Captive bred blue mandarin

[Paul31733]

Hey everyone!
I have been loving the mandarin goby fish but have held off as I have read it is hard to train to eat.
My lfs now has captive bred blue mandarin goby in stock and I have also read that these may be easier to care for.
I have a Fluval Evo 13.5 that is 4.5 months old. Have one clown fish and one springeri damsel.
Is it ok I give this a try?
I am willing to buy different foods if need be.
Thanks.
Paul.

 

[I’ma tempermental coral]

Hi Paul. This question has been asked numerous times just this week. So the down and dirty of it is, while these captive bred mandarins will normally take prepared foods they need to eat almost every minute of their waking hours to be healthy. Think of them as the humming bird of the reef, those fins don’t stop moving unless they are cocooned up for sleepy time. That burns a ton of calories so unless you plan on feeding many times a day, they need a healthy pod population to survive. So to keep one in a tank this small you would need to have a pod farm going to supplement pods after it wipes your tank of all pods. So is it doable? Yes? Will it be a lot of work to keep this fish happy and healthy for a long time? Also yes.

 

[Paul31733]

Hi Paul. This question has been asked numerous times just this week. So the down and dirty of it is, while these captive bred mandarins will normally take prepared foods they need to eat almost every minute of their waking hours to be healthy. Think of them as the humming bird of the reef, those fins don’t stop moving unless they are cocooned up for sleepy time. That burns a ton of calories so unless you plan on feeding many times a day, they need a healthy pod population to survive. So to keep one in a tank this small you would need to have a pod farm going to supplement pods after it wipes your tank of all pods. So is it doable? Yes? Will it be a lot of work to keep this fish happy and healthy for a long time? Also yes.

Thanks for your reply. I do have many pods on the glass but as you say, he would wipe these out very quick. I guess the thing to do now is research pod farming!!

 

[I’ma tempermental coral]

Of course! Mandarins are at the top of my absolute favorite fish! I waited a long time to have a tank that I knew could support one without hassle myself. And I mean a LONG time lol. I have a little spotted mandarin girl from ORA. And while she will pluck food out of the water column during one of three normal feeding throughout the day, she will still hammer down on some pods! Up to 30+ a minute at times! There was a thread that was actually active today at some point about pod farming if you have a little look.

 

[najer]

As above it can be done but you need to be feeding your pods live phyto to boost there numbers.
My little rescue girl is in an Evo but it is very well established and I add pods every month to boost numbers.

 

[Paul31733]

As above it can be done but you need to be feeding your pods live phyto to boost there numbers.
My little rescue girl is in an Evo but it is very well established and I add pods every month to boost numbers.

Thanks for your reply! At least I know it CAN be done. Gives me a goal to reach.

 

[Paul31733]

Canada Business Directory

Canada Business Directory

copepod.ca

Found this I could get shipped to my door in Canada. Would this be something I could be using?

 

[najer]

Looks good to me.

 

[Paul31733]

So is this something I could pick up together? Or would I have to start farming well in advance.
I do have alot of copepods in my tank now. Enough that they bug me on the glass.
Sorry for the questions I'm in love with this fish and my lfs doesn't often have captive bred in stock. I also don't want to make a fish suffer if I can help it....

 

[I’ma tempermental coral]

I’d say you probably have enough if they’ve become an irritant on the glass. That said like @najer said. Some phyto to boost numbers won’t hurt.

 

[Paul31733]

I’d say you probably have enough if they’ve become an irritant on the glass. That said like @najer said. Some phyto to boost numbers won’t hurt.

Well I have pretty much decided against it for now... I do not want to starve anything... I will wait until I am at least more established and more experienced...

 

[PicassoClown04]

I would definitely check out Paul B’s mandarin feeder. Brine shrimp are MUCH easier to culture than copepods ime, and it’s very easy to set up and use. This contraption is about to make my mandarin dreams come true

 

[Paul31733]

I would definitely check out Paul B’s mandarin feeder. Brine shrimp are MUCH easier to culture than copepods ime, and it’s very easy to set up and use. This contraption is about to make my mandarin dreams come true

I will definately check this out