Mandarins keeping alive for more than 6-7yrs

[nanomania]

Iv read many forums and most of them have kept mandarins alive for 3-4yrs. In reality mandarins live for 10-15yrs.. i would like to know from people who have kept mandarins alive for more that 6-7yrs or maybe 10yrs and more, and have been successful (bred in tank)..... would like to know how they took care as i dont like my fishes to die early due to my fault or carelessness.....

 

[billyzbear]

I had one for 5 1/2 yrs. He was a big male when I got him. I had a 90g then with a 30g fug above and behind the tank so it would drain into display. I tried pairing him up but he didn't like his new mate.
Lately, I just had a big male die after 3yrs. I got lucky with him and paired him with a little female. Now I tried another big male and she's not going for it. It's been three days now and the aggression has slowed so there is still hope.
I have some Ocellaris Clownfish since the beginning about 9 yrs. now.

 

[nanomania]

what u use to feed them? have they ever bred?

 

[billyzbear]

The mandarins would sometimes eat mysis but mostly pods. That's why I had the fug above tank so the pods would be alive when they got to the main tank.
Never bred any, I do miss the pair doing thier dance.

 

[nanomania]

The mandarins would sometimes eat mysis but mostly pods. That's why I had the fug above tank so the pods would be alive when they got to the main tank.
Never bred any, I do miss the pair doing thier dance.

fuge above tank?? can u post a pic? does the return pump kill the pods??

 

[billyzbear]

Nothing special to see. On my old setup, I had a tank above and behind tank grew chaeto in there. It would drain into main tank so no pods would get chopped up, I believe they do.
Now I have a tank on the side and it drains into main.

 

[nanomania]

oh...

 

[J2T]

Not sure I believe that a pump will chop up pods since I have had a yellow clown goby go through my return pump before without getting chopped up so I can't imagine tiny pods getting chopped up. I have a pair of spotted mandarins in my 75g and they are both fat and happy. They mainly eat pods but also eat pellet food as well. My fuge is below my tank and goes through the return pump.

 

[nanomania]

yup... i thought the same...

 

[billyzbear]

You have had a fish go through your return pump and he didn't have a mark on him?
In my new setup I have above and below.

 

[nanomania]

well i had LR only in sump, and now i have pods everywhere in my main tank...

 

[Dukester]

you cant really consider 2 mandarins a pair since they do not pair in the wild, and only come in contact with the other sex when its time to spawn and then part ways again till next time. I myself keep 2, both male and female and they spawn regularly and have for the past years. The never really get along and definitally cant be considered a pair, but they do tolerate each other, long term success with this species requires a very mature tank to provide as much natural food as possible, getting them to eat pellets and frozen is easy, but unless your going to hand feed them 5 or 6 times a day it isn't going to keep them alive.

 

[nanomania]

you cant really consider 2 mandarins a pair since they do not pair in the wild, and only come in contact with the other sex when its time to spawn and then part ways again till next time. I myself keep 2, both male and female and they spawn regularly and have for the past years. The never really get along and definitally cant be considered a pair, but they do tolerate each other, long term success with this species requires a very mature tank to provide as much natural food as possible, getting them to eat pellets and frozen is easy, but unless your going to hand feed them 5 or 6 times a day it isn't going to keep them alive.

my plan is to add ATS (which has prooven to be populating pods like crazy), plus im planning on brine (will be feeding newly hatched babies since they are more nutritious) also will try growing them in some tan feeding them cyclopeeze and then feed tem to mandarins... well im not gona buy soon since im also planning to buy nutra ova.

 

[J2T]

You have had a fish go through your return pump and he didn't have a mark on him?
In my new setup I have above and below.

Yeah amazingly he went through without a scratch. However the second time he tried before I could fix the issue he wasn't so lucky

 

[Paul B]

I have had quite a few of them live longer than 5 years but seem to lose them in an accident.
I don't do anything for them, just throw then in the tank and watch them.
Never bred any though. I do have a pair now but the female is young.
I think my male now is over five but I don't remember.
I also can't remember loseing any of them except in an accident and I have had quite a few over many years.

 

[Whisperer]

I have had my mandarin for 4-5 years. One of the first inhabitants that are still kicking along with true percula.
She is a happy girl, don't you think?

I like this shot.

 

[Sleepingtiger]

that is one fat mandarin! does it eat only live pods?

 

[Whisperer]

Only pods.

 

[MandarinFan]

Whisperer - Wow, what a plump girl! I have a question regarding pods: how do you know they are in the tank? I bought a bottle of pods from the LFS and put them in the tank in the spring because my mandarin was looking a little thin. My mandarin has been eating for over a year in the current setup and was in a smaller setup for about 14 months before so she must be eating something, but I'm always worried she might be hungry even though she pecks at the rocks all day long. She is on the tiny side which doesn't help my anxiety. I am very attached to her A few days a week I stick some frozen food in a baby food jar for her to go in and dine in peace. I've tried looking in the tank at night with the lights off but I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for. Any tips?

 

[Whisperer]

There are a number of different pods. You see them as tiny moving specks, usually near the bottom just above the substrate and mainly at the corners (in my case). I do have many amphipods and mysis shrimp in my chaetomorpha in the sump and their babies sustain my mandarin because I hardly see copepod myself.