Psychedelic Mandarin

[demosthenes]

I was looking in the Live Fish section of this site, under Gobies, and I saw a Mandarin and a Psychedelic Mandarin. Other than color, how are they different. Can you keep one of each, or is that just a disaster waiting to happen? Is it alright to keep one of each, or just one depending on advice recieved, with a lionfish? I have a small volitan lionfish, but want a mandarin, and want one that will live, not be eaten or attacked. T4AH

 

[bob the builder]

Demosthenes, mandrines are very hard to keep alive since they will rarely eat prepared foods. They eat nothing but pods(copepods, amphipods, etc) and when the pods run out, they just starve. 2 CAN be kept, but in your case, there are not enough pods in the tank to suit 2, maybe not enough to suit 1! I would say go to the lfs, and ask if you cansee the mandeine eat BRINE, if it doesnt, dont buy it unless you have a good suply of pods. How much LR do you have in your tank? Pods usually come in throught the LR, about 60+ pounds is needed to feed one of these. If you dont think you have enough pods, some LFS's sell pods buy the 100. For a 100 is $1.00, 200 is $2.00, on and on...
If you cant find a lfs that sells these pods, or if you cant find a manderine that will eat prepared foods, i would say dont eget one(unless you have 60+lr and a whole lot of pods...) I really hope i helped you here

 

[demosthenes]

I have 125 lbs of LR, and 120 lbs of LS. I have enough pods, plus the LR will soon be 200 lbs. I'm not going to add anything until summer's over though, to get out of debt to my mom. So, w/ 200 lbs of LR and 120 of LS, the pod population will be steady. Then they will have 3 months to multiply, plus a soon-to-be refugium, and I will be able to keep a shoal, but I'm not planning on it. I am just worried about territorial battles and such.

 

[bob the builder]

Seems like you are all set to get a manderine. i highly recomend to take a flashlight, and look at the tank an hour after the lights have been off and look for some pods in the tank. If you see a lot, that is a good sign.

 

[demosthenes]

Thanks, just wish I felt prepared. I'm still waiting to find out if fighting will ensue between the mandarins, or if the lionfish will cause any problems.

 

[jacrmill]

well i see a possible problem. your lion eats small fish correct? a mandarin is a relatively small fish correct? i dont really know anything about lion fish at all but that looks like a potential conflict. also there is an idea that the unique coloring on a mandarin is used to warn predators that it is posinois coating on them. i have never heard this to be declared 100% true however and would not be willing to bet on that. I would find this to be an interesting experiment, but maybe an expensive one for you and the mandarin. but agian i know next to nothing about any lion fish.

 

[demosthenes]

Thanks, I may have to take the lion out when I go to get a mandarin.

 

[lnarobbins]

if your lion fish is really small 3-4in. it won't be big enough to eat any of you fish the same size or bigger. I had one at one time and I got him small when he got bigger 9in. he still left his smaller tankmates alone. mine might be the exception to the rule though
Alan

 

[demosthenes]

So far it seems to be fine, but if I wanted this to happen I would have to add the mandarin quickly, which I can't do anytime soon. T4TH

 

[karlas]

only 1 mandarin per tank is a good idea unless a mated pair. 2 males will fight to the death. they are hard to keep since 1 will descimate a pod population. do you have a sump or refugium? this will help with the pods. also as far as a lion and a mandarin i wouldnt advise that. lions are predators and will eat just about any fish or invert (crabs, shrimp) that will fit in their mouths. your mandarin may become lunch

 

[bluemarlin]

Given time, your lion fish will eat your mandarin. One the lion is big enough and even now it will eat whatever will fit into its mouth. Its not a bad fish because of this its just the way the fish is. Thats why we educate ourselves before adding fish that we are unsure about. Just like you are doing.
The mandarin is not for the beginner. They are very difficult to keep alive and VERY often sadly, die a slow death due to starvation. Personally, I avoid them because I have not educated myself enough to make them thrive in my aquariums. If you educate yourself, learn what the fish needs and then supply it, I think you'll be fine. But the lion fish must be moved to another tank.

 

[ckkihei]

try looking for any info about mandarins from a member called "Suziepan".....she is a wealth of info about mandarins.

 

[demosthenes]

Thanks, I already have a pod population sufficient enough for a mated pair, and yes, I have a sump and refugium. I plan on moving the volitan to a larger, aggressive tank. As for being a beginner, that one stung, no, I'm j/k. I feel I am ready for a mandarin, but I am waiting some time to ensure that. We're all beginners compared to one.