Both of mine were ORA CB. Best of luck to you both.
Finally taking the great Mandarin jump
- Thread starter pinky
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OP
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pinky
Community Member
Wow that's shocking I would think the ORA breed mandys would have the best chances.so it definitely wasn't the capture techniques. So in your case were they both eating prepared fooods or just pods?
ORA and many reefers plus myself have discovered that although they are CB they still need an abundant supply of Copepods to thrive. That prepared foods alone will not sustain them. Without the required natural diet they succumb to illness as well as slow starvation.
ORA CB Mandarins are born and raised in a very sterile environment. No other fish, no sand, no rock and no corals.
Once added to my well established 2yr old tank, their behavior was to me most shocking. I eventually added a feeding jar (like you) and the fish very seldom left it. I feed 4-6x daily, but of course other critters liked the food as well. The Mandarins were unable to compete and just stopped eating all together.
ORA CB Mandarins are born and raised in a very sterile environment. No other fish, no sand, no rock and no corals.
Once added to my well established 2yr old tank, their behavior was to me most shocking. I eventually added a feeding jar (like you) and the fish very seldom left it. I feed 4-6x daily, but of course other critters liked the food as well. The Mandarins were unable to compete and just stopped eating all together.
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MyLittleReef
Active Member
Pinky, don't let the naysayers get you down. I think you will have plenty of success not only due to your research, but also due to the fact your tank is well aged. I would still replenish your pods every so often to be on the safe side. I kept a psychedelic for a year in a 28 nanocube and she did wonderfully - nice belly, not swollen but not indented either. I moved her to a 20 gallon long for several months due to some rearranging/remodeling and she got even fatter than she already was (now she looked swollen). Sadly, that tank didn't have a lid and she jumped one day when I wasn't home. I attribute the success I had due to 1. live rocks being at least 3 years live, 2. replenishing pods (not amphipods) every 4 - 6 months, 3. selecting one I saw actively hunting at the store. Best wishes on your girl!
Naysayers based on facts and personal experience. The OP is by no means alone in his/her attempt at keeping a Mandarin in less then optimal conditions. We naysayers are simply sharing been there, did that, wrote about how we failed.
I have friends who have kept these fish 8-10yrs in their 100+ gallon tanks. Can you imagine one living that long in a 29g? It's never to my knowledge been done. With good reason. pinky-if you want what's best for your Mandarin please seek out the expert advise of Paul B. He has a great feeding station that may help you.
I have friends who have kept these fish 8-10yrs in their 100+ gallon tanks. Can you imagine one living that long in a 29g? It's never to my knowledge been done. With good reason. pinky-if you want what's best for your Mandarin please seek out the expert advise of Paul B. He has a great feeding station that may help you.
MyLittleReef
Active Member
Nana, you are taunting with experience yet speculating in the same post. If you have been around long enough, you'll learn that there is more than one way to do things in this hobby now and one is not necessarily better than the other. Prime example: Tank of the Month - April 2007 - Reefkeeping.com The OP obviously cares about his fish and he didn't make his decision on a whim. Dragonets don't need open water to swim, they need a good food supply. I spoke from my own experience with my psychedelic dragonet. Mine ate only live foods - including small, harmless flatworms. Observe and observe often - at least daily. Watch the pod population. Watch the behavior of your dragonet. Especially keep an eye on her belly.
JerryO
Community Member
I have a pair of Red Mandarin that are not only thriving, they are spawning on a regular basis. I seeded my tank for over a year with pods, but they began eating frozen within a week of being inroduced and these were not tank raised, they were wild caught. While I agree this is not the norm for them to acclimate so well, I was extremely lucky with this pair. The last time I purchased a Mandarin was over 30 years ago but thought I would try it again with all the new foods available that were not around 30 years ago. They now even compete for food with all the other fish at feeding time, and constantly graze throughout the day. Fat , healthy and happy, but I would never recommend this fish without due diligence for the care. I wish the retail price at least quadrupled to discover novices from purchasing. Here is a link to the video of my pair spawning that was confirmed by ORA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKkZNpIH1qE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKkZNpIH1qE
manny mandarin
Community Member
I'm with MyLittleReef sometimes in life you gotta take the plunge i desparatly wanted one so i got in the mindset that if i owned one i take the responsibility of keeping it alive good luck
OP
OP
pinky
Community Member
Hi,
I know this is an old post but I figured I would let everyone know were still here!! Jasmine is doing good she is fat and eats all day long off my bbs feeder and pods and the jar in the evenings, she still has preference for the pods and bbs, but she eats from her jar and even SA pellets. Sadly she never got over her shyness so photos are rare but when I sit still I get to watch her hunt!
Here is her artsy photo,
not the most recent photo cause she is very shy but see here she has a nice belly now,
I know this is an old post but I figured I would let everyone know were still here!! Jasmine is doing good she is fat and eats all day long off my bbs feeder and pods and the jar in the evenings, she still has preference for the pods and bbs, but she eats from her jar and even SA pellets. Sadly she never got over her shyness so photos are rare but when I sit still I get to watch her hunt!
Here is her artsy photo,
not the most recent photo cause she is very shy but see here she has a nice belly now,
duckdodgers
Active Member
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Imma take the leap and get one for my second tank one day
OP
OP
pinky
Community Member
I would say go for it with proper prep work of course!! I waited years to do it and with every change I made to my set up it was with her in mind then after many people had good luck in nanos I put my plan to get her into action. The thing that took the longest for me was finding a mandarin that was actually eating at the lfs. I didnt have a real QT at the time so I made my own breeder box but that was a huge help in acclimating her to my tank and I was able to watch her and feed her a variety of foods we went through a lot that she never would touch but found some she loves and thats what goes in the jar. bbs are really what saved her I believe its super easy to hatch them daily and the feeder designed by Paul B was epic. I am finally feeling safe with her that whole first year I was worried she wold die but really once she put on weight she never looked back. Now Im sure I lucked out on her but I did lots of research and did every little thing I could to help us thrive! So I say if you really think that the show fish for you and you wont be happy till you have one and you are ready for the work make the leap, but know its time consuming its stressful but man the happiness I get when I watch her is all worth it!
