Mandarin solo or duo?

[Titus07]

Does this fish do better with others of its own kind or is that not a factor for keeping this fish? Would love to add a green Man sometime soon.

 

[AquaReeferMan]

They need to be the only type of dragonette in a system. Only exception is if its a male and female combo. But that usually ends up with the weaker one getting killed. IMO its pretty hard to pair them up.

 

[cl2ysta1]

one will work fine. I have a pair they were fairly easy to pair... but were young when put together

 

[tangers]

If you do consider a pair you better have one healthy refugium to supply the amount of pods they will need!

 

[snorvich]

Yes, two of them will starve without sufficient copepods. If you try and pair them, introduce simultaneously and be sure you have a male and female.

 

[EllieSuz]

Please research this fish carefully before you purchase. Beginners frequently rush to buy this fish only to have it starve. The Mandarin needs a mature, large tank with a lot of live rock and an established refugium containing rubble and Chaeto for pod production.

 

[snorvich]

Totally agree with ^ above!

 

[Titus07]

i have 180 lbs of live rock but no fuge....I have observed the pods at both ends of the 125g long tank and them at the top of the rock pile and on the sand. How do I know if I have a good supply of them in the tank? This seems like a lot to me

 

[EllieSuz]

With that large a tank, you're off to a good start. The Mandarin hunts day and night and eats continuously. The reason it is recommended you have a refugium is that the pods can reproduce without a predator around. How old is your tank?

 

[AquaReeferMan]

They do hunt pretty much all the time. They dont hunt during the night though. When the lights go out they quickly head off and go to sleep. But yes a fuge is pretty much standard unless you have spots that the fish cannot get to in you main system. Or else youre gonna end up buying pods just to keep them alive.

 

[petoonia]

Here is some good info on mandarins...

http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=3


http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mandarins.htm

 

[Titus07]

The tank has been running for about 5months now. There are plenty of placed the fish can not get to due to my poor "rock-scaping" ability. My reef looks like a couple piles of rock for the most part with a few places to swim in and out, depending of course how big a fish you are.

 

[Ruskin]

The general idea is to have a tank setup for at least 1 year before it is considered mature enough for a Mandarin. Though your tank is large enough, the fact you dont have a sump means you should probably wait that minimum period to purchase one. Great fish, cant wait till I get mine!

 

[Titus07]

Oh I have a sump, just not a fuge. What other fish eat pods?

 

[timnnell]

I've had success with 2 even 1 green and 1 spotted. Just make sure they aren't both males. Males have the larger "spine" on front of their dorsal fin. My brother-in-law has even had success with them in a tank with no pods at all. Just make sure that they will eat brine shrimp or some other frozen food before you purchase 1. He kept his alive for many years this way. But I would recommend that you have pods in the tank. And a fuge would be best to keep the supply there.