Mandarins - Best Kept Practices and Success strories
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Justin1997
Active Member
I had a spotted mandarin for over 6 months eating pellets and brine, at first he wouldn't eat but I was told Chinese caviar (red masago eggs) would do the trick I tried this then slowly mixed with my shrimp and pellets then he started eating them. Unfortunately my tank leaked and I lost him haven't got another since, I'm planning on trying a pair next time.
Pods, pods and more pods lol
Seriously, I have a one just like your picture and he won't touch any kind of food I have tried. I make sure to reseed my sump on a regular basic with pods and I have kept him fat and happy for four years now.
Seriously, I have a one just like your picture and he won't touch any kind of food I have tried. I make sure to reseed my sump on a regular basic with pods and I have kept him fat and happy for four years now.
vic67
Well-Known Member
I had my tank (75G w/ 20G sump) up a year I think before getting one. I have extra LR in the sump and I add pods(from Algaebarn) occasionally. It's usually shy but it looks healthy. (sorry about pic quality).
Chris Adams
Valuable Member
30gl had mandarin for 6 months+ so far. Tank is a pod manufacturing plant I swear.
I had moved it from wife 38gl which was a high flow to to my 30gl because it did not like to come out do to flow.
Seemed like a totally different fish as soon as it hit my water.. Besides the pods I was able to get it to eat brine so I supplement. Swims all around the tank and will even ride around in the current.
Cool fish but needs more attention that most.
I had moved it from wife 38gl which was a high flow to to my 30gl because it did not like to come out do to flow.
Seemed like a totally different fish as soon as it hit my water.. Besides the pods I was able to get it to eat brine so I supplement. Swims all around the tank and will even ride around in the current.
Cool fish but needs more attention that most.
OP
OP
Velocity
Active Member
Live ? Or frozen Brine
Chris Adams
Valuable Member
frozen..
OP
OP
Velocity
Active Member
That's good stuff right there
I actually fed this morning after finding him in a corner, so I spot fed him frozen and waited to watch him eat - it looked like he ate but there was this one piece that I focused on and he kicked it, head butted it and walked right over it but never did eat it.
back in 2009 I had one that I kept for it seemed like for years - he grew and everything....I actually built him a eating place in a bottle that only he could get too and he ate like crazy but I figured since it's been so long that some of our reefers might have had better luck with other methods since.
Chris Adams
Valuable Member
ORA has them and they raise them with prepared foods so if you really want one that is the way to go in my opinion. However mine was supposed to be from ORA and still took some time to get it to eat the brine.
Sadly I believe ORA shut down their Mandarin breeding program. The cost of the ORA raised ones were much higher than the standard $20 wild caught ones. As a result, no one would buy them making them shut it down.
Rattooth
Active Member
I have had several over the years. They live 3 - 4 years. NEVER saw one eat food I put in tank. They live off the critters( isopods, copepods, etc.) on live rock/sand.
If you shine a flashlight on tank after lights are out you can see critters better.
If you shine a flashlight on tank after lights are out you can see critters better.
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Mandarins will prefer to eat Tisbe Copepods as this is their primary natural diet. As with all fish, each one is different and some can be successfully trained to eat frozen foods while others will never make the transition. It depends on your specific fish.
The key to mandarin keeping is to first buy the right one- look at their belly and it should be concave (buldging out), a convex (inward) belly is a sign of a hungry fish. Mandarins can go up to six months without a single meal before death due to starvation. The safest and most cost effective bet is to have an established population of Copepods of all ages that you can sustain with live phytoplankton (Copepod and coral food) dosing. This will ensure that your pods are always reproducing. As they enter their final life stage- the adult stage- they become easily visible and "on the menu" for your mandarin. It is important to note that before pods reach the adult stage they can reproduce which is great for you because now you have a whole new generation of pods that will grow and reproduce before ultimately feeding your mandarin and other pod-eaters in your reef. This method creates a continuously available food source for your fish and is much cheaper than buying more pods every week or so. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Thanks!
Lan
The key to mandarin keeping is to first buy the right one- look at their belly and it should be concave (buldging out), a convex (inward) belly is a sign of a hungry fish. Mandarins can go up to six months without a single meal before death due to starvation. The safest and most cost effective bet is to have an established population of Copepods of all ages that you can sustain with live phytoplankton (Copepod and coral food) dosing. This will ensure that your pods are always reproducing. As they enter their final life stage- the adult stage- they become easily visible and "on the menu" for your mandarin. It is important to note that before pods reach the adult stage they can reproduce which is great for you because now you have a whole new generation of pods that will grow and reproduce before ultimately feeding your mandarin and other pod-eaters in your reef. This method creates a continuously available food source for your fish and is much cheaper than buying more pods every week or so. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Thanks!
Lan
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steve&mari
Blessed Reefer
We had one for 3 years before I lost everything while in hospital fighting cancer. We got lucky he was fat n eating frozen and pellets mixed from the lfs we got him. They qt all fish for at least 2-4 weeks longer if showing signs of being I'll. They do pretty well at getting them on rods eggs, mysis n pellets mixed n placed in a spot outta flow in a shell. he was always all over our tank n bright colors a show off displaying as he swam. Once our new tanks ready we're getting another one.
Squishie89
Glub Glub
Copepods, specifically Tisbe.
What I do for my mandarin and pipefish (used to have 2 pipefish, will get another at some point) is to learn a basis for your pod population. I look at the glass, if there is tons of pods on the glass, there is plenty to eat (and also plenty more breeding), if I see the pods on the glass slack off I will add more pods and/or feed some pod foods like various phytoplanktons. It is best to keep a lot of rock with nooks and crannies for the pods to hang out in. Also if you can see your fish poop, that is a good sign they are getting food into them. Mandarins you can also keep an eye on their body mass, and especially if you can look at their underside; they will get a hollow looking stomach on their underside if they are under fed (pipefish are harder to monitor this way as they don't really get fat/skinny, they always look like piece of spaghetti).
My best practice is watch a mandarin. They are slow methodical hunters. The look before they eat, and that is the problem most have with them. I have had luck keeping them for decades now. Low flow, feed them pods, and watch their behavior. Training for a pellet or frozen diet isn't the best for them.
