Mandarins keeping alive for more than 6-7yrs

@Whisperer - my female looks the same with a huge belly while my male doesn't have round belly he is still plump. I had thought this might be something to do with mating, do you have a male in the tank?

@MandarinFan - I get a gauge on my pod population by shining a flashlight at night in holes/caves and will often see what looks to be swarms of gnats.
 
Kool guys.... im plannin to attach a 22g tank to my current 30g setup, also add ATS. the only reason for adding ATS is for populating pods and i can feed plankton everyday... will also feed brine. i hope it works... the only problem is we dont get captive bred in our country, but trying to get a captive bred from singapore.. if i dont get a captive bred, might not buy as most of the wild caught dont survive.. and i avoid buyin wild caught fishes...
 
Would Mandrians and scooter blenny fight if I put one in?
Click to expand...
This 30 second video in my tank will answer that. They are eating from my home made baby brine shrimp feeder

 
she is pregnant, I bet you have 2 mandarins don't you, that's called hydryating to lay eggs, that's why shes so puffed up, mandarins can spawn multiple times a week. for all you guys who see their females like this and theres a male in the tank I guarantee if you if watch them at lights out they will spawn.
 
Interesting because when I got my female she had come out of someone elses tank and did not have the rounded belly like she does now after being added to my tank with my male.
 
had seen this video... how long did it live or how long its been?
Click to expand...
Everything is still alive. Idesigned that feeder because I bought a very skinny female and I wanted to fatten her up. They like the thing so much that I left it in and use it every day. I feed baby brine every day anyway for the pipefish and other smallfish but now I put it in the feeder. The mandarins can get along just fine without it as they have done for decades.
 
Paul B said:
Everything is still alive. Idesigned that feeder because I bought a very skinny female and I wanted to fatten her up. They like the thing so much that I left it in and use it every day. I feed baby brine every day anyway for the pipefish and other smallfish but now I put it in the feeder. The mandarins can get along just fine without it as they have done for decades.
Click to expand...

how long has pipe and mandarins been in your tank? if new brine works good, then it will be best for me as the eggs are available all the time.. do u feed anything else? i was planning on using thistle funnel.... do you have pics of how u made it?
 
how long has pipe and mandarins been in your tank?
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I have been keeping mandarins and pipes for over 30 years. The mandarins I have now are only a couple of years old.
It is just a net stretched over a container with a tube going above the water with a small funnel on it to put the shrimp in.
Feedingstation003.jpg


IMG_1683.jpg
 
Paul B said:
I have been keeping mandarins and pipes for over 30 years. The mandarins I have now are only a couple of years old.
It is just a net stretched over a container with a tube going above the water with a small funnel on it to put the shrimp in.
Feedingstation003.jpg


IMG_1683.jpg
Click to expand...

Kool..... this is nice... ill make something like this... Has ur mandarin survived for like 10yrs?
 
ill make something like this... Has ur mandarin survived for like 10yrs?
Click to expand...

This one did until I killed him in an accident.
I find mandarins to be the easiest, least maintenance, disease free fish there is. Just put them in and forget about them. But an older tank that is not to sterile is the key.
I don't gut load anything and feel it is a waste of time. The gut of those things is tiny and they are filter feeders so they use the food in their gut almost as soon as they ingest it. That is only my opinion of course and I am not the God of gutloading.

CopyofGorgonians1005.jpg
 
Paul B said:
This one did until I killed him in an accident.
I find mandarins to be the easiest, least maintenance, disease free fish there is. Just put them in and forget about them. But an older tank that is not to sterile is the key.
I don't gut load anything and feel it is a waste of time. The gut of those things is tiny and they are filter feeders so they use the food in their gut almost as soon as they ingest it. That is only my opinion of course and I am not the God of gutloading.

CopyofGorgonians1005.jpg
Click to expand...

OK... but the problem is what if we dont have many pods.... but its a good idea, i think u ment feeding plankton every day will increase pods, though water quality might be low...
 
If you don't have a lot of "wild" pods I don't think it is a good idea to get a mandarin.
As the tank ages it will get more pods.
 
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