. Each person will ultimately make their own choice. Unfortunately many species die at the hands of inexperienced or misinformed aquarists..that's a fact.
None taken. I understand totally where your coming from. I probably should have worded my original post differently. I in no way support keeping a mandarin in such a small tank. I just thought it was awesome that someone had one that eats prepared foods. I mean, the fish was beautiful. He was fat and very colorful. It was really tempting to buy one out of his main display tank. I decided against it until my tank is at least a year old, and then, and only then would i get one. And the one i get will have to be one that he can prove to me will eat frozen food... As for tank size, i have a 46 bow and a 2.5 nano. The mandarin would go in the 46 of course :)
 
promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
That is great,but you are one out of many who will not spend the time or money just because they saw a mandarin peck at a little frozen food.
 
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