Mandarin Fish

[Reefer07]

I am looking into keeping a mandarin fish in my 29 reef. I haven't done a lot of reading on them yet other than looking at some information on copepods and such. Therefore, I was looking for some more information on mandarins and keeping them successfully.
Now as far as my tank and anything I have to do I will give you all a little background to see if it is possible. I know 29 is a little on the smaller side but I have heard of plenty of people keeping them successfully in this size tank.
The rock in my tank has been established for over a year. I also have 55-60 pounds between my sump (10 gallon) and my display.
I see copepods a lot at night and such or when the lights first come on scurrying to hide; so I know I have somewhat of a population.
Another important bit of information that I think my be helpful is my current stocking list.
As of now I only keep a pair of clowns. I am getting a mccosker's wrasse as soon as whomever gets them back in stock, as I have wanted one for a long time.
So, would a pair of clowns, a small flasher wrasse, and a mandarin fare well in my setup?

I have heard of several different DIY ways to grow copepods and such so I was also looking for some guidance on how to set something like that up. I would like to set up a DIY as soon as possible before I get this fish that way I can increase the cope. population as much as possible.

Any thoughts/help is much appreciated.
Zac

 

[dragonette]

IMO your tank is not a good idea for a mandarin.

I did keep a mandarin in a 24g sucessfully but he ate prepared foods.

(He died when I was trying to get my fuzzy dwarf out of there - I just downsized the tank and the new owner was on his way to get the fuzzy.. and the two fish collided from fear of me fishing around in the tank and the mandarin was poisined by the spine of the fuzzy... died about 3 hours later..)

I think these are things that are a problem in your setup..

Other fish. Your clowns and wrasse are going to be major food competition. Even if your mandarin eats prepared, they are slow and calculated.. your other fish will eat the food before the mandarin gets the chance.

Pods. IMO regardless of your tank size, its a good idea to train your mandarin to accept prepared foods. Even though you have tons of pods.. you have to remember that the mandarin hunts all day.. and your pods will be GONE fast.. its kinda scary how quick they will wipe out a pod population.

Suggestions

Get a mandarin that is already accepting prepared foods or at least live brine. ask the LFS to feed the fish in front of you. This way, if your pods population becomes extinct you can always feed him brine, and eventually trick him into eating other things.

Get rid of the clown pair. In that size tank its just not a good idea with the mandarins eating habits.



Hope this helps; I think you CAN get a mandarin but there is more than just dropping him in the tank to be considered. They are a special fish with special needs.

Here was mine- he was in my AP24. He also won the swf.com contest and hes listed as the green mandarin on thier site too. I love him and Id love to get another but Im busy researching a pair of golden dwarf morays

Good Luck
Jess

 

[Reefer07]

Man, I really don't want to bother getting rid of my other fish. Maybe I won't get one. I read a few things about dropping food for them into the rocks that are hidden with a turkey baster or something of the sort. My clowns don't scavenge that much. I feed them well and they are always out vs. being down in the rocks looking for food. Would it be a possibility to just always keep the tank overfed with mysis/cyclopeze? (i have heard that mandarins can eat cyclopeze and brine as well)

 

[Sitarangi]

I keep a mandarin in my 29g. I've had him for about a month and hes as fat as a pig. While its still to early to tell for sure, I think my mandarin will be ok. I also keep mine with a pretty ballsy clown, several chromis, a peppermint shrimp, some firefish, and a goby. I feed my tank twice a day frozen mysis. This keeps all my fish at bay for having to scavenge on their own.

My mandarin will eat mysis as long as its sitting on a rock. He won't peck at it if its midair. I also keep a waterbottle in the display full of LR rubble and algae. It does an amazing job at churning up copepods. Sometimes I dump my filter cartridges from my BW fitler in the tank to scrape off the amphlipod population.

When it comes to keep mandarins, its all experimentation. Go buy one thats obviously well fed from a reliable LFS. Talk to the employee that if starts losing weight you can bring it back. Give it a shot and watch him for several minutes a day. If he isn't pecking at something at least every 10 seconds you should watch his weight and contemplate taking him back.

Also I wouldn't get a wrasse if you want a dragonette, as they'll compete over food.

 

[snorvich]

I have to disagree. The odds of success with a mandarin in a 29g tank are slim and none unless you have a good sized refugium. If yu have a ball of chaeto in the tank, this will increase your chances considerably. Success with this fish begins after a year and not until. The problem with prepared food is that mandarins are grazers and eat constantly. There is no way you can feed you tank constantly because the nutrients would be overwhelming quickly. Please don't get this fish for that sized tank.

 

[Sitarangi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13033715#post13033715 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snorvich
I have to disagree. The odds of success with a mandarin in a 29g tank are slim and none unless you have a good sized refugium. If yu have a ball of chaeto in the tank, this will increase your chances considerably. Success with this fish begins after a year and not until. The problem with prepared food is that mandarins are grazers and eat constantly. There is no way you can feed you tank constantly because the nutrients would be overwhelming quickly. Please don't get this fish for that sized tank.

I said I only had mine for a month, and I watch his feeding behavior very closely everyday. Its is possible but difficult. It requires constant re-supplying of pods and vigilance and a fuge of some kind.

It does require loads of research and careful preparation, but it can be very rewarding to keep a mandarin in a smaller tank, and more and more people are doing it.

http://joshday.com/mandaringoby.htm

There is all you need to know.

Its a touchy subject and one that should not be taken without careful research and planning. You just have to be sure you feel like you have the money, experience, and time to undergo such an endeavor. Talk to your LFS about returning the mandarin if things start to go south. Dont wait for the mandarin to shrivel on the verge of death before returning him.

Also, blog and take pictures here on RC. Write out in detail everything you are doing and get feedback. Dont think snorvich and people here on RC are 'fish nazis' because they say its cruel and impossible. They care about fish and want you to be successful, I have faith that it can be done with alot of effort and experimentation. Good luck!

EDIT: I also wanted to add this for the TL;DR watchers. I want to quote this from that link...

"Originally, I agreed with them. However, once I really delved into google and nano fish forums, I found many different people reporting the same success stories... a green mandarin eating bloodworms, a freshwater food (which I feed my discus); a green mandarin being supplied pods daily from a separate pod culture tank; a whole tank of mandarins eating Formula 1 pellets. They were always met with the same hostile or rude responses and arguments. Your fish will starve after 6 months. They cannot be kept in systems without an excessive colony of pods. Etc.

I am determined to try and keep a successful and healthy mandarin in my ten gallon. I have done my homework, and I hope you have too. Here are some more thoughts:

* I will do everything in my power to provide the mandarin with the nutrition and care it needs.
* I believe experimenting with pets is good, as long as the caregiver has done his homework.
* Fish are not people. Attaching human elements onto fish or any lower animal is a fallacy. I am not "torturing" a fish for selfish or aesthetic reasons; I am advancing the hobby by trying to do what others have successfully done before.
* If my experiment fails, I am prepared to "eat" the fish and all the expenses. I will return the mandarin to the LFS, and I will probably try again with another specimen. If I fail again, I will most likely give up; however, I will never condemn someone who tries the same thing.
* I will not know if things are going swimmingly until I reach the six month mark.
"

 

[block head]

sitarangi makes a lot of good points. if u do your homework things should work out. plan b is important. i would check out mandarin diners and buy a fat one that is eating prepared or live foods.

 

[snorvich]

Good luck guys! Post your success stories after a year.

 

[650-IS350]

I kinda dissagree with that. I've heard of stories of people keeping mandarins in nano tanks. Not the best but if you have a mandarin that trained to eat prepared foods then you should be good. I've kept mine with 12 wrasses in a 100. All of them are pods eaters too. I've taught mine to eat pellets, cyclopeeze and granuals. Thats all she looks for now. Its been like this for a year and a half or so.

 

[block head]

what happens after a year ?

 

[snorvich]

You will know if what you are doing is really successful. Stories are stories but you won't know if they are successful ones until you have maintained your mandarin for a year or more. I have four of them with the longest being alive four years.

 

[snorvich]

And if you really are interested in maintaining a good environment . . .

 

[block head]

to bad witt was unsuccessful . he was able to breed mandarins in a 46 gallon tank with no fuge and he was one of the few in the world to raise fry .maybe next time