Domestically Raised Mandarins

[pallidamors]

Are there any places that raise mandarins domestically? Seems to me that many people get them without knowing what they need and end up starving them. Since they are caught wild, is this having an impact on the ocean's population? Anybody breeding them successfully?

 

[EyeCandy]

None that I have heard. A small number of saltwater fish are bred and raised in captivity. And as far as the ocean's population, I think with every species of fish humans have an impact on their populations.

 

[danch]

If you can do a search in the fish breeding forum, there have been people who've attempted it.

The problem with Mandarins (and angels, tangs, and a lot of other families) is that they're palegic spawners - they spawn in the water column and release large numbers of tiny eggs, which in turn hatch into tiny 'prolarvae.'

They need room in the water to spawn, it's more difficult to gather and hatch the eggs, and the prolarvae are harder to care for.

See marinebreeder.org for more information and a list of books on the topic.