purple firefish vs psychedelic mandarin

[jessicarabit]

I am currently looking into recently looking to restock my parasite-free tank Thinking about purchasing (from saltwaterfish.com) 3 purple fire fish, psychedelic mandarin & a flame angel. With firefish & mandarin being both gobies, will they be combatable together? They occupy different levels for the most? Does anyone have any experience with firefish, especially purples? Also, does anyone know the salinity level(s) that saltwaterfish.com holds & ships the fish in? Lastly, if I placed my fish order today, but probably not till after 5 pm central, will the package be delivered monday?

 

[demosthenes]

I would say that the package will be shipped Monday. On the Mandarin/Firefish subject, it should be fine. The Purple Firefish, N. Decora, is also known as the Elegant, Flame, and Decorated Firefish, and it belongs to the genus Nemateleotris, while the Mandarin belongs to the genus Synchiropus. I noticed in the SWF.com store, that the Firefish they have in the Goby section, is not the Purple Firefish, but the Firefish, or the Magnificent Firefish, N. Magnifica. So, just to let you know, you won't be ordering the Purple Firefish if you're ordering the one I am speaking of. Also, Firefish and Mandarins are not "both Gobies". Most hobbyists are quick to point this out. The Mandarins are actually Dragonettes. A Mandarin Dragonette is more accurate than Mandarin Goby. As for the survival of the Mandarin, it must be ensured that there is an ample pod population for which the Mandarin to eat. HTH

 

[striker]

I'm not sure if your system would support a mandarin for very long with only 40lbs of lr. In my 29gallon I have over 60lbs of lr and if it wasn't for my manderin eating frozen brine he would have a hard time eating. They chew right through your pod population.

 

[njdiver]

As Striker pointed out, the bigger issue of the Madarin is probably much less a concern over having the firefish in there as it is having enough pods in the tank to keep the madarin happy. I know one of my lfs' uses a brine shrimp hatchery on the tank and claims it keeps the madarin quite happy, but most suggest pods as a source of food.
Of course if your running a refugium then you would possibly be able to transfer pods into the main tank from there to suppliment.
Just a side note on the issue of the two fish, I have a firefish in my tank with a scooter "blenny" which is of course also a dragonnete. I have never had a problem with either showing any aggression at all to the other.
-Scott