Time for a mandarin

[Po Sei Don]

Hey RC,

I have had my system up and running for about 4 months now and I constantly see little pods scurrying around at night when I turn the lights on. I only have a 24 gal nano with two clowns the starry blenny jumped . I would like to round out my tank with one of my favorite fish, a mandarin.

I have read a fair amount about them and I know that the pods in my tank probably won't suffice for long. Do you think I should try to grown some more pods or try to supplement its diet?

I have seen the few at my LFS eat different types of foods (flakes, brine, I think even mysis) am I ready to take on the challenge? Any tips for caring for a happy mandarin?

[Daniel Reef]

I'm no expert on mandarins, but I understand from reading other threads that you need to have an abundance of pods and that the suggestion is a tank that is at least one year old. I would wait. I hope others chime in as well.

[Daniel Reef]

BTW, you should post this question in the Reef Fish Forum so that mandarin experts can respond.

[crankbait]

I cant believe Im actually going to give advice on this....Im a noob and dont have a dragonet but he is on my list so Ive done some reading. Ok here is what I know...SOMETIMES its not so much that Mandarines wont eat prepared foods its that they require more time to eat than the other fish allow them to. I saw some really cool videos on Youtube where people train Mandirines to eat......One way was to put some brine in a glass mason jar then sorta corner the manderin in his spot with the mouth of the jar open to him. He can go in and eat at his leasiur and the other fish cant get to his food.....but sometimes I guess all they will eat is pods. When I get one I will buy pods online and try to keep them up in the fuge. I dont have a huge stocking list so I really want the Manderin to be my focus

[horwitzs]

I'm not sure that 29 gallons worth of live rock will support a pod population that will feed it long term.
If you have a fuge with a bunch more rock plumbed in to generate pods then you'd probably be ok.
You can chance it and see if he'll learn to take other foods, but I'd say you are borderline.

[alton]

If they are eating prepared foods at the LFS you are good to go, because the list of fish you have will not compete for food with the mandarin which is the trick. Mine in my 40g which I had in my 29g first does great because he is with two Jawfish, and Jawfish do not graze, so he is the only grazer to bob around the rocks and substrate picking up the food that is just laying there. Mine seems to like the frozen cubed PE Mysis which is smaller than the flat packs.

[falconut]

From my personal experience, I had one that ate frozen brine right out of a turkey baster. He was in my 44 gal. and I fed him frozen brine every night. He only lived a few months, it apparently wasn't enough food. From what I've read, they constantly are looking for food. So if there isn't enough pods, which there probably won't be in a 29 gal., he'll have to rely on just your feedings. I'm not sure you'll be able to feed him small portions enough times a day to compete with his high metabolism. These are just my thoughts, doesn't mean it can't be done.

[lilalove]

There is a great thread on culturing pods on here somewhere. Do a search for it. The process is also described on Reed Mariculture's website. On a side note, I'd watch the clowns. I got a mandy a while back, and my clowns harrassed it to no end. I ended up returning the poor little guy.

[Po Sei Don]

Wow thanks for the advice. I will do some more research and get ready maybe wait a few more months.

[Supernova26]

Unless you have a constant supply of pods the mandarin will not survive in your tank. Here is what I did. I went to the local fish store and got a mandarin that was eating live brine shrimp. Kept him in a 6"x10" container in my main tank. I soaked live brine with froze enriched brine in selcon overnight and fed them to him the next day. It eventually started eating froze brine. I followed the same routine but this time mixing up some frozen mysids and some fish mush. He eventually got used to the frozen mysids. I let him loose on the tank and he is still healthy. This was a lot of work and it took about 6-8 weeks but worth it.

[SirReefer]

I just bought one myself on saturday really cool looking fish in person and in the tank. like you I had alot of pods in my tank afyer four.months, ive read that it happens alot after a cycled tank. Ive tried feeding mine mysis shrimp with a baster but doesnt seem to eat it. Ive had my tank up for 8-9 months now so the good thing is that I do see him grazing constantly. Thankfully I purchase live rock so it help cycle faster which I think ultimately helped my tang and mandarin they both choose not to eat but graze. What I do is add rotifers and phyto, all live from a guy who culters them from his house so ive mixed them and dumped it in about everday since it is all live. So far so good but I might try live brine to get him to eat shrimp as well.

[Khemul]

The whole "established tank with lots of pods" thing is really not the full story with them. You do need an established tank with lots of pods, but you also need a lot of space for the population to reproduce and seek refuge. It doesn't matter if you have 1000s of pods, if the Mandarin wipes them all out in a couple days.

The other thing about Mandarins is that getting them on prepared food is only a supplement. It will help if you can't quite support 100% of their pod-dietary needs, but their metabolism just doesn't work well with a prepared-only diet. They have small stomachs and a fast metabolism. They are designed to constantly eat small amounts. Feeding once a day on prepared foods won't cut it. The people who think they have their Mandarins on a prepared-only diet either don't realize they have enough pods to complete the diet or feed many times per day.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Khemul

The whole "established tank with lots of pods" thing is really not the full story with them. You do need an established tank with lots of pods, but you also need a lot of space for the population to reproduce and seek refuge. It doesn't matter if you have 1000s of pods, if the Mandarin wipes them all out in a couple days.

The other thing about Mandarins is that getting them on prepared food is only a supplement. It will help if you can't quite support 100% of their pod-dietary needs, but their metabolism just doesn't work well with a prepared-only diet. They have small stomachs and a fast metabolism. They are designed to constantly eat small amounts. Feeding once a day on prepared foods won't cut it. The people who think they have their Mandarins on a prepared-only diet either don't realize they have enough pods to complete the diet or feed many times per day.

Excellent advice. Several things: a small tank with an established pair of sexually mature clownfish contraindicates a mandarin, and a mandarin that is fed once or twice a day with food it will eat, will not survive unless there are adequate copepods. As mentioned their matabolism requires constant grazing. Finally, for this fish, one year is considered success.

[aandfsoccr04]

another read:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2072752

[JamesH831]

IMO, I feel that getting a mandarin to eat prepared foods is important for long term success. My mandarin eats pods all day, but also eats the frozen, vitamin/ fat soaked foods I offer.
Pod populations can wax and wane and I don't feel confident enough to rely on my tank to provide the nutrition the mandarin would need. Over time, pod diversity diminishes in a closed system, and usually one or two species are left in high numbers. I don't feel (again, just opinion) that a specialized eater can get all of it's nutrition by eating only one type of food.
I think getting a specialized eater to take prepared foods will allow the hobbyist to help balance the diet (with different foods that have different nutritional values) and provide better chances at long term success.

Now for the disclaimer :
I am not an expert by any means. My experience is limited and none of my opinions have been scientifically proven by me. My opinion is only that and it should not be taken as fact unless otherwise proven by a reliable scientific body.

[R_Hudson]

I would say that theres no way you can keep one long term in that size tank. by long term i am referring to a success story of 1 year or greater. Unless the fish is eating frozen (actually eating, not just picking) you cannot sustain a great enough pod population in that size tank.

[nrbelk]

I can also chime in and mention that I wasn't able to keep a scooter blenny alive in my 28g JBJ.

He would eat frozen brine/mysis but not flakes or pellets. He would chase them but I don't think he would ever get his fill before they were all eaten by other fish. He lasted about 5 months (came from my downgrade of a 120g) but disappeared while I was gone on my honeymoon.

I am guessing that he slowly starved..... as there wasn't enough pod reproduction to keep his appetite sated.

[vikubz]

Some times we just have to exercise a little discipline and leave a fish off our list. I would love to get a powder blue tang, but for the foreseeable future I will have my 75, and that won't work.There are so many neat fish that will work in a 29 that there's no need to gamble with a mandarin. ( hope that wasn't too preachy ) Check out some of the pygmy wrasses or small flasher wrasses.

[nrbelk]

I love my pygmy angel!

[Kyleben]

mandarins are a hot button like tangs seam to be. they are fickle eaters and a pain in the a** however they are the coolest fish out there. Ive had one in my 56 gallon for about 5 months now. I cultured pods outside my tank in 2 5 gallon buckets despite the fact i have an 8 gallon fuge. i dont culture pods because mine eats frozen brine in addition to pods. the problem is even if you get them to eat frozen food they are grazers and use to eating constantly. a lot of people say they need at least 50 lbs of LR. I tried a target mandarin in my 20 and he ate frozen food for about 2 months then just stopped eating until he died.

[tkeracer619]

You don't have a system for one. If its your favorite fish do it a favor and leave it be.