Mandarin questions
 

1. Is there any type of mandarin that is easier than another kind to keep?

2. I understand Mandarins are slow. I have two Coral Banded Shrimp in a 120 that chase all my fish around but don't catch them. How safe will a Mandarin be?

Answer to #1; I don't think one is any better than the other. I have had a Psychedelic (Purple) one for close to a year. He lives in my 33G semi cube. He has doubled in size in that period of time. Just don't try and keep them with Sixline wrasses, as you may be asking for trouble.
Answer to #2; You should not have a problem. It would be a particularly stupid fish to allow itself to be caught by a shrimp. Mine is in with a Stenopus zanzibaricus, and has never been caught. :biggrin:

Thanks.

i bought a psychedelic fish a couple of weeks ago and is now my favorite fish.

it swims, stops, looks around :rolleyes: . swims, stops, looks around, nibbles on something, looks around :rolleyes: . swims some more...

very active and really stunning to look at.

makes me laugh :lol:

The green mandarin Synchiropus splendidus has in my experience been a greedy little eating machine and more likely to take frozen food.

I have seen a coral banded trying to attack fish in the water column....and seeing my mandarins sound asleep in the middle of the sand... well, I would never put them together.

On the topic of Mandrins, I would no recomend on in a tank less than 50 gal with 80 or more lbs of rock that has been well established. Bob's from what I remember eats food he feeds it but that is far and few between.

Steve

reply
 

I've had my manderine for close to 8 months now in a 54 gallon tank. I also have a banded coral shrimp. The shrimp is territorial and will usually only nip at fish that come into its cave. They should be alright together because the manderine will learn what the tolerance of the shrimp are.

That of course is true, but how do you know if the fish is going to eat without actually bringing it home :question: . In the case of Mandarins it is usually a long time before they actually take food one provides.
And as far as sleeping on the sand and being eaten :eek: . I would think that the fish would feel that it is being eaten, and move off. :exclaim:

I have a 120g with 100 pounds of live rock and a small in-sump refugium. I figure a Mandarin will probably be OK for food.

i have 60gal with a small in-sump refugium, about 100lbs of live rock and my psychedelic fish (Synchiropus picturatus) is definantly getting fatter and is very active and healthy.

i do notice that as soon as the lights go out it will be perched in some nook in the rock fast asleep.

he's a cute little bugger. :mrgreen:

I have a Psychedelic Mandarin that has been in my 60g with about 80 lbs of live rock for about a month now. He is a mysis shrimp pig and is happily getting quite fat.

I got mine from Oceans where they had a few of them. I had them feed the tank some mysis to see which, if any, were eating prepared foods and a couple of them took it right away (one of which is in my tank now).

To play it safe I would ask the LFS you plan to purchase from to do the same. that way if your pod population is not sufficient or dwindles at least the fish will be supplementing its dietary needs with the prepared food.

Good luck, they are a great fish :cool:

Well, here's a stupid confession.

I bought a green spot mandarin last week from Wai's... I asked him to feed the tank , he fed them, the mandarin ate (like a little piggy too!) I was so happy to see them eating prepared foods... so I bought one... figuring my pod population was of no concern if it was eating prepared foods. BIG mistake.... I get it home, in the tank.. and within minutes it begins cruisin' around the tank hunting for pods... picking everywhere.... I figured it was just instinct obviously and thought nothing of it. Well.... if it's instinct is to hunt, then it's instinct is to eat pods (duh) ... and if it's in a display tank... of course it will take prepared foods if it has nothing else to eat!! Now my Mandarin is picking constantly.... sometimes it appears tojust be eating algae though. I have tried feeding it (hikari) mysis, and brine (so far) with little luck. My tank is 20g... don't freak on me ! I fed him some frozen brine yesterday and it appeared to snag a few pieces ... so knock on wood. If anyone has some kind of suggestions to give the tank a good boost of pods for the time being, I'm all ears.

My plan is to soak food in garlic extract ... and if this doesn't work... I will try ordering pods online, OR hatching brine shrimp... I was told the pod population in my 20g would be wiped out in 2 months tops.

I'm in need of help as you can see :D But the Mandarin IS fat... and it's very healthy...and I definitely would like to keep this fish if possible using the options I have available. If all else fails... I'll have to say Good-Bye :sad:

There is an exelent article in this years marine fish and reef keeping annual.

Ummmm may i ask why???? I have a 6line wrasse and a Mandrian :cry: :cry:

Also Get a nice big Fuge and load it with Live rock,sand and macro. You will have pods in no time in that puppy.

because it is rare that the 6 line will not kill the mandrin.

Steve

O i have both in my tank :eek: :eek:

Steve is right. My Mandarin and sixline got along great, until one day the Sixline started attacking the Mandarin, and tore it up badly. :evil:

I thought the problem was the Sixline would consume the Mandarin's food supply.

At first - then the harassment starts, then the attacks. The 6-line will tend to seek to eliminate its competition eventually.

...they are wicked little beggars - recently had one rip on a well-established Yellow Tail damsel, but it didn't kill it - I guess because they don't compete for the same food source.

in my past experience i had not had any problems keeping those 2 fish together...

in fact i just purchased a little sixline and a mandarin... my only fear is that when i add them to my 180 my leopard wrasse may harass the 6 line.

it would be my belief that in a large enough established enviroment (my 180) there would be ample room and food source to prevent/curb any over aggression.

FWIW, i had previously kept them together in my 125 a few years back.

HTH.

I had a friend back in school who had a mean FW fish, I forget what kind it was, some kind of cichlid or gourami probably. When it would get mean and beat up the other fish he would punish it by giving it a good whack with a stick, or netting it and throwing it out on the front lawn.

has your friend thought about seeking professional help? :lol:

haha. Good advice. :lol:

I have a friend who had a Sixline and a Mandarin in a six foot long tank. He had no problems either. So perhaps in a shorter tank where they see each other all the time problems develop. :confused:

Hey, well the mandarin is still great... what size fuge would be sufficient for a 20g tank? What do you recommend putting in it?

I am no expert, but I don't think that a fuge will keep the pod population up for this little guy... unless he'll eat some frozen soon. I hope..if not... anyone want to buy a mandarin?

Lol.

No I have not seen him in over 10 years.

I have picked up sleeping mandarins in my hand thinking they were dead. :eek: They do go rather comatose when they sleep, so no wonder they are protected by a venomous coating.

Six feet of water may or may not be enough, if a fish needs to escape another - esp if their 'territory' is only a part of that 6 feet. May explain why I found my little Mandarin on the carpet one morning. :neutral:

And that was before the 6-line came into this tank.

you mean I flushed my female and she might have just been sleeping :eek: :rolleyes:

Steve

I would put a 10gal fuge in for your 20gal tank. but thats me. Just use a rubber maid container for a fuge easy to drill if needed.

I have a 75gal tank and i see my mandrian out and my sixline out they swim with each other. Never seen a problem but then again all my fish swim with each other just like they are all hand fed.

I have an update for those of you who care...

My mandarin just ate some more frozen brine! I just turned off the pumps, basted a cloud of brine in front of his face, and he ate! Tomorrow I will try Mysis.

I don't think a fuge will be necessary if it continues to eat the frozen brine.

Switch him over to mysis as soon as possible. Brine has the nutrition of a candy bar :smile:

haha yeah I know that. I figure if it will eat frozen brine... I can just try the mysis and pray for the best haha

Oh I forgot to ask.. which brand of mysis is the best to use? Right now I am using hikari ? or hykari.. and Wai (where i got it from) said that its really bad stuff. Can you recommend a better brand?

PE Mysis is really good but it's probably too big for your Mandarin. Try mix both brine & mysis together to get it to sample the frzen foods. My seahorses eat both PE & Hikari, with equal zest, but big size difference.

Glad to hear your Mandarin is already scarfing down some frzen foods.

Anthony

The PE myis comes in two sizes and once yours eats, you will be surprised at how big that mouth really is..... :lol:

haha awesome! Where can I get PE Mysis? I am in Calgary too! Thanks for the info as well... it's good to know.

LOL - OCDP - you need to check your PM's! :razz: I sent you a huge note about mysis and mandarin feedings. Check yer PM's once in a while! :lol:

Anyhow, unfortunately you just missed out on a large group order of it a couple months ago, but you should be able to get it at any Calgary retailer. Just ask, worst case scenario they're out. If you can't find any, send me a note, I can sell you some of mine (I bought 20 bags, so I have plenty ... and they're all the small size, for my mandarin).

Nothing wrong with Haikari at all. In my opinion it is better for them than the PE but that is just my opinion.

Steve

That's also what I was told from people on Reef Central. But then I talked to the owner of the LFS I got the Mandarin from... he said he doesn't feed any of his fish Hykari.. I think he actually said "it's crap" haha... but hey.. I dont know much about nutritonal value in frozen fish foods... yet.

I'll try the hykari once again tonight... but this little guy seems to be eating both (hykari) frozen brine and mysis. He definitely enjoyed the brine more though.