Mandarin dragonet

[Zoa_Fanatic]

I have a biocube 32 led. It’s been running for a year but I transfered everything from a previous tank I had running for 3 years. I have so many pods the ground comes alive after lights out. Can I support a mandarin in a tank this small? I know I will likely have to supplement pods and would like to know if anyone has a pod delivery service they like? Also will it be ok with my clowns? They’re all that’s in the tank right now.

 

[Lavey29]

I would think a small fish like that would be ok as long as you can sustain the pod food supply for him.

 

[Zoa_Fanatic]

I would think a small fish like that would be ok as long as you can sustain the pod food supply for him.

I mean I have so many they’re starting to pick at my corals. I doubt I’d have trouble keeping a decent supply

 

[Lavey29]

I have heard that mandarins can eat 1000's of pods per day. Be sure not to introduce any other fish that eat pods to or they will outcompete the mandarin. My clowns would eat pods in the water column constantly.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Go for one of the captive bred ones - they are more likely to eat prepared and frozen foods. Still need pods though.

 

[Tchung23]

Spend more on a captive bred. They are really small but if you have a small tank you probably won’t be able to sustain enough pods. My mandarin eats pellets and frozen mysis and brine shrimp.

 

[Cantusaurus]

Yeah, it definitely can be done. Clowns shouldn't be an issue. I would recommend hatching live baby brine shrimp for it too. Having pods shipped may not be necessary, but you could add some occasionally to boost the amount (I would highly recommend Apex/Apocalypse pods!)
I also have heard that the Spotted Mandarins are much easier to get eating frozen (but if you aren't a big fan of those then don't get one).
If you do get one make sure it is really healthy. And I would recommend giving it a bath in methylene blue. I have had the worst luck with scooter blennys, and they ALL never fattened up, and it didn't seem like internal parasites, and there were pods, and I was feeding live baby brine. Methylene blue helps with a lot of misc. issues that may not be apparent right away. I feel like if I had done that they would've maybe survived.
You can get some methylene blue medication, or use the blue part in Safety Stop.

But if the fish is healthy then things hopefully will go well.
For frozen food I recommend Cyclopods, and blood worms.
For some reason blood worms are really appetizing for them.
And you can use Vitachem/Selcon to add additional benefits

 

[Karen00]

Spend more on a captive bred. They are really small but if you have a small tank you probably won’t be able to sustain enough pods. My mandarin eats pellets and frozen mysis and brine shrimp.

I have seen some of the captive bred mandarins and they seemed really small but not in a juvenile way. I wasn't sure if they're smaller than wild caught or whether they still get to the same size as the wild type. Do you know based on the experience with yours?

 

[Tamberav]

I have seen some of the captive bred mandarins and they seemed really small but not in a juvenile way. I wasn't sure if they're smaller than wild caught or whether they still get to the same size as the wild type. Do you know based on the experience with yours?

While fish rarely get to their full size in captivity, being captive bred does not change their adult size. They come in small but grow at a decent pace if fed properly.

 

[Karen00]

While fish rarely get to their full size in captivity, being captive bred does not change their adult size. They come in small but grow at a decent pace if fed properly.

Thanks. I assumed that was the case. These captive bred mandarins just seemed so small yet looked like adults. My first thought was "oh my gosh they created a dwarf type". Haha. I guess it was just wishful thinking. LOL

 

[Tchung23]

They are definitely smaller than wild caught fish. I don’t know how big they get but I’ve seen some giant sized wild caught mandarins. Mine is about 9 months old and is about 2.5”. When I bought him he was less than an inch. They do grow quickly. Just not sure how big they get.

 

[bjonesq]

I have a wild caught in a 25 gallon that has gotten fatter and fatter since I got him several months back. I have been using a 3D-printed Paul B feeder to feed fresh-hatched BBS, but since a recent dino outbreak he hasn't shown much interest in it and still has been just fine. However, from what I have read they really don't eat those larger "pods" that almost look like mini shrimp, but rather the really small ones you see as little specs on the glass. I had a solid population to begin with from using liverock, but dosed ecopods and 5248 from algaebarn into my refugium with some macro a few months prior and routinely does phyto to keep them going.