Do not get a mandarin if...

Status
Not open for further replies.
Clowny88 said:
When you say rotate, what do you mean? Rotating to/from fuge? Separate tank?

Don't mean to hijack... But this seems like one of those experiences that leads to forum gold and I'm sure a lot of us would love to hear more about your 3 month process.

Handsome guy by the way!!
Click to expand...

That's right, the condo pods stay in the fuge and every week i switch it out. When i got him he wasn't in great shape, his was really thin. Slowly but surely he's fattening up though so i know whatever it is i'm doing is working. I think the brine shrimp help a lot in this instance.

Brine shrimp was a pain in the ***. the 2 liter bottle didn't work well for me as the eggs we're all over the place and I am not good gluing/cutting acrylic to use Paul B's hatchery idea. Then I landed on this gem and it's been the easiest thing.

I start a new batch on Sunday, Monday i get a ton of shrimp to feed. Monday night I add a bit of phytoplankton in the hatchery and I have a bit more brine shrimp to feed the mandarin until Wednesday (Some hatch late and the ones that no longer have their egg sack are gut loaded with phyto)
 
OllieDog said:
I think a mass of rock is just as important, if not more so, then the size of the tank. There is a new ultra minimalistic approach to many tanks these days, where people have very very little live rock and large open swimming areas. In these tanks, They could easily be 100 gallons, but most of it is open sand, and only 20-30 lbs of dense branch rock. These type of tanks do not provide the environment for pods to breed at rates high enough to keep a mandarin. Its not always just about tank size. its about having a ton of real estate for the pods for have a large breeding population.
Click to expand...

+1 on That.

I'm working on a Anemone Tank and have a very simple half deep sand bed(4-5 inch deep) with 2 Rios working a UGF on other half. Hang on the back (2-3gal)Pod Farm that feeds into 60gal breeder that then feeds into 600gal a hr overflow into 37 gal sump. that holds GFO/Carbon reactor,reef octopus classic 150NI. I Have Pods on a Biblical Scale, not to mention the 300+ cerith snail babies(lol) that keep everything spotless. My Tank Crawls At Night.....I Have more fear that a Mandarin would get eaten by Pods in my tank lol Then Starve for lack of them.
 
Last edited:
Proffugazi said:
+1 on That.

I'm working on a Anemone Tank and have a very simple half deep sand bed(4-5 inch deep) with 2 Rios working a UGF on other half. Hang on the back (2-3gal)Pod Farm that feeds into 60gal breeder that then feeds into 600gal a hr overflow into 37 gal sump. that holds GFO/Carbon reactor,reef octopus classic 150NI. I Have Pods on a Biblical Scale, not to mention the 300+ cerith snail babies(lol) that keep everything spotless. My Tank Crawls At Night.....I Have more fear that a Mandarin would get eaten by Pods in my tank lol Then Starve for lack of them.
Click to expand...
How'd you start your pod farm? What type of pods did you buy to launch the process?

I'm trying to jump start my fuge... Just not sure what to buy.
 
Pod condos are a good thing, be they a small net bag full of rubble, anything you can use to pick up from the fuge and transfer to the DT. They have a double benefit: that they provide breeding places IN the fuge and they provide a means of transport (in a container of water) to the DT to inject a bunch at once. Many LFS's have live rock rubble that can be used for this purpose.
 
The larger the better. And the larger and more mature the fuge the better. If you are working with a 50 gallon, the fuge should be at least 20, and mature, packed with cheato and rock, and it should be a tiny mandy, not one of the larger, with NO competitors for the pods.
 
I also think like someone posted earlier, that the amount of rock should really be considered too. I kept a mandarin for two years before I downgraded. he was in a 90g and at first he was fairly thin until I added alot more rock. Also got lucky and started eating micro pellet food though.
 
Can you tell me, does there need to be a male for the female to lay?

Also what does their poop look like, does anyone know?

Twice now I have come upon the tank at night, maybe turning the light on for a moment to check on something, and my ocellated has darted off with what looks like roe then streaming behind and getting caught up in the current.

At first I thought it might be shrimp eggs, but the second time the shrimp was no longer in the tank (moved it to the other tank as it was very aggressive about stealing food from the corals despite how well I kept it fed).

So I've tried to determine if it is eggs or poop, could it be hers or maybe hermit crab? It's very odd. They look like very tiny decapsulated brine eggs in some mucus.

I also put decapsulated eggs in the tank in the diner and the brine hatch and are eaten pretty quickly. I cultivate my own pods as well.

I'm not sure I agree with the 12000 a day, my calculation was 8000 a day, but mine is a 1" dragonet and not a mandarin. *Not trying to argue this point, just wondering about the information.

I'm not sure how different ocellated are from mandarins but mine is thriving. She's like having a newborn, but without the screaming.
 
Number of 'hits' probably does vary with size.
Re poo, long as I have had mandys, I've never noticed what you're observing. I'd blame some other critter. I don't know what, however.
 
I'll just call it hermit eggs. That's the only other orange egg producer in the tank. She probably was trying to eat them.
 
Good advise. I had a Mandarin that lead a long and healthy life in my tank. Took a 200 with no other competing fish (e.g. for pods).
 
This thread is great for those considering a mandarin. I REALLY wanted one but only have a 40 gallon tank, but also have a 65 gallon sump with a 27 gallon refugium built into it. I kept thinking maybe, just maybe I could develop a decent enough pod population to have a mandarin, knowing full well I was at the very edge of being able to keep one healthy, if it were even possible.

I just didn't want to take a chance that it might not be sufficient, so I took the mandarin off my list and decided I'll go with a diamond watchman goby and a lawnmower blenny for that kind of interest in my reef (albeit without the color). I still would love to have a mandarin, but I know my situation isn't in its best interest.

Anyone interested in keeping one should really read this thread and give some serious consideration to the health and well being of one, no matter how much you may want one. I posted here, not as an expert on Mandarin care, but rather from the perspective of a novice who really wants one, but realizes there are "other fish in the sea". Please don't get one unless you are certain it will thrive under your care.
 
Sk8r said:
The larger the better. And the larger and more mature the fuge the better. If you are working with a 50 gallon, the fuge should be at least 20, and mature, packed with cheato and rock, and it should be a tiny mandy, not one of the larger, with NO competitors for the pods.
Click to expand...

I Find that EVERYBODY Loves the Pods!!:fish1: My Clowns spend all day picking them off the glass. It amazes me they see them so easy. And I have a yellow clown goby that needs a diet he so fat on them lol.
 
Clowny88 said:
How'd you start your pod farm? What type of pods did you buy to launch the process?

I'm trying to jump start my fuge... Just not sure what to buy.
Click to expand...

Sk8r is right on about the pod farm thing. You just need a space connected to DT and cultures(i got mine from liveaquria) Also good light helps grow their food source.
 
MondoBongo said:
I would be more worried it would get eaten by the anemones.
Click to expand...
As long as the Anemone does not get hair in butt(anemones will eat even clown if want to) In my experience Fish are Quite Aware of Anemones and know when to move. My Clown goby eats the highly venomous stringers, that come out from the anemones now and then. go figure:hmm3: guess he likes his food spicy.lol
 
Proffugazi said:
I Find that EVERYBODY Loves the Pods!!:fish1: My Clowns spend all day picking them off the glass. It amazes me they see them so easy. And I have a yellow clown goby that needs a diet he so fat on them lol.
Click to expand...

Yes this is extremely true! That's why I've been very careful with who I put in with my ocellated. In my damsel tank, they completely wiped out the pod population after a few months. I've seeded it again and we will see how they last.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
Back after 20 years - cycling advice
Replies
4
Views
151
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
S
Why do oversized protein skimmers not adequately remove protein from a tank?
Replies
17
Views
3K
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
K
Mandarin acting strange
Replies
4
Views
1K
OrionN
OrionN
E
What's Old is New Again
Replies
2
Views
483
Uncle99
Uncle99
R
LFS can order "red" or "blue" peacock mantis?
Replies
2
Views
148
game misconduct
G
Back
Top