any tips for owning a green mandrinfish

[RV Reefs]

I am getting a green mandrinfish soon but I have never owned one before. Any tips?

 

[Bolen2]

Best advice I can give is if your setup is not very mature would be to have some sort of brine shrimp hatchery. They feed primarily on copepods and if your setup does not have a stable enough population of them to keep the little guy fed you will need to substitute with brine shrimp.

 

[RV Reefs]

So buy copepods from algae barn

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So buy copepods from algae barn

My best advice is to invest in a captive-bred mandarin. They cost more than wild caught ones but if you buy from a source like Biota, they will already be trained to eat prepared/frozen food.
You will still want pods, and an attached refugium to maintain a supply, but shouldn't need to dump $50 worth of pods into the tank each month.

 

[blaxsun]

What @Erin1971Texas suggested. If you don't have a tank in excess of 100-gallons, opt for a captive bred. Otherwise you'll be spending upwards of $50-$100 on pods every month just to feed it.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I am getting a green mandrinfish soon but I have never owned one before. Any tips?

What size is your tank? How long has it been set up? Do you have wrasses or other fish that eat pods? Do you /will you have an attached fuge? Do you already have a pod population?

 

[RV Reefs]

What size is your tank? How long has it been set up? Do you have wrasses or other fish that eat pods? Do you /will you have an attached fuge? Do you already have a pod population?

I have a fairy wrasse and no pod population. I am attaching a fuge in the coming weeks. Was planning on getting a biota in the next months after I get my coral in two. The tank has been set up with fish in it for four months. Fishless cycle for one month , got it in December

 

[blaxsun]

I have a fairy wrasse and no pod population. I am attaching a fuge in the coming weeks. Was planning on getting a biota in the next months after I get my coral in two. The tank has been set up with fish in it for four months. Fishless cycle for one month , got it in December

Again, what size is your tank?

 

[RV Reefs]

24 gallons

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

24 gallons

No.

 

[RV Reefs]

I have a fairy wrasse and no pod population. I am attaching a fuge in the coming weeks. Was planning on getting a biota in the next months after I get my coral in two. The tank has been set up with fish in it for four months. Fishless cycle for one month , got it in December

biota mandrin, I mean

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Isn't the minimum tank size for a fairy wrasse 50 gallons?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

biota mandrin, I mean

Still no

 

[blaxsun]

Still no

Definitely no.

 

[RV Reefs]

Isn't the minimum tank size for a fairy wrasse 50 gallons?

he's very small, I'm upgrading within half a year

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Definitely no.

If (and that's a big IF) you had a 24 gallon tank that was 2-3 yrs old, already had a mature sandbed/rocks, and had no other fish, you MIGHT be able to meet the needs of a mandarin.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

he's very small, I'm upgrading within half a year

I suggest you wait until your new tank (whatever you're upgrading to) is 6-9 months old before adding a mandarin, biota or not.

 

[RV Reefs]

thanks

 

[MaxTremors]

Start a refugium and seed your tank with real live rock. Bottled pods are not great at reproducing in tropical temps.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Start a refugium and seed your tank with real live rock. Bottled pods are not great at reproducing in tropical temps.

Tisbe pods are