mandarins

[firehazard]

hey everyone/ just wondering on what's the smallest size tank has anyone kept a mandarin goby? that lived:duh: :lol_large

 

[jhale]

I have a fat happy one in a 120. they eat a lot of pods so people recommend

at least 75 pounds of live rock to support them.

 

[nsiegel5]

Just have a well established 1-2year old tank with big refugium for pods to multiply and lots of live rock, I cant really say size is a limit plus you can buy live food for them now at many shops

 

[firehazard]

jhale does your happy mandarin eat anything other than pods? and i know there is pods on the market but has anyone here really had experience with them? i know other people had done their experimenting but.. my train of thought is there has to be somethign different between bottled pods and fuge/ rubble pods? other than acclimating and all the stuff they say on the internet. basically any one had pod population wipe out in their tank to go buy pods? and if so any difference?

 

[tosiek]

I had a scooter which is just a bit less of a voratious eater as a mandarin in my 24g. Lasted about 5 months before it stopped eating and went to fish heaven. I had him on cyclo and mysis also. They will eat for a while then one day give up and lay motionless like sleeping for a few days then go. Do a search on Mr a few people had this in smaller tanks. Nano reef forums also. Its a flip of the coin when you get one and how long it lasts. Like playing russian roulette and every day pull the trigger.

 

[tosiek]

pods currently sold are the tigger pods and the smaller pods. They eat them but not the same as the larger ones as far as nourishment. Plus its like 20$ or more for a bottle and if you don;t have a fuge that bottle will go in a week or two on the mandarin once he forages all day on the rocks.

 

[jhale]

mine will eat small pellets and sushi eggs, but that does not mean others will.
having a huge pod population is a must for having a mandarin.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

My personal opinion, if you don't already have one don't get one, their survivability rating in captivity is a 2 out of 5 in most books I read and most sites I go to. If you don't buy them LFS's may stop selling them and leave them in the wild where they have a better chance of living.

 

[daisy]

You know, it's funny. there is one fish that got me into this hobby to begin with - and it's the mandarin. I ALWAYS wanted one. It was the first fish I ever killed, I think.... After I killed it (starved, of course), I bought and read everything I could... (should have read first, but it was maybe 7 years ago...)

At any rate, I now have more LR in my tank than anything else (ask anyone who's seen it - I have a glass box of rocks...) my rocks are covered with purple, pink and red coralline, tons of dusters and so many pods that when i put my hand into the tank and touch a rock, they start crawling all over me.

...and still i am nervous to introduce a mandarin. I want one BADLY and may get one yet, and on the other hand, I agree with Brendan completely.

This hobby is sometimes just too hard b/c it's not just about skill and luck, but also about morality...

my 2 cents...

 

[ReeferGoneMad]

I have on small adult in a 29 gallon. By no means do I recomend this. Its been with me for 6 months or more I think. Still doin good. Eats pods only. there are some that eat frozen and live happy lives in captivity. On a side note they also spawn in established tanks when kept in pairs so I think eliminating them from the hobby would be hard.as there is always that person that breeds all sorts of animals for the dough.
Its just the responsibility of the person thats going to keep this fish that it could be very demanding and to know its care before the purchase.

 

[masterswimmer]

Offering a tank size recommendation is very subjective. I know of many reefers that run a system with a fuge that's a larger volume than their display. Jhale recommended at least 75 lbs of LR to support a pod population sufficient to feed a mandarin. This is a very good way to determine pod sustainability.

We've all seen beautiful 180g fish only systems. Well there's a good example of a tank large enough to keep a mandarin, but so 'sterile' without LR that there would be a miniscule pod population in that tank with just one mandarin that it would most likely perish.....in a short time too.

Now conversely, put that same mandarin in a 55g reef with a 20g fuge with a total of 75-90 lbs of LR (left to mature for a year before adding a mandarin) and there should be enough of a pod pop to support a mandarin.

BTW, I have had my mandarin in my 75 for three years now.

swimmer

 

[Milkbone]

I had a mandarin that was killed 6 months ago due to a pump:sad2:. Lived for over a year & a half. Have tons of LR in my system (have no idea of pounds, but enough to fill a 75 gallon w/ no room for anything else). Never saw him eat anything I put into the tank, but was constantly picking @ rocks & glass. He was in a very established tank which is covered in pods. Grew significantly over that period of time. I have a friend who has a dragnet that excepts food, but I wouldn?t bank on keeping him alive through you feeding him. Also make sure that your pumps are covered & you don?t have any fish/ gobies that will bully him. Beautiful fish that was always out in the open.

 

[e.muehlbauer]

Mandarins are a curious situation...they are either the easiest fish to keep or the most difficult. (Like my other big hobby...orchids...pink lady slippers are the most difficult plants to keep in your garden...unless you have the exact conditions they like, in which they are incredibly easy...). I have had mandarins last for years in my 55 gal tank...no idea how much LR I have. Some die within 24 hours...I had one that must have been retarded...instead of diving into the rocks to hide like a normal mandarin, it went right into the open. When the other fish kicked the crap out of it, its stayed out in the open...it won a Darwin award, to say the least.....But most normally behaved mandarins do fine in my tank...IF they are healthy to begin with. Before buying one (and I am assuming that you have the right conditions) ask the LFS how long they have had it...if more than 2 weeks, pass on it. Then check the back and "shoulders"...if they are even remotely concave, anything less than convex,, pass on it....belly should be full, but unless its a hollow cavity I wouldn't worry that much. Tank size? Well, 55 gal has been fine for me. My other reef is a 30...no success yet, but I've only tried once with w weak spotted mandarin. To be conservative, I'd agree with the general belief that 55 gal, loaded with LR, is the minimum. Take care, Eric