takemates for the goal fish a mandarin

[pinky327]

ok so like so many of us my goal is a beautiful mandarin, the tank has been mine for almost a year and was over 3 years old when i got it, naturally i switched things up and have let it settle to ensure i would be ready. with the passing of my Maral a tomato clown i feel im ready to implement my plan, but would love input first.

so i have a 29 gallon bio cube with sand and live rock, currently in stock a large slightly aggressive bluefin damsel fish, which i have finally after months of searching found a home for, CUC is lots of snails and 4 hermit crabs all different types.

so my question after lots of readying im going to attempt a captive bred mandarin, but i want more than one fish and have seen comments where having other fish to help encourage the mandarin to recognize feeding time can help, but im not sure who would be right for the job. im loving the jawfish but dont think my sandbed is deep enough, then im liking the idea of a blennly but im wondering if they are too close in habit..i really like the perching habit and the idea of a sands sifting fish... idk im a bit overwhelmed with possibilities, but want to keep in mine the mandarin is the goal fish, maybe a pair...

so let me have it whats your opinion any mandarin owners want to fill me in on their tankmates....
also im gonna get the other fish first so i can get them in and happy so i can pay complete attention to the mandarins needs, does that sound right to you guys???

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by pinky327 http:///t/396637/takemates-for-the-goal-fish-a-mandarin#post_3534169
ok so like so many of us my goal is a beautiful mandarin, the tank has been mine for almost a year and was over 3 years old when i got it, naturally i switched things up and have let it settle to ensure i would be ready. with the passing of my Maral a tomato clown i feel im ready to implement my plan, but would love input first.

so i have a 29 gallon bio cube with sand and live rock, currently in stock a large slightly aggressive bluefin damsel fish, which i have finally after months of searching found a home for, CUC is lots of snails and 4 hermit crabs all different types.

so my question after lots of readying im going to attempt a captive bred mandarin, but i want more than one fish and have seen comments where having other fish to help encourage the mandarin to recognize feeding time can help, but im not sure who would be right for the job. im loving the jawfish but dont think my sandbed is deep enough, then im liking the idea of a blennly but im wondering if they are too close in habit..i really like the perching habit and the idea of a sands sifting fish... idk im a bit overwhelmed with possibilities, but want to keep in mine the mandarin is the goal fish, maybe a pair...

so let me have it whats your opinion any mandarin owners want to fill me in on their tankmates....
also im gonna get the other fish first so i can get them in and happy so i can pay complete attention to the mandarins needs, does that sound right to you guys???

Hi,

I don't think even a captive bred mandarin is going to eat anything but copepods. It's a bonus IF you can teach it to eat frozen food, but you can't count on that. I could be wrong, I'm not a mandarin expert, do you have a refugium? There is an in-tank refugium and HOB types that you could implement.

IMO...LOL... The best tank mates would be seahorses. However, you would have to get rid of the hermit crabs.

 

[pinky327]

thanks for the reply! Seahorses oh if only i love seahorses, but i was under the impression they liked tall tanks so never thought i could have one in the cube, do you have any yourself i love my crabs actually but would totally give them up for a seahorse!!..... and yeah i have read from the beginning of fish keeping about the plight of the starving mandarin so i never even tempted myself, and the only reason i thought it was possible is because i have started to read a bunch of boards where people are having success and ora has videos of their babies eating, now i know it appears every fish is a little different in what type of food it likes and transport can be stressful to the point they almost have to be re trained to eat so i knew it would be tricky. i was hoping to hear for others more before i got mine....and possibly crossing fingers for a individual breeder. so i was figuring the mandarin would be put off while i gather supplies and attempt to track down a breeder. in the mean time i need some fish that will be fun and appropriate for my set up and safe if i can get a mandarin.....at this point im leaning towards a sand-sifting goby but didnt know how that would go over if i do end up with a mandarin i dont want them to compete for living space, most of what i read has the mandarin on the rocks more than sand so im thinking this would work but im not sure... and if i went with another fish i would pick a nice open swimmer to be safe. i do have live rock rubble in the middle chamber with chato in the tank display actually because my clown sorta hosted to it and it kept her safe from my really mean damsel.. and i have seeded with pods in then beginning just for the fun of it. but have 10 gallon i am starting to try grow more in just in case i get the mandarin and it ends up being a pods only type...... but i am more in this for the love of fish if its more improbable than probable then i might leave it alone i would hate to be responsible for the slow death of a innocent fish

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by pinky327 http:///t/396637/takemates-for-the-goal-fish-a-mandarin#post_3534225
thanks for the reply! Seahorses oh if only i love seahorses, but i was under the impression they liked tall tanks so never thought i could have one in the cube, do you have any yourself i love my crabs actually but would totally give them up for a seahorse!!..... and yeah i have read from the beginning of fish keeping about the plight of the starving mandarin so i never even tempted myself, and the only reason i thought it was possible is because i have started to read a bunch of boards where people are having success and ora has videos of their babies eating, now i know it appears every fish is a little different in what type of food it likes and transport can be stressful to the point they almost have to be re trained to eat so i knew it would be tricky. i was hoping to hear for others more before i got mine....and possibly crossing fingers for a individual breeder. so i was figuring the mandarin would be put off while i gather supplies and attempt to track down a breeder. in the mean time i need some fish that will be fun and appropriate for my set up and safe if i can get a mandarin.....at this point im leaning towards a sand-sifting goby but didnt know how that would go over if i do end up with a mandarin i dont want them to compete for living space, most of what i read has the mandarin on the rocks more than sand so im thinking this would work but im not sure... and if i went with another fish i would pick a nice open swimmer to be safe. i do have live rock rubble in the middle chamber with chato in the tank display actually because my clown sorta hosted to it and it kept her safe from my really mean damsel.. and i have seeded with pods in then beginning just for the fun of it. but have 10 gallon i am starting to try grow more in just in case i get the mandarin and it ends up being a pods only type...... but i am more in this for the love of fish if its more improbable than probable then i might leave it alone i would hate to be responsible for the slow death of a innocent fish
Hi,

Tall is best, but I kept 4 captive bred erectus seahorses in a 30g long tank without a problem, that tank wasn't very tall at all. The only thing is that they must have the tank cold even the tropical erectus...74 is perfect, so a chiller is needed.

You sound like me. I LOVED seahorses, but never thought I could keep them. Once I found out I could...That's all I keep now. I have Kuda seahorses in a 56g tall tank in my bedroom, and Potbelly seahorses in a 90g tank in my living room. You will have to study up and be sure you want to go that route, the tank needs to be set up a little different, but captive bred seahorses are as easy to care for as regular SW fish.

I will tall you this...if you really love seahorses, you should follow your heart, and set the tank up the way they would need it, and go for it. There are certain fish that can live with a seahorse so it isn't like that's the only fish you can have.

A sand-sifting goby can't survive in a tiny cube, my 90g couldn't keep one going...they get huge, and they deplete the fauna in the sand to nothing. If they have not learned to eat frozen, they will die a very slow sad death. I had one that learned to eat frozen by accident, but the other one I had took months it seemed to starve and die...it's little tummy sunk in, and it just quit even sifting in the sand...it was so sad, and I didn't know it was starving. It was doing great for over a year, when I saw it's sunken tummy, I asked for help on this site to find out if something was wrong with it. That's when I learned about the fauna, and once the tummy sunk in, it was too late to help it.