lets see your mandarins

[aquariumpav]

love how these guys look - cant wait to get my own once my tank is fully established and mandarin friendly. Its my fav. fish, and what sold me getting into salt, after I saw my buddies blue mandarin. So like the title says, let me see your mandarins. Any one succesfully breed them?

 

[aquaph8]

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[SkullV]

 

[olemiss reb]

older pic of male

female

 

[davocean]

I've had two mated pair's now.

Hard to get a good shot of them doing the dance since that is usually as lights are ramping down, but this shows her fat belly.

This is my present mated pair, female was a touch skinny at purchase(I ordered through someone or I would have passed on her) and still skinny in this pic, but fortunately she came back to health, very fat now.
I need to get some updated pics soon.

 

[JSeymour]

Here's my little female.

The males is hiding, I'll get a pic of him later.

 

[snorvich]

Wonderful pictures everyone!

 

[guc32]

Great looking Mandrins everyone. Hoping to get one some day down the line.

 

[TripsterAK]

Whats a good recommendation of time before one would add a Mandrin? 6-8 Months at the very least?

Gorgeous Mandrins btw this is one of the fish that made me want to get into SW

 

[birdsandsoap]

This is a beautiful species! I know nothing about them. So first I'll ask, are they pricey? Feisty? I want one.

 

[clowntriggerfis]

This is a beautiful species! I know nothing about them. So first I'll ask, are they pricey? Feisty? I want one.

I see them for $15-20 all the time at my LFSs.

 

[TripsterAK]

This is a beautiful species! I know nothing about them. So first I'll ask, are they pricey? Feisty? I want one.

Relatively cheep fish which I think could be a bad thing. People see them and want them right away for their new tank because of ho gorgeous they are. End up getting it into a new tank and it doesn't eat and dies.

Dont want people getting the wrong idea with these littles guys, a well established tank is needed. No since in risking this beautiful creatures life.

Off my Soap box now HAHA. BTW this is not Directed at you birdsandsoap, just a general rant.

 

[JSeymour]

This is a beautiful species! I know nothing about them. So first I'll ask, are they pricey? Feisty? I want one.

Keep asking before you buy it. Mandarins are a great example why. They are fairly cheap, although they have gone up in the last 6-9 months. As far as aggression, almost nonexistent, except with males housed with other males. Luckily, most fish will leave them alone too. They are very disease resistant too.

Now the problem, wild ones don't eat frozen and prepared foods and always come in skinny. If the tank doesn't have enough live food present(more than you might think) they often starve. You can supplement their diet with gutloaded newly hatched brine shrimp, ReefPods, TigerPods, etc, but "wild" tank foods are the staple. They can be trained to eat other foods, it just takes awhile and some patience. You can increase your chances with a captive bred one for about $30-40, but even these don't always resume eating pellets and frozen after shipping. At my store, depending on tankmates, my gut feeling about the owner, and other variables, I don't recommend them for tanks younger than 6-12 months, sometimes never. This is just some number I pulled out of a dark place, but I'd say 95+% of mandarins starve within the first few months, if not weeks.

 

[aquariumpav]

cool pics - you guys who have em have refugiums set up to supply pods?

 

[davocean]

cool pics - you guys who have em have refugiums set up to supply pods?

A good fuge is a must have for these guys IMO, that and enough LR in display to give breeding areas for pods in display too.
I was a little concerned having a pair in my 150g, so I avoided all pod competition, so no wrasses or pod eating gobies, blenny's etc.

 

[Flaring Afro]

Aquaph8 has the happiest looking mandarin I've ever seen in a picture.

 

[birdsandsoap]

At my store, depending on tankmates, my gut feeling about the owner, and other variables, I don't recommend them for tanks younger than 6-12 months, sometimes never. This is just some number I pulled out of a dark place, but I'd say 95+% of mandarins starve within the first few months, if not weeks.

Wow, thanks for the info. After we get our tank set up (if we can actually afford fish by then, haha), we may just pass these guys up until we feel a little more confident in our reefkeeping. Clown fish for the kiddos, it is! They sure are beautiful, but I don't have patience for picky eaters.

"There are two choices for dinner tonight; take it, or leave it!"

 

[birdsandsoap]

At my store, depending on tankmates, my gut feeling about the owner, and other variables, I don't recommend them for tanks younger than 6-12 months, sometimes never. This is just some number I pulled out of a dark place, but I'd say 95+% of mandarins starve within the first few months, if not weeks.

Wow, thanks for the info. After we get our tank set up (if we can actually afford fish by then, haha), we may just pass these guys up until we feel a little more confident in our reefkeeping. Clown fish for the kiddos, it is! They sure are beautiful, but I don't have patience for picky eaters.

"There are two choices for dinner tonight; take it, or leave it!"

 

[Hyperion1337]

hi not to hijack ur thread, but has anyone had any sucess feeding them fly fish roe or rogger's reef foods? i just ran out of PE mysis and im gonna go to LFS anytime soon.

 

[AGYDAL]

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I've had him about 8 months and he was full grown at time of purchase.