Can these live with mandarin goby?

[LAA]

Hmmmmm

 

[LAA]

Reef police then. Protect all the fish

 

[Paul B]

You got them to breed?! How did you go upon doing that?

"Almost" all bottom dwelling fish that are fed correctly in a tank naturally set up will spawn and spawn constantly. If they are a pair and do not spawn, they are not healthy as only healthy fish can spawn.

I agree with paul on some things disagree on others, there are plenty a very well developed tank at 2 or 3 that have full healthy SPS reefs and lots of diversity .

I agree, but we were talking about mandarins, not diversity or SPS reefs.

Can you define old tank?

Yes, I am old. It's like a sliding scale. As a tank ages and matures it becomes easier to keep a mandarin. A brand new tank with dead rock and new ASW will not be able to keep a mandarin alive for any length of time no matter how many pods you buy.

An older tank will produce it's own pods and none have to be purchased. I myself have never bought a pod. Mandarins from personal experience live at least ten years. If they die earlier, we failed. Also if we have a pair of them and they are not spawning, we also failed as mandarins take care of themselves unlike most fish we keep.

I am old, but at what age was I considered old? I consider almost all people on here as young and many kids. But when I was in my 30s, most people on here I would have considered old. It's relative and can not be defined with a number. But in my opinion 3 or 5 year old reef is new. A common hermit crab lives 10 years or more.

This is how many pods a mandarin will eat in a day.

If you have enough space, you can store them in your garage.

But an old, healthy tank will support mandarins and all pod eating fish.
By the way, this is a copepod.



I have in my tank a pair of mandarins, pair of ruby red dragonettes, pair of blue stripe pipefish, pair of Raisfords Gobies, pair of Possum Wrasses and a scooter dragonette. All of those fish eat pods and fend for themselves so I don't have to feed them or worry if they are getting enough to eat. But I don't have a new tank which will not work for those fish.

SPS corals don't need pods and they will live in any tank with the correct parameters.

 

[sfin52]

"Almost" all bottom dwelling fish that are fed correctly in a tank naturally set up will spawn and spawn constantly. If they are a pair and do not spawn, they are not healthy as only healthy fish can spawn.


I agree, but we were talking about mandarins, not diversity or SPS reefs.


Yes, I am old. It's like a sliding scale. As a tank ages and matures it becomes easier to keep a mandarin. A brand new tank with dead rock and new ASW will not be able to keep a mandarin alive for any length of time no matter how many pods you buy.

An older tank will produce it's own pods and none have to be purchased. I myself have never bought a pod. Mandarins from personal experience live at least ten years. If they die earlier, we failed. Also if we have a pair of them and they are not spawning, we also failed as mandarins take care of themselves unlike most fish we keep.

I am old, but at what age was I considered old? I consider almost all people on here as young and many kids. But when I was in my 30s, most people on here I would have considered old. It's relative and can not be defined with a number. But in my opinion 3 or 5 year old reef is new. A common hermit crab lives 10 years or more.

This is how many pods a mandarin will eat in a day.

If you have enough space, you can store them in your garage.

But an old, healthy tank will support mandarins and all pod eating fish.
By the way, this is a copepod.



I have in my tank a pair of mandarins, pair of ruby red dragonettes, pair of blue stripe pipefish, pair of Raisfords Gobies, pair of Possum Wrasses and a scooter dragonette. All of those fish eat pods and fend for themselves so I don't have to feed them or worry if they are getting enough to eat. But I don't have a new tank which will not work for those fish.

SPS corals don't need pods and they will live in any tank with the correct parameters.

Thanks for the answer. I always learn a ton from your responses.

 

[Paul B]

Thank you, but I make most of it up as I go along.

 

[nereefpat]

The mandarin slime coat comments are making me chuckle. Their slime coat prevents most fish from consuming them, but it's not a force field that keeps them from being killed lol

I had a red Coris kill a mandarin. I've also seen a 6-line pick the eyes out of mandarin's head.

 

[SaltyT]

I had a red Coris kill a mandarin. I've also seen a 6-line pick the eyes out of mandarin's head.

I remember reading that someone on here (or RC) had their mandarin's eyes pecked out. I'm sorry it was you

 

[Dakota_reef]

Heard that mandarin are hard to keep tho? How long until I should put one in and what makes them hard?

They can be very difficult to keep. Very picky eaters that usually only eat pods. Some are breeding them and "train" them to eat frozen/pellet which would be awesome. If not, you need a mature tank (2+ years old) with a healthy pod population (or buying/adding pods).

 

[LAA]

"Almost" all bottom dwelling fish that are fed correctly in a tank naturally set up will spawn and spawn constantly. If they are a pair and do not spawn, they are not healthy as only healthy fish can spawn.


I agree, but we were talking about mandarins, not diversity or SPS reefs.


Yes, I am old. It's like a sliding scale. As a tank ages and matures it becomes easier to keep a mandarin. A brand new tank with dead rock and new ASW will not be able to keep a mandarin alive for any length of time no matter how many pods you buy.

An older tank will produce it's own pods and none have to be purchased. I myself have never bought a pod. Mandarins from personal experience live at least ten years. If they die earlier, we failed. Also if we have a pair of them and they are not spawning, we also failed as mandarins take care of themselves unlike most fish we keep.

I am old, but at what age was I considered old? I consider almost all people on here as young and many kids. But when I was in my 30s, most people on here I would have considered old. It's relative and can not be defined with a number. But in my opinion 3 or 5 year old reef is new. A common hermit crab lives 10 years or more.

This is how many pods a mandarin will eat in a day.

If you have enough space, you can store them in your garage.

But an old, healthy tank will support mandarins and all pod eating fish.
By the way, this is a copepod.



I have in my tank a pair of mandarins, pair of ruby red dragonettes, pair of blue stripe pipefish, pair of Raisfords Gobies, pair of Possum Wrasses and a scooter dragonette. All of those fish eat pods and fend for themselves so I don't have to feed them or worry if they are getting enough to eat. But I don't have a new tank which will not work for those fish.

SPS corals don't need pods and they will live in any tank with the correct parameters.

Thx so much for info

 

[landlubber]

They can be very difficult to keep. Very picky eaters that usually only eat pods. Some are breeding them and "train" them to eat frozen/pellet which would be awesome. If not, you need a mature tank (2+ years old) with a healthy pod population (or buying/adding pods).

buying/adding pods isn't a solution to me as its expensive and a hassle which means its likely the first cut a person would make if they had expenses elsewhere.
In a perfect world people just wait 18 months before even considering adding one.

 

[i cant think]

"Almost" all bottom dwelling fish that are fed correctly in a tank naturally set up will spawn and spawn constantly. If they are a pair and do not spawn, they are not healthy as only healthy fish can spawn.


I agree, but we were talking about mandarins, not diversity or SPS reefs.


Yes, I am old. It's like a sliding scale. As a tank ages and matures it becomes easier to keep a mandarin. A brand new tank with dead rock and new ASW will not be able to keep a mandarin alive for any length of time no matter how many pods you buy.

An older tank will produce it's own pods and none have to be purchased. I myself have never bought a pod. Mandarins from personal experience live at least ten years. If they die earlier, we failed. Also if we have a pair of them and they are not spawning, we also failed as mandarins take care of themselves unlike most fish we keep.

I am old, but at what age was I considered old? I consider almost all people on here as young and many kids. But when I was in my 30s, most people on here I would have considered old. It's relative and can not be defined with a number. But in my opinion 3 or 5 year old reef is new. A common hermit crab lives 10 years or more.

This is how many pods a mandarin will eat in a day.

If you have enough space, you can store them in your garage.

But an old, healthy tank will support mandarins and all pod eating fish.
By the way, this is a copepod.



I have in my tank a pair of mandarins, pair of ruby red dragonettes, pair of blue stripe pipefish, pair of Raisfords Gobies, pair of Possum Wrasses and a scooter dragonette. All of those fish eat pods and fend for themselves so I don't have to feed them or worry if they are getting enough to eat. But I don't have a new tank which will not work for those fish.

SPS corals don't need pods and they will live in any tank with the correct parameters.

I have a Hectors goby in a tank that only recently matured. IME, newer tanks are the best place for a Hectors or rainfords goby. The reason why is due to them eating algae, they don’t just eat pods. Yes my tank is 2 years old but it’s only recently matured and keeping;
- Hectors Goby
- Blue Star Leopard Wrasse
- Pink Streak Wrasse
- Yasha Goby
- Black Clown Goby

My tank is only a 20g tank and these guys manage to thrive. The Hectors eats algae off the rocks and sand, the rest are big pod eaters. I do agree that a healthy pair is a breeding pair and I wanted to know how you know the other guys are healthy. None of mine are pairs so I can’t go off of the “Breeding pair is a healthy pair” idea.

 

[Uncle99]

Anyone that has the same mouth configuration will be seen as competitors and can create tension.

I keep the Mandy instead of a wrasse.

 

[Dakota_reef]

buying/adding pods isn't a solution to me as its expensive and a hassle which means its likely the first cut a person would make if they had expenses elsewhere.
In a perfect world people just wait 18 months before even considering adding one.

I agree. I recently added some pods to my 20gal (they sort of disappeared over time) and it was like $30!!! But the tank is also almost 4 years old with 15 year old Live Rock from a small tank I upgraded.

 

[LAA]

Has anyone tried turning lights and sump off and hold flashlight to tank to see if the copepods would go to the light? Is so has it worked?

 

[nereefpat]

I remember reading that someone on here (or RC) had their mandarin's eyes pecked out. I'm sorry it was you

The Coris killing the mandarin was in my tank. The 6 line was a video, RC is a good guess.

 

[i cant think]

Has anyone tried turning lights and sump off and hold flashlight to tank to see if the copepods would go to the light? Is so has it worked?

I tried it in my 4’ tank and it failed, instead I saw a ton of amphipods all over my rockwork but ignoring the light.

 

[i cant think]

I had a red Coris kill a mandarin. I've also seen a 6-line pick the eyes out of mandarin's head.

Never knew a 6-line could be quite so monstrous. I’m so sorry about that. Do you know if it was an issue of not enough rockwork for them both? Or just the good old aggressive personality kicking into the sixline.

 

[nereefpat]

Do you know if it was an issue of not enough rockwork for them both? Or just the good old aggressive personality kicking into the sixline.

I don't remember the situation, honestly. It's just one of those things that stuck with me, like the video of an orchid dotty getting chopped up in an MP40.

 

[Jeeperz]

I have a biota Mandarin in a reefer 170. Went in right after it was cycled with a pair of clowns and a bunch of coral from my nuvo20. I've added several bottles of pods over the last 2 years. The Mandarin has always eaten frozen cyclops and hikari herbivore medium pellets. A wild Mandarin may need a large mature tank but I don't think a biota does anymore than any other fish. This is just my experience though

 

[landlubber]

Never knew a 6-line could be quite so monstrous. I’m so sorry about that. Do you know if it was an issue of not enough rockwork for them both? Or just the good old aggressive personality kicking into the sixline.

i've heard of this in the past with these exact 2 fish. from what i was told the wrasse intrinsically knows they're competing for the same food source and sorts it out the way 6-lines do.