Manderrin Fish

[VictorMeldrew]

I seen a manderrin fish at a lfs today and is was stunning, i was just wondering what peoples thoughts are on keeping them, I recently seen a programme on tv that said that their numbers in the wild are getting lower and the presenter said that they are begining to be hard to find, due to them being taken from the wild for are fish tanks. She also said that they rarely survive when put in captivity.

I would love to keep one or two when i get more experience, what do you think?

 

[Colin_T]

make sure the tank has lots of live rock in, and get the shop to feed the fish before you buy it. If the fish doesn't eat at the shop, don't get it. Once they settle into a tank they usually do well. But if the water isn't good and there isn't enough food on the rocks, they starve. If you have a refugium connected to the main tank that will help by providing small amounts of plankton.

 

[VictorMeldrew]

They look really delicut fish, can i keep many other species with them?

 

[Colin_T]

they do ok with other small slow moving fish. Don't keep them with damsels, big wrasses, or other fast moving fish because they won't get any food. A lot of people keep them with sea horses and pipefish

 

[IIITYIII]

mandarin fish are very stunning. some mandarins will accept frozen foods like frozen enriched brine shrimp. you can keep mandarins with many fish they seem to be very peaceful from what i have seen just do not stick two males together they might rip each other to shreds. but like the guy above me said make sure you have a decent amount of live rock they eat copepods which you usually get with your live rock. you can also buy copepod packs at your lfs. i have heard that the spotted mandarins are more likely to eat frozen foods than the blue ones but i dont believe that i have seen both kinds eat frozen brine. but if you do get one best of luck keeping it they really are awesome fish.

 

[VictorMeldrew]

they do ok with other small slow moving fish. Don't keep them with damsels, big wrasses, or other fast moving fish because they won't get any food. A lot of people keep them with sea horses and pipefish

Seahorses and pipefish maybe thats what i will aim for with my new reef tank then, certainly something for me to think about, can you keep more then one, and how much are they, they were not priced in the store

 

[Musho3210]

Don't get one unless your tank has about 75 pounds + mature live rock, a mature tank (6 months+), and if its something less than 125 gallons, a mature refugium.

 

[VictorMeldrew]

Don't get one unless your tank has about 75 pounds + mature live rock, a mature tank (6 months+), and if its something less than 125 gallons, a mature refugium.

I have a 100gl and plan to have about 40 kilo's of live rock and i really do not mind waiting until the tank is mature as i think they are worth the wait. why do thay need such a big tank?

Don't get one unless your tank has about 75 pounds + mature live rock, a mature tank (6 months+), and if its something less than 125 gallons, a mature refugium.

I have a 100gl and plan to have about 40 kilo's of live rock and i really do not mind waiting until the tank is mature as i think they are worth the wait. why do thay need such a big tank?

Whoops..double post.

 

[Musho3210]

Well, do some research and try out a mandarin .

Basic info has already been said in this thread, but my only concern is how everyone makes it sound its easy to feed them frozen food, its quite rare actually, and it takes training, you would have to be extremely lucky to pick one up a HEALTHY one at the lfs that takes frozen food that isnt called for already.

Anyway, besides their feeding nature, they are quite easy to care for, they are hardy creatures and they have a layer of mucus around them which helps prevent external parasitic or bacterial infestations.

They need such big tanks because they need so much live rock to "graze" on, they eat pods as their 100% diet (unless you train them off of this, even then, pods make up most of their diet) and they spend all day hunting and sucking up pods. If you've ever seen a copepod, you'll know how small they are and it will give you an idea just how much they need to eat every day.

 

[VictorMeldrew]

Thanks for the info

 

[shibby]

Well, do some research and try out a mandarin .

Basic info has already been said in this thread, but my only concern is how everyone makes it sound its easy to feed them frozen food, its quite rare actually, and it takes training, you would have to be extremely lucky to pick one up a HEALTHY one at the lfs that takes frozen food that isnt called for already.

Anyway, besides their feeding nature, they are quite easy to care for, they are hardy creatures and they have a layer of mucus around them which helps prevent external parasitic or bacterial infestations.

They need such big tanks because they need so much live rock to "graze" on, they eat pods as their 100% diet (unless you train them off of this, even then, pods make up most of their diet) and they spend all day hunting and sucking up pods. If you've ever seen a copepod, you'll know how small they are and it will give you an idea just how much they need to eat every day.

not true its not hard. it is easy, ive seen many feeding well on frozen, and they didnt have to go to a training course to learn how

you and your rules crazyy.

 

[ostrow]

I tried 2 of the green spotted mandarins and 2 of the dragonet mandarins and all 4 starved to death.

I have a well established aquarium that is teaming with copepods, amphipods, and all sorts of worms in the rock and sand. Not only did none of them eat the prepared foods, none of them ever ate the live food all over the tank.

In my opinion, based on my experience and that of the vast majority of hobbyists and experts, these are not suitable fish for the hobby. It is less about husbandry (though to be successful your tank has to be extremely stable and full of a variety of tiny lifeforms), than it is about the species: they do not do well in captivity.

 

[Musho3210]

Well, do some research and try out a mandarin .

Basic info has already been said in this thread, but my only concern is how everyone makes it sound its easy to feed them frozen food, its quite rare actually, and it takes training, you would have to be extremely lucky to pick one up a HEALTHY one at the lfs that takes frozen food that isnt called for already.

Anyway, besides their feeding nature, they are quite easy to care for, they are hardy creatures and they have a layer of mucus around them which helps prevent external parasitic or bacterial infestations.

They need such big tanks because they need so much live rock to "graze" on, they eat pods as their 100% diet (unless you train them off of this, even then, pods make up most of their diet) and they spend all day hunting and sucking up pods. If you've ever seen a copepod, you'll know how small they are and it will give you an idea just how much they need to eat every day.

not true its not hard. it is easy, ive seen many feeding well on frozen, and they didnt have to go to a training course to learn how

you and your rules crazyy.

By training i mean they need to get used to frozen food being in the tank and being edible, not a series of hurdles and 400 meter runs. , it may take time for them to get used to frozen, and by that time they may be starving (if pod populations are not up to standard) to the point where death is inevitable. Tell me a worse way to die? The ratio of the mandarins that DONT take frozen food regularly is a lot more than the mandarins that do. Therefor the word "rare" is in there.

And i try to stay responsible for the lives i keep in my care.

 

[IIITYIII]

Well, do some research and try out a mandarin .

Basic info has already been said in this thread, but my only concern is how everyone makes it sound its easy to feed them frozen food, its quite rare actually, and it takes training, you would have to be extremely lucky to pick one up a HEALTHY one at the lfs that takes frozen food that isnt called for already.

Anyway, besides their feeding nature, they are quite easy to care for, they are hardy creatures and they have a layer of mucus around them which helps prevent external parasitic or bacterial infestations.

They need such big tanks because they need so much live rock to "graze" on, they eat pods as their 100% diet (unless you train them off of this, even then, pods make up most of their diet) and they spend all day hunting and sucking up pods. If you've ever seen a copepod, you'll know how small they are and it will give you an idea just how much they need to eat every day.

not true its not hard. it is easy, ive seen many feeding well on frozen, and they didnt have to go to a training course to learn how

you and your rules crazyy.

By training i mean they need to get used to frozen food being in the tank and being edible, not a series of hurdles and 400 meter runs. , it may take time for them to get used to frozen, and by that time they may be starving (if pod populations are not up to standard) to the point where death is inevitable. Tell me a worse way to die? The ratio of the mandarins that DONT take frozen food regularly is a lot more than the mandarins that do. Therefor the word "rare" is in there.

And i try to stay responsible for the lives i keep in my care.

i will agree you do need lots of pods...if you are that worried about it buy a pack of copepods every month it really does help. im going to say something but its me i got lucky...i have a spotted mandarin in a 40 gallon breeder with 35 maybe 40 pounds of live rock and my glass is covered in copepods and my mandarin is fat on a daily basis but i also like i said buy a pack of pods every month and i he also ate frozen foods after about a week. if you want my opinion if you got a good stack of live rock and you feel comfortable with it go for it you never know you may get one that eats frozen foods! i know a lot of people will disagree with me on this forum but like i said my opinion.

 

[kj23502]

I've read to eye them close before you buy also. If you get one that has a really sunken in belly then chances are it hasn't eaten for a long time anyway and is on the way out