New Mandarin...
- Thread starter bbrklynn
- Start date
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Again I ask you....please return the Mandarin. Not just for the fish's benefit but for yours as well. Watching it slowly succumb to disease brought on by malnutrition is heart renching! I speak from experience sadly 
You also have a Fire Fish which will compete with the Mandarin for Copepods but the Mandarin being a slow moving continual eater CANNOT compete with the Fire Fish. Another reason why your tank is to small.
I'll say no more. Will be hoping for the best for another Mandarin that's being kept in less then favorable conditions.
You also have a Fire Fish which will compete with the Mandarin for Copepods but the Mandarin being a slow moving continual eater CANNOT compete with the Fire Fish. Another reason why your tank is to small. I'll say no more. Will be hoping for the best for another Mandarin that's being kept in less then favorable conditions.
EDM
Community Member
yes , she is a fine specimen , they actually can get bigger than you'd expect my male is as long as my fingers and as thick as my thumb
hes happy and eats a lot.
they explore and constantly are on the move for food (kinda like sharks in a way)
in my mind i classify them as works of art, each unique but beautiful
hes happy and eats a lot.
they explore and constantly are on the move for food (kinda like sharks in a way)
in my mind i classify them as works of art, each unique but beautiful
eatbreakfast
Fish Nerd
A couple of things I have noticed:
The substrate of crushed aragonite, while not great for some fish, actually helps with a mandarin. It acts as a sort of "pod pile", rubble that pods can go in and reproduce without being eaten, so even though your tank is on the young/small side the pod population should be greater than normal for that volume.
The suggestion of nutramar ova is a good one, but not all LFS carry it. A good substitute I have found is tobiko, or flying fish roe, sold at asian food stores. Mandarins seem to eat this pretty regularly.
As far as the comment on a firefish being competition for pods, any fish will consume pods in the water column, but many fish just are not biologically able to pick pods off of rocks and substrate. The firefish is one such fish, so is really not much competition to a mandarin in this regard.
I have also seen mandarins do well in smaller tanks with a little hair algae, as this serves as a congregating point for pods too.
The substrate of crushed aragonite, while not great for some fish, actually helps with a mandarin. It acts as a sort of "pod pile", rubble that pods can go in and reproduce without being eaten, so even though your tank is on the young/small side the pod population should be greater than normal for that volume.
The suggestion of nutramar ova is a good one, but not all LFS carry it. A good substitute I have found is tobiko, or flying fish roe, sold at asian food stores. Mandarins seem to eat this pretty regularly.
As far as the comment on a firefish being competition for pods, any fish will consume pods in the water column, but many fish just are not biologically able to pick pods off of rocks and substrate. The firefish is one such fish, so is really not much competition to a mandarin in this regard.
I have also seen mandarins do well in smaller tanks with a little hair algae, as this serves as a congregating point for pods too.
Eienna
5000 Club Member
Best of luck.
One or two 8oz bottles of pods a month (sometimes 3) kept my mandarin in good shape while I had him in my 20g, though I did not have a firefish competing with him. Once he started eating the New Life Spectrum reliably I didn't buy pods as much and he did fine. He sadly passed away in a tank crash, but it had nothing to do with him being unwell...that crash killed all my other fish, too, and he was nice and fat.
One or two 8oz bottles of pods a month (sometimes 3) kept my mandarin in good shape while I had him in my 20g, though I did not have a firefish competing with him. Once he started eating the New Life Spectrum reliably I didn't buy pods as much and he did fine. He sadly passed away in a tank crash, but it had nothing to do with him being unwell...that crash killed all my other fish, too, and he was nice and fat.
bbrklynn
Community Member
I have spent the entire day talking with people about my mandarin, including calling the woman who owned the tank before I did.
The reason she sold me the tank is because she simply wanted a bigger tank so that she could buy more fish/corals, and because she wanted to construct a new reef...
she had seahorses and mandarin fish in this same tank for 4 years.
Today, I purchased two bottles of "nutriamar tigrio live captive bred copepods"
I added a bottle to my tank and will add the other in a few days.
Also, I ordered 1,000 of them online and expect them to be here in about a week.
She explained to me and showed me what these 'bugs' look like and they have been in my tank since it was moved into my home.
Luckily.
I will continue to stock my tank with adequate food for this fish.
I have the means to keep her fed even if I have to buy the bottles of pods for her weekly.
I love this fish and she will not starve or suffer under my watch...
bbrklynn
Community Member
Definitely worth it.
I would not take her back to that store, because clearly the people working there have no idea what they are talking about when selling fish to customers,
I know I will take better care of her
bbrklynn
Community Member
Also,
I'm not entirely sure,
but does anybody thing I'm getting too much coraline algae on my rock?
Almost all of my live rock is this purple.
I've just never personally seen a tank this 'purple' before so I want to be sure...
EDM
Community Member
your fine just need to be more careful about future purchases
and no i dont have an app per say. its called, pulling up the browser and type in the fish name (lol) and if i spot liveaquatica.com i reference them for (on the go) purchases . i also do lots of research before buying a critter for my tank. most of my critters have a job to do and do it well . i recommend that style of thinking before buying
fish shop thoughts
-what does it eat
-aggression level
-special needs
-special traits(poison, fangs ect, im not joking: fang blenny is one such example)
-care level
-feeding level (how much it needs)
-habits
-color
-required habitat (cave
and no i dont have an app per say. its called, pulling up the browser and type in the fish name (lol) and if i spot liveaquatica.com i reference them for (on the go) purchases . i also do lots of research before buying a critter for my tank. most of my critters have a job to do and do it well . i recommend that style of thinking before buying
fish shop thoughts
-what does it eat
-aggression level
-special needs
-special traits(poison, fangs ect, im not joking: fang blenny is one such example)
-care level
-feeding level (how much it needs)
-habits
-color
-required habitat (cave
bbrklynn
Community Member
Thanks guys-
A few of you scared me a little, but after spending my day talking to the previous tank owner and finding out what I have- purchasing her the pods,
I am confident that she is going to live a long healthy life.
Also- in having somebody come over and check out my tank- I discovered there is a brittle star living in one if my rocks-
Looking very close I can see 4 of his tiny little legs sticking out (feeling for food I'm guessing)
I have seen them before, but didn't know what they were.
Hoping to catch a glimps of him if he comes out- going to try a little night time feeding...
)
A few of you scared me a little, but after spending my day talking to the previous tank owner and finding out what I have- purchasing her the pods,
I am confident that she is going to live a long healthy life.
Also- in having somebody come over and check out my tank- I discovered there is a brittle star living in one if my rocks-
Looking very close I can see 4 of his tiny little legs sticking out (feeling for food I'm guessing)
I have seen them before, but didn't know what they were.
Hoping to catch a glimps of him if he comes out- going to try a little night time feeding...
)bbrklynn
Community Member
Absolutely-
This was a huge scare for me...
And I would never intentionally put an animals life in danger just because I wanted it in my tank because it's "pretty"
Just to be clear.
I will be doing days of research before purchasing anything else to out in my reef-
EDM
Community Member
uhhh
that could be problematic if it becomes large
bristle stars eat feeces and when larger can prey on fish (also attack other stars)
i have a large black bristle star named thorn (reminds me of a octopus when he reaches mid tank for food, and yes just with arms)
i had attempted a female dragonet about 3 years ago and thorn .. ate her (either killed her or just ate the body)
so just warning
that could be problematic if it becomes large
bristle stars eat feeces and when larger can prey on fish (also attack other stars)
i have a large black bristle star named thorn (reminds me of a octopus when he reaches mid tank for food, and yes just with arms)
i had attempted a female dragonet about 3 years ago and thorn .. ate her (either killed her or just ate the body)
so just warning
bbrklynn
Community Member
Good to know...
Right now it's tiny-
I have seen larger stars and how the move fascinates me.
But if it's something that will threaten my fish- I have somebody witch a much larger feed who would live to take him in.
It would be impossible to get him out of there now- I have not even seen his body- but the very ends of his legs peeking out of my rock-
But thank you- I will definitely be keeping an eye out for him to get bigger
eatbreakfast
Fish Nerd
Most brittle stars are fish safe. it is really just the green brittle star that is a fish hunter, the scientific name escapes me, but its body and arms are uniformly green, with yellowish/tan bristles. They get pretty big too.
All brittle stars are scavengers, not just scatavores, so when they come across a dead or dying fish will take advantage of the free meal, but again it is just the green brittle star that actively hunts fish.
All brittle stars are scavengers, not just scatavores, so when they come across a dead or dying fish will take advantage of the free meal, but again it is just the green brittle star that actively hunts fish.
EDM
Community Member
np , and i agree they move strange...
mine tends to hide under rocks or, stuck to side of glass, they dont like much light and are light sensitive. it shouldnt pose a problem,
quick refrence i had for mine
Black Brittle Starfish, Brittle Sea Star - Ophiocoma spp.
mine tends to hide under rocks or, stuck to side of glass, they dont like much light and are light sensitive. it shouldnt pose a problem,
quick refrence i had for mine
Black Brittle Starfish, Brittle Sea Star - Ophiocoma spp.
Naiad
Valuable Member
Yes many brittle stars you see in the rock work don't get more than an inch or two max. They are refered to as mini brittle stars. I happen to have several large species in with my mandarin no problem. One in particular is all legs I swear. He occasionally feels the fish but never grabs live things. Of course if I see him getting too feely I give him food. Better safe than sorry. A starving animal is unpredictable.
