Mandarin

[rocknurworld2006]

what size of tank do one of these need?

 

[ALW]

Its not the size that counts, but the age of the tank and MUST HAVE a healthy supply of copepods. Size wise i think that they can be housed in as little as 100L.

 

[Crazy fishes]

I agree food is the question here. For long term success you really would be think of refugium where you can get the copepod population thriving so that the mandarin had enough to eat. Too often people buy a mandarin it is fine for a little while and then suddenly dies; why? They have eaten all the food available and are starved to death. Get the food source stable and then get the fish. What size is your aquarium?

Regards

 

[IIITYIII]

tank size does not matter dont let anyone tell you it does everyone says that mandarins starve in biocubes i have had one succesfully living in my 29 gallon for 5 months....i also got lucky though my mandarin eats frozen brine shrimp more than my other fish do. its said the spotted mandarins have more of a chance of eating frozen foods then the green mandarins. but i agree you should have copepods i resead my tank of copepods every month.

 

[Musho3210]

tank size does not matter dont let anyone tell you it does everyone says that mandarins starve in biocubes i have had one succesfully living in my 29 gallon for 5 months....i also got lucky though my mandarin eats frozen brine shrimp more than my other fish do. its said the spotted mandarins have more of a chance of eating frozen foods then the green mandarins. but i agree you should have copepods i resead my tank of copepods every month.

Well to tell you the truth, i find that a waste of money and/or time due to the price of copepods being so high as well as not the easiest thing to harvest externally.

Just because you have had luck with it, doesnt mean the rest of the 6 billion people on this planet may.

Tank size does matter, as with all fish, even if it takes prepared foods and you have a thriving refugium, they still need space to swim about as they can get a bit big for the smaller nanos.

If they take prepared foods BEFORE you buy them or BEFORE you add them, then i would say a minimum of 20 gallons. If they dont, minimum of 55 gallons with a thriving refugium UNTIL they AVIDLY accept prepared foods.

 

[IIITYIII]

tank size does not matter dont let anyone tell you it does everyone says that mandarins starve in biocubes i have had one succesfully living in my 29 gallon for 5 months....i also got lucky though my mandarin eats frozen brine shrimp more than my other fish do. its said the spotted mandarins have more of a chance of eating frozen foods then the green mandarins. but i agree you should have copepods i resead my tank of copepods every month.

Well to tell you the truth, i find that a waste of money and/or time due to the price of copepods being so high as well as not the easiest thing to harvest externally.

Just because you have had luck with it, doesnt mean the rest of the 6 billion people on this planet may.

Tank size does matter, as with all fish, even if it takes prepared foods and you have a thriving refugium, they still need space to swim about as they can get a bit big for the smaller nanos.

If they take prepared foods BEFORE you buy them or BEFORE you add them, then i would say a minimum of 20 gallons. If they dont, minimum of 55 gallons with a thriving refugium UNTIL they AVIDLY accept prepared foods.

correct but i see many people with mandarins who eat brine and yes most fish do need a certain tank size as tangs get huge....and copepods are expensive but i just take from my friends refugium...if i were you before you buy the mandarin ask the guy there if the mandarin you want eats frozen foods and if so then go ahead and get him

 

[Musho3210]

Hmm, the word of a business man who needs to make money.... Thats not good enough for me, id ask them to SHOW me.

 

[connorsbala]

It's not a waste of money IMO, people may be prepared to pay prices for copepods as they like the fish so much...it may be a waste of money in your eyes musho ...? I have a mandarin in a 20 gal that eats frozen brine shrimp, small frozen mysis, lobster eggs, frozen rotifers and cyclops. I have a number of copepod cultures going on outside of the tank that i have yet to use lol, the pods are multiplying but i just keep seeing numbers of copepods on the glass during the day, even more at night! I have a HOB refugium that obviously helps, with live rock rubble and chaeto in there.
If you can not find a mandarin that is eating prepared foods, then i'd go for a nice large tank with plenty of live rock and a nice established refugium.

 

[Musho3210]

It's not a waste of money IMO, people may be prepared to pay prices for copepods as they like the fish so much...it may be a waste of money in your eyes musho ...? I have a mandarin in a 20 gal that eats frozen brine shrimp, small frozen mysis, lobster eggs, frozen rotifers and cyclops. I have a number of copepod cultures going on outside of the tank that i have yet to use lol, the pods are multiplying but i just keep seeing numbers of copepods on the glass during the day, even more at night! I have a HOB refugium that obviously helps, with live rock rubble and chaeto in there.
If you can not find a mandarin that is eating prepared foods, then i'd go for a nice large tank with plenty of live rock and a nice established refugium.

Hence me saying, i find that a waste of money and/or time.

Notice the I (sorry for not capitalizing it, its a habit).

 

[aberdeen aquarist]

what size of tank do one of these need?

To answer your original question
There is no hard and fast rule about tank size with mandarins, their tankmates and diet is most important.
If you want to keep with one long term success, make sure there are no fish that eat the same food as the mandarin. The general rule of thumb is to mature the tank for at least 10 months before adding one, most people leave it a year. A lot of them are now being trained to accept frozen food, which helps their long term survival rate hugely.
One of my friends keeps a psychedelic one in a red sea max, and it's thriving due to him having a refugium that allows copepods to breed safely and letting some of them into the tank regularly. Another keeps a spotted one with more active fish but his tank has a lot of hiding places/tunnels in his rockwork.
Every fish is different and adapts to its environment differently. Some people get lucky and keep them in what others see as unsuitable conditions and others can't keep them alive in a supposedly perfect tank.

 

[kj23502]

From everything I've read, I'd say a 55 gallon if you don't want to have to worry about it eating live/frozen food. You can make a small rubble pile in a back corner of a tank and put some food down into there. I guess that'll turn into a pod reproducing machine

It also depends on what other fish in the tank will eat/hund the pods also.

 

[connorsbala]

Hence me saying, i find that a waste of money and/or time.

Notice the I (sorry for not capitalizing it, its a habit).

Sorry, didnt see the I

 

[IIITYIII]

It's not a waste of money IMO, people may be prepared to pay prices for copepods as they like the fish so much...it may be a waste of money in your eyes musho ...? I have a mandarin in a 20 gal that eats frozen brine shrimp, small frozen mysis, lobster eggs, frozen rotifers and cyclops. I have a number of copepod cultures going on outside of the tank that i have yet to use lol, the pods are multiplying but i just keep seeing numbers of copepods on the glass during the day, even more at night! I have a HOB refugium that obviously helps, with live rock rubble and chaeto in there.
If you can not find a mandarin that is eating prepared foods, then i'd go for a nice large tank with plenty of live rock and a nice established refugium.

which kinda mandarin do you have the spotted mandarin or the green mandarin? i have a spotted and cant seem to find a female one anywhere.

 

[Musho3210]

ask your local reef club

 

[n3ont3tra]

Just thought I'd add, 55g is fine, as long as you don't have other fish that will compete with it for pods like a six line, or pipefish, or some other fish.
+ Keep in mind that it could eat brine shrimp all day, that doesn't mean it will be healthy.. there's a difference between thriving and surviving.