mandarin fish feeding questions

[lhscouchmonster]

It looks like my LFS has a few in stock. They say they are eating frozen but i have not witnessed it and have to assume they aren't. I have a few questions and maybe some of you guys know the answers:

1. im afraid that he wont get prepared food because of the other fish eating it before he has a chance (assuming he even eats prepared). the chance of food falling to the bottom and staying there with all the current and the ever-hungry tang patrolling the tank is small. how does the mandarin ever get prepared food in a community tank if they are so docile? is an olive jar with food in it the only option? it looks goofy in the tank :hmm5:

2. will a 75 gallon with about 80lbs of rock and another 20lbs in the sump fuge along with chaeto be able to support enough pods? i seeded it recently even though i already have a healthy pod population because id like this guy to have the best possible chance at survival.

3. how long do these guys live if they are eating? Do the majority actually just stave to death in home aquariums?

tank info: 75 gallon plus 29 gallon sump. in sump fuge has about 20 lbs of live rock, and a large clump of chaeto and light. tank been up for around a year, fuge been up since the start of the tank but didnt have the chaeto and live rock until about 4 months ago. the fuge was recently seeded with reefpods just in case. yellow tang and two clowns are the only fish.

 

[Neptune 555]

I have been able to keep a mandarin in a 48 gallon bow front fish tank w/ tons of live rock and a tang and clown fish. When/if you add other fish that might eat copods it will be a challenge to keep enough in your system. I am sure that my mandarin did supplement his diet with frozen food b/c food did end up at the bottom of the tank and I did see him greedily eat it. NOT everyday but at least 2x a week plus copods. I would suggest that you only purchase mandarin that you see eat frozen food and you also supplement his diet with brine shrimp. Check out this thread everything you ever needed to know about how to supplement a mandarins diet. I would still ensure that you keep a healthy population of copods along w/ supplements.



http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2113800

Neptune

 

[davocean]

That size tank w/ enough LR and w/ that fuge should be able to support one.
I don't think I would get more than one, and I would not be adding any fish that are pod competitors.
I would never rely on prep'd or frozen foods to sustain them long term, their metabolism is just too high to really do what it would take to meet their needs.

 

[Reef Frog]

When observing mandarins (never owned one) they always seem to be hunting on the sand bed only. In my system almost all of the pods seem to be in and on the live rock.

So do mandarins typically scour the horizontal & vertical parts of LR to feed?

Also, it seems many have had great luck with frozen NUTRAMAR OVA (shrimp eggs) as an alternative or supplement to pods. Is that a fairly fool proof food supplement that they will take to with relative ease? Has anyone tried it on a healthy specimen but still refused to eat it?

 

[living_waters]

Tagging along..

 

[Mazzy]

Just fyi - I realize you're looking at the ones at your LFS, but ORA actually captive-breeds mandarins, which, of course, then eat prepared foods, and you wouldn't even have to worry about it. You could ask your LFS to order you one from there if you really want one. I have no idea how much they cost though.

 

[fishfreak2009]

For what it is worth I had a splendid mandarin for quite a while who was wild caught. He ate anything that landed on the bottom of the tank, bloodworms, blackworms, brine, mysid, and pellets. My current spotted mandarin is also wild caught and does the same. I have a bare bottom and they seem to find the food easier, and I also feed quite heavily 5 times a day to make sure I have plenty of food for all the fish, and that they get a variety and grow nice and fast.

While I may have other pod predators like a dottyback and multiple dwarf angels and butterflies, I do have 150 lbs of live rock, and 50 lbs of rubble as a pod breeding ground as well. Even with 3 rather large butterflies, 4 dwarf angels, a regal angel, and a bunch of other smaller fish, shrimp, hermit crabs, and a starfish, the mandarin gets more than his fair share. Im contemplating adding both a splendid mandarin and one of the red scooter dragonets to the tank.

 

[arnoldrew]

Just fyi - I realize you're looking at the ones at your LFS, but ORA actually captive-breeds mandarins, which, of course, then eat prepared foods, and you wouldn't even have to worry about it. You could ask your LFS to order you one from there if you really want one. I have no idea how much they cost though.

You would still have to worry, since they eat constantly throughout the day. Every other day or even once or twice a day probably wouldn't cut it if all they are eating is prepared foods, especially considering how bad they are at competing for that stuff.

 

[fijisrfr]

Assuming you can get one that eats frozen, look up " mandarin diner" on melevs reef. I've been using this method for years with great results!

 

[Mazzy]

I think their website said to feed twice a day, but that might have been somewhere else I read that.

 

[snorvich]

ORA mandarins have mixed reviews and I do not recommend them. Do a search. Mandarins will search vertically and horizontally for copepods not just on the sand. The vast majority of them will eat frozen, but their metabolism is such that they eat constantly so frozen is a good supplement but long term is not a good idea as their primary source of food. Also, since mandarins are poor hunters, they can not successfully compete for added food. Nutritionally, frozen tends to make them fat (and their livers become fatty). The OP's tank should be fine once mature as long as copepod eaters are not introduced. When selecting a mandarin, be sure they are "pecking" at the LFS.

 

[Ambition]

ORA mandarins have mixed reviews and I do not recommend them. Do a search. Mandarins will search vertically and horizontally for copepods not just on the sand. The vast majority of them will eat frozen, but their metabolism is such that they eat constantly so frozen is a good supplement but long term is not a good idea as their primary source of food. Also, since mandarins are poor hunters, they can not successfully compete for added food. Nutritionally, frozen tends to make them fat (and their livers become fatty). The OP's tank should be fine once mature as long as copepod eaters are not introduced. When selecting a mandarin, be sure they are "pecking" at the LFS.

I agree 100%.

I do have a friend who owns an LFS and has found that the ORA ones don't accept frozen or other foods offered. Oddly enough, he is able to get about 90% of the wild mandarins he gets in to eat frozen as a supplement.

 

[snorvich]

I have never had difficulty getting wild caught mandarins to eat frozen or preferably pellets (better nutrition, less fat). The only exception are the cyanide captured ones that will not eat at all (including copepods).

 

[EllieSuz]

Your tank is large enough and mature enough to sustain one Mandarin. Although mine eats Nutramar Ova twice a day and readily comes to the feeding tube to slurp up clumps of the stuff, he gets most of his food from constant hunting in the rock of a 60 gallon tank. Pods survive the trip through the return pump and I stir up the water in the 'fuge now and then to "loosen" them into the water column. Another handy trick is to keep rubble in the refugium and occasionally exchange a rock from the DT with one from the 'fuge. I wouldn't worry about keeping one in your tank, but strongly urge you not to add any fish that compete for pods.

 

[Fish Biscuit]

+1 skip ORA mandarins, like everyone else I was thrilled to see this happen & researched them quite a bit. Success rate is very low, most don't eat any prepared foods & starve to death. I think ORA jumped the gun on these guys. I find the coloration on the wild caught to be prettier as well.

 

[ViktorVaughn]

When observing mandarins (never owned one) they always seem to be hunting on the sand bed only. In my system almost all of the pods seem to be in and on the live rock.

So do mandarins typically scour the horizontal & vertical parts of LR to feed?

Also, it seems many have had great luck with frozen NUTRAMAR OVA (shrimp eggs) as an alternative or supplement to pods. Is that a fairly fool proof food supplement that they will take to with relative ease? Has anyone tried it on a healthy specimen but still refused to eat it?

Mine hunts all around the tank and rockwork. Some of his time will be spent in the sand but it seems he is scooting around the rockwork more. He also loves to pick pods of the glass and is very loud in doing so, it almost sounds like someone is flicking my tank from the inside pretty hard.

Nutramar was the first food that I tried to get it to eat inside the small glass I have set up for it. It absolutely loves Nutramar now and can't get enough of it. After it figured out the food filled glass I started mixing in Mysis and Marine Cuisine frozen which he will still eat just not with as much gusto as the Nutramar.

 

[lhscouchmonster]

Just fyi - I realize you're looking at the ones at your LFS, but ORA actually captive-breeds mandarins, which, of course, then eat prepared foods, and you wouldn't even have to worry about it. You could ask your LFS to order you one from there if you really want one. I have no idea how much they cost though.

75 at my LFS for an ORA shipped in. 22 for a normal. after all these bad ORA stories, i think im going to try out a normal mandarin.

of course when i went back to the store today they only had one mandarin and he wouldnt eat frozen. GRRR!

 

[Mazzy]

Yeah, I didn't know that about the ORAs. I too looked at the fact that they were breeding them as a step in a positive direction for keeping this fish, but I'm glad to be given the heads up now as, although I wasn't going to get one right now, it was something I was looking at as a potential future tank inhabitant. Good luck with your mandarin!!

 

[lhscouchmonster]

I bought a mandarin yesterday. He ate frozen mysis in the store. Watching how slow and methodical he is doesn't give me much faith in him finding and eating frozen mysis in my tank. The fish store keeps them in tiny segregated areas of a larger system so eat cant really get away from the mysis when they feed him.

Do the mandarins that eat frozen eventually start searching it out when you add it into the tank or do you turn all the pumps off and squirt it near him and hope for the best.

Im thinking about using an olive jar like others have described but how does he know to go into the small jar when the tank is so big? Do they smell the food or something?

 

[lhscouchmonster]

i added the olive jar but the mandarin hasn't been into it. anyone else have experience with the "mandarin diner"? Is he ever going to realize there is food inside?