Mandarin's

[bob`_your_dog]

I saw one of these at my LFS and have read that they need a huge amount of rock, my tank's only been running about 2 months now so it's not really all that mature, and i only have about 24kgs of LR. I really would like buy this guy but i'm not sure if he'll like my setup

It's a really beautiful fish, my tank is a 4 f00t, 250L and i only have the african clown at the moment.

 

[blout]

many people ask this question, i would say no, mandarins needs are great they need loads of for pods to breed on and even then then tank needs to be matured for nearly a year so the pods can multiply and make enough food for the mandarin. id love one to but i havent got that much LR

 

[hyrookin]

well I hate to break it to you, but they do in fact need a very large
amount of rock in a very mature system(one that has been running at
the minimum of 1 year).

they feed primarily on copepods, and require tons of live rock so their
food supply can replenish.(which in a closed system takes time.)

they are a very beautiful fish that very few people have long-term success
in keeping more than 6 months.

so if you do decide to get him, him will almost certainly starve to death
within 6 months.
sorry.

 

[bob`_your_dog]

Yeah thats what i feared, but is ther no food you can supplement them with? Frozen pods If there is such a thing

 

[Navarre]

The problem is that they dont see frozen food as "food". They are stimulated by live food. There are a very small number that eat frozen but these are extremly rare. I love these fish and even with all my live rock in the 100 gallon i know i cannot sustain one.

 

[leon]

how much live rock would be sufficient, with a year plus to mature and populate?
i intend on having 100 - 110kgs of rock btw, but i know not to get one yet, if i can that is!
leon

 

[Navarre]

General opinions say that a single mandarin can eat so many pods it would require a 100 gallon tank with liverock to sustain its dietary needs.
1kg per 2 gallons of tank so i gues this would mean an absolute minimum of 50kg of liverock (100lbs).

Basically if you have a 100 gallon system and its being filtered by the liverock alone then you should have enough rock i think

 

[leon]

It is my main filtration!, i will have 100+ in the main tank, i could put some in the sump aswell, and i was thinking of having somthing in the weir, like lots of L.R rubble, so as to get more surface area in there cause the glass and durso are convered in life, sponges, sea squirts pods ect. Good idea?
leon

 

[Navarre]

I persoanly dont think you can ever have enough liverock! If you can add more then do it. regardelss of the flow and water around the rock, some form of life will take to it. in slow areas then squirts will grow, in higher flows then pods will develop etc

 

[Opcn]

a fuge would be a good idea too, so that pods have somewhere with high population density but don't get killed by an impeller on the way to the tank

 

[Aquascaper]

I did a little research into these guys a while back and found out that the miniumum suggested requirement is 75lbs (35kgs) of LR per fish.

I have over 80lbs (36kgs) of LR in my 100g setup which had been in a reef setup for over 2 years before I took it over so I felt this was mature enough to allow me
to get a mandarin. My LFS had Spotted Mandarins (Synchiropus picturatus), also known as Psychedelic Mandarins, so I bought one of those (it was also £8 compared to the £22 for the true Mandarins despite being rarer?).

I have had him for about 3 months now and he seems to be fine, fat and healthy. I have been told (admittedly by an LFS) that the Spotted Mandarins will supplement their diet with other foods whereas the true Mandarins will only eat copepods, etc.

HTH

 

[Fishy411]

not true. SOme madarins can be weaned onto frozen foods but not really any particular species. It is best to just let it eat pods. You need at lkeast 100 pounds. Leon. If u have 100 kg's ( is that 200 pounds?) u will have a happy mandarin

 

[leon]

I works out at around 178 lbs, give or take at the moment, i will get one then, but i'll leave it a while till the tank is well populated with them
cheers,
leon

 

[Great Lakes]

Leon, you will be fine, once your tank matures.
Make sure you can see lots of podlife before you get one though. Don't rush it.

And lest we all forget, Mandarins aren't the only eaters of pods.

This is one of those times where the difference between a cycled tank and mature tank makes a world of difference.

I have a Mandarin myself. He is one of my favorites.

GL

 

[Aquascaper]

As stated in my previous post the minimum is 75lbs of LR per fish, not 100lbs. This was deduced after over 4 weeks of research from a wide variety of sources. To make to sweeping statement that this is not true and that you need at least 100lbs of LR is a little ridiculous IMO.

I don't see the point in giving out wrong information that could discourage people from keeping the fish/inverts/corals they would like to.

Thank you,
A Mandarin owner