My Mandrin Eats Mysis

[Krazy]

Tonight I fed mysis heavier then usual, I killed the return pump, and there's a low flow spot in the rear corner, I noticed the mandrin hanging out over there so I watched for a few, I thought I seen it suck a mysis up so I kept watching, sure enough, I counted 15 mysis that fat boy ate

Talk about happy, Now I can not worry so much about that fish getting enough to eat

YAY !!!

Here's a pic of it

[Myka]

Awesome!!!

[plateboy3293]

Is he a green mandrin?

[Myka]

LOL no, he is brown.

[Zoos]

Originally posted by plateboy3293
Is he a green mandrin?

No, he's a spotted mandarin or psychedelic mandarin. (Synchiropus picturatus)

Nice fish.

[aharrow]

Lucky you!

My wifes favorite fish is the mandarin and I have lost two of them because they won't eat. I think it has been bad luck for me because my reef has been set up for four years and there are plenty of pods in the rocks. I used to check with a flashlight at night and they were everywhere. I am scared to try again.

Did yours just try mysis one day or did you start with some live feeder shrimp? I am thinking of trying again because it is one purchase for the tank that my wife would absolutely sign off on.

[RedSoxReefer]

my mandrin ate mysis, i discovered that he ate them pretty much the same way...he hung out in a dead spot with no current and ate the mysis that accumulated there. I ended up shutting the powerheads off before i fed the tank so that some settled for him.

[Bathel]

I've always had good luck with blood worms for mandarin.

[Krazy]

Originally posted by Zoos
No, he's a spotted mandarin or psychedelic mandarin. (Synchiropus picturatus)

Nice fish.

Correct.

Yellow Target Spotted Mandrin aka (Synchiropus picturatus)

I've only had this beauty for maybe 2 months now, I never tried to feed it any prepped foods, I noticed it hunting all day and it seemed happy just doing that, I added some tigger pods just for the heck of it and piece of mind. But now with the mysis I dont think I'll have to do that anymore.

My buddy's green mandrin eats bloodworms, I was gonna try them down the road but since it enjoys the mysis, I wont bother it with other stuff

I think what you wanna look for is a very fat mandrin when your out with the intent to buy one, Most LFS dont carry many so its tough, I was paient for months and Finally came across the "one" I wasnt even gonna buy it but my buddy haggled me because it looked so healthy. I'm glad my bud dan bugged me to get it cuz it sure proved to be a beauty and healthy at that

[Btboy2004]

Congrats! Never saw my mandarin eat mysis, but he eat formula one pellets rolling slowly on the sand. It has to be moving, otherwise he'll just ignore it.

[scunan]

Mine eats mysis too and has been for like 2 years now.

[jen bee]

lucky dog, ive also tried twice , best i can figure is my six line wrasse is eating all the pods b4 the mandarin can get them, im also afraid to try again

[BurN]

That is an awesome looking fish!

[illal]

wow realy nice fish....congrats on the prepared food...i just discorverd mine eats mysis like 2 weeks ago

[aharrow]

The blood worms that have worked for some of you, are they the frozen variety? Thanks I am thinking of trying again as I don't have a six line anymore that probably ate all the available pods.

[funkyman]

I bought my first mandarin this past Friday. He was big and fat. I asked to see him eat, which he did......bloodworms. I bought the frozen kind, and he likes them just fine.

I haven't had any mysis in the tank since he's been home, but may see how he responds to them tonight now that I've read this.

[650-IS350]

Mine eats cyclopeeze granuals and any sinking pellets that I drop in there when the pumps are off.

He's starting to gain weight now... doubt he ate at the LFS.

[gary faulkner]

I placed my first Mandy in QT two days ago.
Put in some frozen tiny mysis today and saw him eat one.
Will try the frozen bloodworms now that I read this.

Thanks

[650-IS350]

Try Cyclopeeze granuals and sinking pellets... make sure pumps is off though.. since they are SLOW feeders

[Krazy]

I heard the bloodworms have no nutriton in them so you'll need to soak them in selcon or zoe .

That's cool that these guys will accept prepared foods, makes it so much easier to just enjoy them and not have to worry

[650-IS350]

Yeah, no for me on the bloodworms.. as they are FW type stuff and would never feed FW to SW animals..

[J4Life]

Saw this thread and I thought that I would share my experiences with the Mandarins.

I have had both the Green Mandarin and the Spotted Mandarin and I think a lot of what they will and will not eat is relevant to their size.

A large Green Mandarin will almost always eat blood worms. I prefer the frozen Hikari brand. IMO that is the only frozen food that I would feed. Once they start eating blood worms, they usually start eating mysis, brine shrimp, and other frozen foods. As for blood worms not having nutritional value that is a first for me. I know that brine shrimp doesn't have any at all so maybe that is what you meant. I have actually stopped feeding brine but Hikari does sell brine shrimp with spinulara now which would give it more nutritional value.

As for the Spotted Mandarin they are a little more picky and it is hit or miss as to whether they will eat frozen food. I feed frozen cyclop-eeze, and daphnia along with my other frozen foods to help aid in providing an opportunity for my newly acquired spotted mandarin to eat. But like the Green Mandarin I believe once they start eating frozen food they will slowly begin to eat others. It just takes some time. Mysis and blood worms will usually entice a mandarin to eat but some will just spit them out.

Regardless it is always good to make sure you have a pod population before adding one otherwise chances are they will starve to death. I am speaking from experience. Also on the notion of sixline wrasses and mandarins being in the same tank. I have both in my 75 gallon tank and my sixline is more interested in bristle worms than pods. Although both have been known to eat some of the same foods it doesn't always mean that they're targeting the same source and competing with one another. They key is to observe your fish so that you can accommodate them as much as possible.

HTH's and wish you all the best of luck with your Mandarins. It is really rewarding to see them with fat bellies and growing.

Bill

[gary faulkner]

J4Life

This is what kind of puzzles me, I talked the LFS owner into a discount on this particular Mandarin because we both agreed that it is not a fat one and that is what I went into the store asking for.

I have seen it eating mysis now for the past two days but he definitely is not fat. Could it be that he is just very young?

Appreciate your thoughts.

[J4Life]

Originally posted by gary faulkner
J4Life

This is what kind of puzzles me, I talked the LFS owner into a discount on this particular Mandarin because we both agreed that it is not a fat one and that is what I went into the store asking for.

I have seen it eating mysis now for the past two days but he definitely is not fat. Could it be that he is just very young?

Appreciate your thoughts.

Possibly. What kind is it? Green or the Spotted Mandarin? Also if he/she is eating and looks healthy I would just be patient. He/she will begin to bulk up. Mandarins eat all day long or at least spend all day long looking for food. They can really put a dent in a pod population. Another thing to make certain is that he/she doesn't look retracted where the pelvic fins are. In other words sunken inwards. Also if you see a bulge underneath that is a good sign that he/she is eating well.

HTH's,
Bill