manderine goby

[saltyh20]

I have a manderine goby who is a very labile fish. I realize that this is the expected behavior of a manderine goby. Except today I am looking in my tank and I see him swimming all around to the top of the tank and to the bottom. I was told that gobies to jump is he trying to escape and if he is, is it because of he needs more food or something. My tank is FOWLR and is well established. It cycled about 5 months ago. I did not test the water yet this week and I am doing so now. Any input is greatly appreciated.b

 

[bang guy]

I'm not sure what you mean by "labile" but I'll try to offer some possibilities.
First, Mandarinfish are not really Gobies as the common name implies. They are Dragonettes and are not noted for jumping like many of the Gobies and Jawfish. They have been known to go carpet surfing, but it's an uncommon event unless they are being chased.
Is your Mandarin an adult? ie. > 2"
If so it may just be searching for a mate. This isn't a problem, so don't feel you need to have a pair, just an observed behavior.
Or, it has depleted your rock of food and is searching for another pile of rocks.
Do you see 'pods on the tank walls or on the sand at night?

 

[texasgiraffe]

I would like one of these fish- BUT I have heard they are REALLY hard to keep- can anyone give me any advice before I purchase- or not?!??

 

[iechy]

I would say they are not really considered hard to keep as long as you have what it takes to keep them. Namely.....pods. The problem with keeping them is the same as with Moorish Idols some Butterflies etc. in that their diet is limited. Luckily though the diet for mandarins can be grown in your tank provided that you have enough LR and LS and not a tank full of mainly pod eaters. If you have a well established tank and see plenty of pods at night then it will likely be ok as long as it doesn't have something aggressive in the tank chasing it. They are quite a docile fish though and do prefer quieter tanks I believe. I have a spot reserved in mine for a mandarin around christmas time. HTH

 

[ajwaters]

Also if your worried try feeding him live brime shrimp. From what I have read this is not a permant (sp.) solution. I need not do my research and listened to the LFS the mandrian was the first fish in my new set up. But he will eat the live shrimp. and I've had him for about 3 1/2 months.

 

[jakob4001]

the problem w/ BS, live or otherwise is that they do not provide much nutrional value...empty calories in other words; they may survive, but will not thrive; BS can be bought w/ various additives to make them more nutrionally sound like "dusting" crickets for reptiles...some people also so soak their tank food w/ ZOE or some other type of fish food additive...

 

[marine fanatic]

Mandarin Gobies should only be placed in a tank if the owner has spent ample time researching their specific needs. 1 Goby in a 55 with over 70# of live rock is probably the limit since they feed primarily on copepods and even though they may take to brine shrimp, chances are that they are starving and are only eating it to put something in their stomach.
Just what I have read and done with my mandarin, he has thrived and is a very cool critter to have.

 

[ddaddy]

When you say the mandarin is swimming up and down the tank is he frantically doing this in the corner and/or sides of the glass? If so then it is probably a sign of stress. Fish who are stressed out show signs of panic like sprinting back and forth or up and down in the tank. Make sure your water conditions are proper and stable and watch to see if any other fish are bullying him. I have a female mandarin and she's a very calm fish to watch and I would assume all mandarins are.