Mandarin goby tank mates and care

[santeeeyyy]

Hey everyone. I was wondering what are some pros and cons of having a mandarin goby? I’m planning on buying someone’s 350 reefer off of them and I know my first tank, I was told the goby is somewhat difficult for a beginner. I was wondering for this new tank what should I avoid stock wise. And do I put a cheato ball in the sump so I can seed it for food wise. I’m currently doing some research for these little guys

 

[blaxsun]

Other than needing copepods if they don't take to frozen food and being limited to a male/female pair, none. The more rock you have the better you'll be able to sustain a healthy copepod population.

Mandarins taste absolutely horrible - so they're pretty much left alone by everything (including crabs and other predators).

 

[JPM San Diego]

I started with two tank-raised Biota mandarins. The ship really tiny. However, being tank raised they weren't restricted to live food. I kept them in a small tank that was very well established and full of pods. I kept them out of my big tank until they grew about 3 times the size the came as. I now have them in a 200 gallon tank with tangs, foxface, ocellaris clowns, royal gramma, orchid dottyback, diamond goby, court jester goby, black line blenny, and 2 cardinal fish. They ignore the other fish and my other fish ignore them

 

[apb03]

Yeah they really are surprisingly easy to take care of. None of my fish bother mine, including very territorial tangs and a puffer. She just cruises throughout the rocks.

I think once you have an established tank with pods, they find a way. The only thing to worry about is their small size and they can jump out. I definitely recommend a lid if you keep one.

 

[littlefoxx]

Hey everyone. I was wondering what are some pros and cons of having a mandarin goby? I’m planning on buying someone’s 350 reefer off of them and I know my first tank, I was told the goby is somewhat difficult for a beginner. I was wondering for this new tank what should I avoid stock wise. And do I put a cheato ball in the sump so I can seed it for food wise. I’m currently doing some research for these little guys

Ive got one of the little guys in each tank! I just dose pods to the tank everyday when I dose Red Sea AB for my corals. Both are fat and happy and that way I know theres pods in there for them to eat. Really only avoid fish that will eat it like eels and lionfish. Ive got a baby dwarf lionfish with it but shes very well behaved and doesnt even look twice at shrimp for food so Im not worried. They are poisonous (their slime coat) so if injested by another fish you lose both. In my other tank I have him with a rabbit fish, tangs, angelfish, triggers and anthias and no one bothers him at all.

 

[steveschuerger]

I’ve got a male Spotted Mandarin in my 60. I do put new pods in once a month, but the system is starting to be fairly mature. Nobody bothers him, just goes about his business. They are cute little ones.

 

[santeeeyyy]

Ive got one of the little guys in each tank! I just dose pods to the tank everyday when I dose Red Sea AB for my corals. Both are fat and happy and that way I know theres pods in there for them to eat. Really only avoid fish that will eat it like eels and lionfish. Ive got a baby dwarf lionfish with it but shes very well behaved and doesnt even look twice at shrimp for food so Im not worried. They are poisonous (their slime coat) so if injested by another fish you lose both. In my other tank I have him with a rabbit fish, tangs, angelfish, triggers and anthias and no one bothers him at all.

Dwarf lion fish? I wanna get one so bad but I heard it’s terrible if you plant on having a bunch of different fish and corals and inverts

 

[littlefoxx]

Dwarf lion fish? I wanna get one so bad but I heard it’s terrible if you plant on having a bunch of different fish and corals and inverts

Not my girl! Shes actually one of my favorite fish! I got her when she was under an inch long at my LFS and put her in my reef and got her eating frozen. Never had to do live with her since she was so young. I have a mandarin with her as well as shrimp and other fish she can easily eat and she doesnt give any of them a second look! Also have a marine betta in that tank, no issues with him either. If you want more info on lions @lion king is amazing with them and other predator fish. She also body wise (not fins) was smaller than my blood and cleaner shrimp who sadly passed with a heater malfunction. I still have a coral banded shrimp and she is good with her too. The mandarin will hang out by her sometimes too and my lion doesnt care at all. Shes a dwarf fuzzy. This is her! However, I also have not added any shrimp to the tank since my shrimps passed though, not sure if she will think they are food cause I added them after she was in my tank if that tells you anything.

 

[merkmerk73]

I got two from Biota, they're tiny

One managed to fit through my @melev peacekeeper box holes - d'oh.

So he's in Gen Pop now. Good luck little one, I hope you make it. I haven't seen you except once amongst the rock.

The other seems to eat frozen BBS but I can't be sure. I have been dosing expensive pods just to trigger its hunting response.

The big problem I have that I'm not sure how to best deal with is all the detritus build up at the bottom of the box.

 

[santeeeyyy]

Not my girl! Shes actually one of my favorite fish! I got her when she was under an inch long at my LFS and put her in my reef and got her eating frozen. Never had to do live with her since she was so young. I have a mandarin with her as well as shrimp and other fish she can easily eat and she doesnt give any of them a second look! Also have a marine betta in that tank, no issues with him either. If you want more info on lions @lion king is amazing with them and other predator fish. She also body wise (not fins) was smaller than my blood and cleaner shrimp who sadly passed with a heater malfunction. I still have a coral banded shrimp and she is good with her too. The mandarin will hang out by her sometimes too and my lion doesnt care at all. Shes a dwarf fuzzy. This is her! However, I also have not added any shrimp to the tank since my shrimps passed though, not sure if she will think they are food cause I added them after she was in my tank if that tells you anything.

Do you think a 30 gal would be too small for any sort of dward lion? Someone is moving and they are tossing out their 30 gal setup, so I was thinking it would be cool to have a tank soley dedicated to a unique fish.

 

[littlefoxx]

Do you think a 30 gal would be too small for any sort of dward lion? Someone is moving and they are tossing out their 30 gal setup, so I was thinking it would be cool to have a tank soley dedicated to a unique fish.

Yeahhhh I would say you need bigger. My girl was super tiny when I got her and shes doubled in size in like 4 months. They like room to swim and perch, and will get about 8 inches. My girl is in a 70 reef tank. Might ask @lion king what the smallest size he would recommend for a single dwarf lion but Ive heard no smaller than 55 just cause they get bigger than you think, especially when their fins fill in. Here is my girl Nala. Shes probably 3 inches now, was under 1 inch when I brought her home. So Imagine a lion with a 6-8 inch body not including any fins or spikes, which is why I say bigger!

 

[santeeeyyy]

Yeahhhh I would say you need bigger. My girl was super tiny when I got her and shes doubled in size in like 4 months. They like room to swim and perch, and will get about 8 inches. My girl is in a 70 reef tank. Might ask @lion king what the smallest size he would recommend for a single dwarf lion but Ive heard no smaller than 55 just cause they get bigger than you think, especially when their fins fill in. Here is my girl Nala. Shes probably 3 inches now, was under 1 inch when I brought her home. So Imagine a lion with a 6-8 inch body not including any fins or spikes, which is why I say bigger!

She looks so cool. I’ll bite and ask him smallest size

 

[santeeeyyy]

Yeahhhh I would say you need bigger. My girl was super tiny when I got her and shes doubled in size in like 4 months. They like room to swim and perch, and will get about 8 inches. My girl is in a 70 reef tank. Might ask @lion king what the smallest size he would recommend for a single dwarf lion but Ive heard no smaller than 55 just cause they get bigger than you think, especially when their fins fill in. Here is my girl Nala. Shes probably 3 inches now, was under 1 inch when I brought her home. So Imagine a lion with a 6-8 inch body not including any fins or spikes, which is why I say bigger!

I can’t dm

 

[littlefoxx]

I can’t dm

I tagged him so he should see the post! If you click on his name he has a lot of articles about lions and their care

 

[fishguy777]

Ive got one of the little guys in each tank! I just dose pods to the tank everyday when I dose Red Sea AB for my corals. Both are fat and happy and that way I know theres pods in there for them to eat. Really only avoid fish that will eat it like eels and lionfish. Ive got a baby dwarf lionfish with it but shes very well behaved and doesnt even look twice at shrimp for food so Im not worried. They are poisonous (their slime coat) so if injested by another fish you lose both. In my other tank I have him with a rabbit fish, tangs, angelfish, triggers and anthias and no one bothers him at all.

I have a 240- a bunch of tangs 3-10”, 15” blue dot ray, 10” hi fin snapper, 6” polleni grouper, 6” blue throat trigger, 2 dwarf angels 2,4”, 7” magnificent foxface

It’s got 80lbs of LR, is this a hard no for a mandarin? At some point I read something about other fish leaving them alone due to their “smell”?

 

[littlefoxx]

I have a 240- a bunch of tangs 3-10”, 15” blue dot ray, 10” hi fin snapper, 6” polleni grouper, 6” blue throat trigger, 2 dwarf angels 2,4”, 7” magnificent foxface

It’s got 80lbs of LR, is this a hard no for a mandarin? At some point I read something about other fish leaving them alone due to their “smell”?

None of my fish bothered the Mandarin when I had him but I would say its still a gamble. Mine hung with my fuzzy lion a lot and she never tried to eat him

 

[fishguy777]

None of my fish bothered the Mandarin when I had him but I would say it’s still a gamble. Mine hung with my fuzzy lion a lot and she never tried to eat him

Did your fuzzy ever go after other fish?

 

[littlefoxx]

Did your fuzzy ever go after other fish?

No none of my lions did