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whipitboy
Guest
i've had bad luck with them. do they do bad in captivity?sensitive to water conditions?diet?would it be a good last addition to a community tank?
surferboy
Member
I have had success with my Mandarin in my 180g reef. It has been at least 8 months and he looks great! There is several pounds of live rock in the tank and very established. He spends the day just hovering around the rocks and finding food. I have never seen him eat prepared food. Make sure you have an established tank with a lot of "life" on the rocks for the Mandarin the thrive.
kinetic180
Member
I am a newcomer in the saltwater scene(had my tank for eight months) and I have read alot about the Mandarin fish. Ninety-nine percent of all types of different sources have said the same thing: need a well established pod population, need at least 75lbs of live rock to thrive, and will most likely not accept prepared/frozen food.
HOWEVER, two months ago I spotted a starving Mandarin(sunken belly) at a fish store and even though I knew it is not wise to purchase the Mandarin beause of the above mentioned reasons I did buy the Mandarin(figured I couldn't do any worse than the LPS). Note: the fish store had the Mandarin in the tank with maybe 10lbs of live rock. I did alot more research and found that in a few cases the Mandarin fish may take Mysis shrimp, brine shrimp(not a good idea), or blood worms. So, I tried the Mysis and at first the Mandarin would only eat a tiny bit, but now will eat as much as I will put in the tank and is starting to look alot better. KEEP IN MIND that this is only one experience and I still am not sure how long my Mandaring will last
Also, another fish store I went to said that the green spotted Mandarin is easiest to keep alive and that is the kind of Mandarin I have
HOWEVER, two months ago I spotted a starving Mandarin(sunken belly) at a fish store and even though I knew it is not wise to purchase the Mandarin beause of the above mentioned reasons I did buy the Mandarin(figured I couldn't do any worse than the LPS). Note: the fish store had the Mandarin in the tank with maybe 10lbs of live rock. I did alot more research and found that in a few cases the Mandarin fish may take Mysis shrimp, brine shrimp(not a good idea), or blood worms. So, I tried the Mysis and at first the Mandarin would only eat a tiny bit, but now will eat as much as I will put in the tank and is starting to look alot better. KEEP IN MIND that this is only one experience and I still am not sure how long my Mandaring will last
Also, another fish store I went to said that the green spotted Mandarin is easiest to keep alive and that is the kind of Mandarin I have
iswimwithmyfish
Member
i've also had bad luck with mandarins so i don't wanna deal with them until i get my 72g bow tank
broomer5
Active Member
A mandarin dragonette eats the very thing I am wanting in my reef tank's sandbed - copepods and amphipods.
Even with a large amount a live rock - mandarins can eventually reduce the number of pods down to a population that is unsustainable -it may wipe out the pods.
As most folks know - because of this, "most" do not survive, although there are some exceptions.
They are beautiful fish, no one can argue with that, but I've decided not to keep these fish as well. I feel that the live sand bed on my reef tank is vital to success of my reef, and I don't count on being one of the lucky "exceptions".
Even with a large amount a live rock - mandarins can eventually reduce the number of pods down to a population that is unsustainable -it may wipe out the pods.
As most folks know - because of this, "most" do not survive, although there are some exceptions.
They are beautiful fish, no one can argue with that, but I've decided not to keep these fish as well. I feel that the live sand bed on my reef tank is vital to success of my reef, and I don't count on being one of the lucky "exceptions".