skinnyjoe1976
New member
i bought a Spotted Mandarin Goby - Synchiropus picturatus and he is not doing well. won't eat flake food or pellets. what do you guys think the problem is?
need advise
- Thread starter skinnyjoe1976
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rdmpe
New member
I have a pair of them that do not eat any prepared foods at all. They rarely eat prepared foods from what I've read about them. They usually will only eat live copopods and possibly other live food like freshly hatched baby brine, etc. I've heard of a couple of people getting them to eat frozen mysis, but I think it's pretty rare.
craigtaylor
Member
when did you set up another tank....? 
flfirefighter13
New member
The copepod population has to be pretty established for a mandarin. Try snagging a chunk of cheato from someone that has a refuge full of copepods, then build some pod condo's (stick a handfull of LR rubble in a "bag" made of gutter guard or something that will keep fish out and allow pods to live in. Drop the piles out of site and let them become infested with pods. Good luck, mandarin are tough without a fully matured setup with few fish that compete for pods.
Me No Nemo
Premium Member
Yes, copepods need to be pretty plentiful. Some can be coaxed to eat frozen mysis. I have some chaeto that is FULL of pods if you want some to try. Just give me a yell. Marcye
skinnyjoe1976
New member
thanks for all the advise. my lfs told me that i needed another one to get them to eat. so i pick up a Green Mandarin Goby - Pterosynchiropus splendidus now i have both kinds. lets see if this help. and yes ben and bobbi i setup a 10 gallon for them last week.
skinnyjoe1976
New member
the setup is a standard 10 with 2 1" bulkheads with reverse durso's and mag 12 for the return. mag 18 running through 2 squids and 12 outlets, mr2 skimmer with iwaki 55 supplying water and a 40 gallon breeder sump with 2 prefilter backs and 2 phosban reactors one with carbon and the other with remover. 25 watt uv, 1/10 hp chiller. 25 lbs of fiji lr with 50 lbs of pink fiji sand. lighting is a 250 de 20k with 2 actinic's and 2 4" fans. do you guys think it's over kill? and 173.95 worth of plumbing.
tangers
New member
JMHO, but I think that that is B.S. Most that have mandarins only have one. Some have pairs, but most only one. I have never heard of having to buy them in pairs. I think you just got suckered in to buying one. Your mandarin should be cruising around your tank hunting during the day, but if you look at night that's when they go nuts. Copepods come out at night and therefore mandarins hunt at night. Just as Marcye and others said, they can be coaxed to eat mysis if you are LUCKY, but usually only eat copepods. The reason I am posting this is make sure you have enough pods because a pair can wipe out pods pretty quick. (also make sure you have one male and one female!) Males have a long spike/spine on thier back.
Reefmedic79
Life and Reef Saver
As has been explained by a few others, Mandarins need a live food source and a well established (8-12 months old) tank and about 70-80lbs. of LR to sustain the large amount of pods they eat. It's very rare to get a hold of one that will eat prepared food, it is said that the fish may be near sighted and not be able to know when food has been put into the tank. Good luck with them Joe, but if the store you purchased them from will take them back I'd give them back, if not I suggest not patronizing them any longer as I believe they gave you incorrect info about this species.
MIKE ALERS
New member
i agree with reefmedic.my local lfs sold me one and my tank was to new.when i called the lfs owner and told him my mandarin wasnt doing that good inmediately he told me his employee shouldnt have sold me it and told me to bring him back.
skinnyjoe1976
New member
would i have to buy a pair of brine also?
cschweitzer
New member
I recommend at least a 55G tank with 70+lbs of LR and usually also a good refugium. Pods have to be plentiful.
Sorry to say, but whoever said they need another to eat was trying to make a few extra bucks and not looking out for you or the animal. First off, one cannot survive in a 10G tank. Second, they are very territorial against their own kind and even pairs will fight to the death from time to time. Did the fish store even bother to decide whether you needed a male or female? PLEASE, tell me which store this was...I think it is good for everyone to know these fatal flaws in judgement by workers. Also, please take one or better yet both of the mandarins out of that tank...I'd give them 50% chance at best, and that is only if they decide to start eating frozen and you feed often. In that size tank, usually even one mandarin will not be able to survive off the pod population.
The best thing to do would be take them back before something bad happens. I implore you to at least take one of them out. Please go to wetwebmedia and do a few searches on them and you will see why...most people will recommend even bigger than I did for even just one of them.
I absolutely CANNOT believe that someone would actually tell you to put a second mandarin in when you come back with a problem with the first one. I'm hoping you can work it out. You are a really nice guy and someone should not be stringing you along like that. I would be furious if someone actually told me that at a LFS.
Go to SITC and buy a thing of pods or get some of the chaeto with pods in it...it is really the only chance those guys have. Are the mandarins males, females, or one of each?
Sorry to say, but whoever said they need another to eat was trying to make a few extra bucks and not looking out for you or the animal. First off, one cannot survive in a 10G tank. Second, they are very territorial against their own kind and even pairs will fight to the death from time to time. Did the fish store even bother to decide whether you needed a male or female? PLEASE, tell me which store this was...I think it is good for everyone to know these fatal flaws in judgement by workers. Also, please take one or better yet both of the mandarins out of that tank...I'd give them 50% chance at best, and that is only if they decide to start eating frozen and you feed often. In that size tank, usually even one mandarin will not be able to survive off the pod population.
The best thing to do would be take them back before something bad happens. I implore you to at least take one of them out. Please go to wetwebmedia and do a few searches on them and you will see why...most people will recommend even bigger than I did for even just one of them.
I absolutely CANNOT believe that someone would actually tell you to put a second mandarin in when you come back with a problem with the first one. I'm hoping you can work it out. You are a really nice guy and someone should not be stringing you along like that. I would be furious if someone actually told me that at a LFS.
Go to SITC and buy a thing of pods or get some of the chaeto with pods in it...it is really the only chance those guys have. Are the mandarins males, females, or one of each?
cschweitzer
New member
I just reread, you didn't mean 10G, did you? You must've meant 110 or 180, right? I'm just assuming this because of the equipment you listed...if it is actually a 10G, then wow...you have some crazy setup for that small a tank
.
If you meant 100+, then you should be fine with one(once your food supply is up...feed copes at night to the tank for supplement if tank is still establishing) and maybe even two(as long as they aren't both males...determined by spike at the top of the dorsal fin).
.If you meant 100+, then you should be fine with one(once your food supply is up...feed copes at night to the tank for supplement if tank is still establishing) and maybe even two(as long as they aren't both males...determined by spike at the top of the dorsal fin).
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