Where have all the captive-bred Mandarins gone?

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Great work they are so cute. What are you feeding the fry at different stages?
 
My blue mandarin was my first mistake as a beginner. I didn't heed anyone else's advice and put him in my immature tank of 3 months thinking I had enough copepods to sustain him because I saw hundreds on my glass. I thought, maybe I'd get lucky and be one of those statistics that got one that would eat mysis. He decimated the pod population in less than a month and started getting skinny. I started to buy bottles of copepods but he got skinnier and skinnier. I bought a hang-on refuguim and placed sand, rocks, and caulerpa in there to breed copepods but that still couldn't sustain him. I spent hundreds on a $14 fish. When he passed, it was crushing. I tried my hardest and I failed but worst of all I felt like I slowly tortured another living thing to death and it was all because I wouldn't listen to the others that tried before me. And now I walk in to fish stores and see these beautiful, exquisite creatures being houses in tiny little tanks, most of which are just waiting for a long and painful death in another tank like mine. It really is sad, not just for mandarins but for any fish or coral that get bought or traded to someone that didn't do their research first to see if they are capable of sustaining it.

I do wish that we could have done more to support ORA's efforts and maybe today after a few generations of breeding would actually have captive mandarins that were ready to take prepared foods. These animals were not going to change over night, I believe it would have taken multiple generations to achieve that. It's just unfortunate the first few batches didn't deliver on promises. Beyond that, I do believe it's the LFS's responsibility to make sure the patron understands what they are getting into when they purchase certain animals that require strict care regimens. After that, it's all on the consumer.
 
for the broodstack , i' ve always use the same method: starting with a small feeding box, and start on frozen artemia and mysis, then start feeding in the same time by adding pellets ..
all my dragonnet are now eating discus pellets , and i 'm using frozen food only twice a week .
 
Derwins said:
for the broodstack , i' ve always use the same method: starting with a small feeding box, and start on frozen artemia and mysis, then start feeding in the same time by adding pellets ..
all my dragonnet are now eating discus pellets , and i 'm using frozen food only twice a week .
Click to expand...
Why discus? Protein content?
My mandarin did very well on NLS Small Fish.
 
Derwins, if you sell any I'll take one! :) I think it's a great undertaking and truly great for the hobby that people are still breeding these hard to raise and hard to keep fish. Hopefully it helps show it can be done effectively, maybe helping to bring back captive bred mandarin on a broader scale, and also spurring more people to try even more breeding of other fish. As this thread shows, there is a definite market for captive bred and the sustainable process only helps to strengthen the trade. Keep up the great work Derwins!
 
Rasengan said:
My blue mandarin was my first mistake as a beginner. I didn't heed anyone else's advice and put him in my immature tank of 3 months thinking I had enough copepods to sustain him because I saw hundreds on my glass. I thought, maybe I'd get lucky and be one of those statistics that got one that would eat mysis. He decimated the pod population in less than a month and started getting skinny. I started to buy bottles of copepods but he got skinnier and skinnier. I bought a hang-on refuguim and placed sand, rocks, and caulerpa in there to breed copepods but that still couldn't sustain him. I spent hundreds on a $14 fish. When he passed, it was crushing. I tried my hardest and I failed but worst of all I felt like I slowly tortured another living thing to death and it was all because I wouldn't listen to the others that tried before me. And now I walk in to fish stores and see these beautiful, exquisite creatures being houses in tiny little tanks, most of which are just waiting for a long and painful death in another tank like mine. It really is sad, not just for mandarins but for any fish or coral that get bought or traded to someone that didn't do their research first to see if they are capable of sustaining it.

I do wish that we could have done more to support ORA's efforts and maybe today after a few generations of breeding would actually have captive mandarins that were ready to take prepared foods. These animals were not going to change over night, I believe it would have taken multiple generations to achieve that. It's just unfortunate the first few batches didn't deliver on promises. Beyond that, I do believe it's the LFS's responsibility to make sure the patron understands what they are getting into when they purchase certain animals that require strict care regimens. After that, it's all on the consumer.
Click to expand...

A++++
 
Incredible progression shots. Love to hear more about spawning routine, how long eggs take until hatching etc. I highly commend you Sir
 
Rasengan said:
My blue mandarin was my first mistake as a beginner. I didn't heed anyone else's advice and put him in my immature tank of 3 months thinking I had enough copepods to sustain him because I saw hundreds on my glass. I thought, maybe I'd get lucky and be one of those statistics that got one that would eat mysis. He decimated the pod population in less than a month and started getting skinny. I started to buy bottles of copepods but he got skinnier and skinnier. I bought a hang-on refuguim and placed sand, rocks, and caulerpa in there to breed copepods but that still couldn't sustain him. I spent hundreds on a $14 fish. When he passed, it was crushing. I tried my hardest and I failed but worst of all I felt like I slowly tortured another living thing to death and it was all because I wouldn't listen to the others that tried before me. And now I walk in to fish stores and see these beautiful, exquisite creatures being houses in tiny little tanks, most of which are just waiting for a long and painful death in another tank like mine. It really is sad, not just for mandarins but for any fish or coral that get bought or traded to someone that didn't do their research first to see if they are capable of sustaining it.

I do wish that we could have done more to support ORA's efforts and maybe today after a few generations of breeding would actually have captive mandarins that were ready to take prepared foods. These animals were not going to change over night, I believe it would have taken multiple generations to achieve that. It's just unfortunate the first few batches didn't deliver on promises. Beyond that, I do believe it's the LFS's responsibility to make sure the patron understands what they are getting into when they purchase certain animals that require strict care regimens. After that, it's all on the consumer.
Click to expand...

$14 for a mandarin? Wow that's cheap! The cheapest I've seen them for is $49.
 
jasonp87 said:
That's not far off what they are here. Usually around the $20 range but I've seen cheaper.
Click to expand...

Daaang. I knew it was cheaper for a lot of live stock in the US but that's almost a third of the price for one here.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

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  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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