Mandarin Goby in a nano tank

[Thomas_Guzman_]

Was looking for a few suggestions. I've kept mandarins before and really enjoyed them. They all were eating frozen. Was wondering if it is possible/humane to keep one, if it is trained to eat frozen, in a 5 or 10 gallon aquarium? Thanks in advance.

 

[ThRoewer]

Possible? Yes, with enough effort and knowledge it can be done in a 10 gallon.
Recommended? No, not for an extended period beyond QT.

I kept a small pair in a 25 gallon for a year and they stayed alive. But it was not ideal and the female never got enough food to produce eggs.
Since I moved them over to my 100 gallon tank they do fine and spawn frequently.
Both of them were actively going after frozen Mysis, but the female would never eat enough.

 

[Alexraptor]

I kept a Female Mandarin in a 10 gallon tank for well over a year until I upgraded to a 25 after my lighting system failed and I decided I wanted to change things up.
She thrived in that tank, fat with eggs most of the time.
Sad irony is it looks like I'm now going to loose her as she has become "egg bound".

My methodology for a nano tank is a macro-algae dominated "high nutrient" system with live rock and the smallest grain sand on the market.(Mandarins can actually sift sand). In the 10 gallon setup live food accounted for 80% of her total diet, and once I upgraded to the 25g it pretty much went to 99%. When I supplement the diet I use frozen lobster eggs from Ocean Nutrition. She's crazy about the stuff and never required any training.
A lot of corals might not like high nutrients, but it sure ramps up pod production on overdrive.
This was taken in my 10g Mandarin Setup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ydk7avCyx4

Not sure I would keep a Mandarin in anything smaller though.

 

[block head]

Nope. People survive lighting strikes or parachute failures. 5-10 is not recommended by anyone. I'm guilty of using 28 gallon tank. Mine came from a seahorse tank. Trained to eat pellet, frozen, live. It's not that it cannot be done. It ' so fundamentally/biological

 

[sde1500]

I plan to keep on in my 65, and am still nervous about it after reading all the stories. I am in the next couple weeks going to be setting up 2 five gallon buckets for pod breeding to make sure I can keep the tank seeded with enough pods for survival. Might want to look into that.

 

[MondoBongo]

i wouldn't. you're stacking the deck against yourself in so many ways.

also, be skeptical of anyone who says they have had "success" in small tanks. often their metrics for success are quite skewed. these are fish that can, and should, live for many years. so 6 months, or even a year, isn't success, it's just getting lucky in the short term.

 

[LED Jack]

I would say no and no. And definitely not Synchiropus splendidus.

 

[LED Jack]

Oh and it is impossible to "train" a fish to eat anything. They will either eat something or not. And even if you get a mandarin to eat prepared foods it will still search the rocks for food 24/7.

 

[Alexraptor]

i wouldn't. you're stacking the deck against yourself in so many ways.

also, be skeptical of anyone who says they have had "success" in small tanks. often their metrics for success are quite skewed. these are fish that can, and should, live for many years. so 6 months, or even a year, isn't success, it's just getting lucky in the short term.

Your right, 6 months isn't success. But I'd argue that a year if repeatable is more than just "luck". And 2 years is definitely success, doubly so if you have a female producing eggs.

Mine did, in a 10g tank, and unlike what people claimed she "never" wiped out the pod populations. There was always a great abundance of them and other critters to feed on.

it will still search the rocks for food 24/7.

Technically that's not true at all.
A Mandarin will only search for food during the daylight hours. At night they sleep.

 

[snorvich]

i wouldn't. you're stacking the deck against yourself in so many ways.

also, be skeptical of anyone who says they have had "success" in small tanks. often their metrics for success are quite skewed. these are fish that can, and should, live for many years. so 6 months, or even a year, isn't success, it's just getting lucky in the short term.

This.

 

[MondoBongo]

Your right, 6 months isn't success. But I'd argue that a year if repeatable is more than just "luck". And 2 years is definitely success, doubly so if you have a female producing eggs.

Mine did, in a 10g tank, and unlike what people claimed she "never" wiped out the pod populations. There was always a great abundance of them and other critters to feed on.

Technically that's not true at all.
A Mandarin will only search for food during the daylight hours. At night they sleep.

I fully acknowledge that this is a very nuanced issue, and like many challenges in this hobby it can be solved with husbandry practices.

So when I answer these i tend towards the lowest common denominator.

For me, if you have to ask if this can be done then you're likely not prepared or experienced enough to handle the ramifications of trying this kind of setup.

That's primarily why I advise against it. Just because it has been done, doesn't mean it is something most people are capable of replicating.

 

[Alexraptor]

You got a valid point there. I guess it's easy to loose perspective at times.
I know I spent several years researching Mandarins meticulously before I took the plunge.

 

[snorvich]

I fully acknowledge that this is a very nuanced issue, and like many challenges in this hobby it can be solved with husbandry practices.

So when I answer these i tend towards the lowest common denominator.

For me, if you have to ask if this can be done then you're likely not prepared or experienced enough to handle the ramifications of trying this kind of setup.

That's primarily why I advise against it. Just because it has been done, doesn't mean it is something most people are capable of replicating.

I agree as well.

 

[Rasta Red]

Can a mandarin b kept with a fork tail blenny

Sent from my SM-S920L using Tapatalk

 

[ThRoewer]

Oh and it is impossible to "train" a fish to eat anything. They will either eat something or not. And even if you get a mandarin to eat prepared foods it will still search the rocks for food 24/7.

Wrong on both points:
It has been scientifically proven that fish can be trained to all kind of things and surely also to eat foods that are somewhat uncommon to them. Fish are also capable of learning from other fish.
Training a fish to eat frozen organisms that look close to those they eat alive in the wild is really nothing big. The fish just need to make the association that the motionless Mysis is as edible as the living one.

As for mandarins eating 24/7 or even just all the time from dawn to dusk - not true at all.
In the wild you will see mandarins hunting predominantly in the morning and evening time. During the day they stay hidden in the rockwork to avoid becoming a meal themselves.

Your right, 6 months isn't success. But I'd argue that a year if repeatable is more than just "luck". And 2 years is definitely success, doubly so if you have a female producing eggs.

Mine did, in a 10g tank, and unlike what people claimed she "never" wiped out the pod populations. There was always a great abundance of them and other critters to feed on. ...

It largely also depends on the size of the mandarin. You won't be able to sustain a fully grown mandarin male in a 10 gallon tank without additional feeding.

 

[MondoBongo]

So a few quick thoughts.

Certain fish. Not all fish. And not even yo the same degree can be trained in various ways. Your claims about it bring scientifically proven are dubious and misconstrued at best.

Next, you hit the nail on the head citing that it involves them making that connection, which is frequently not easy, and often impossible.

As for the hunting, I'm curious as to your source. I haven't seen much in the way of actual studies on Synchiropus spp. But the studies of gut content analysis I've seen on family members suggests that they are frequent and steady hunters.