So I bought a mandarin...

Tuscaquatics

Tuscaquatics

Member
He was only 14 bucks. I read that pretty much every reef tank has to have one. So I acclimated him via drip method and just put him in my 55-gallon a couple hours ago. He swam under some rockwork and hasn't come out yet. Is he gonna spend all his time under there, or will he come out so I can watch him?

Also, I have a sand-sifting star that's been in there since before the tank was even done cycling. Based on what I've read the star was supposed to have completely wiped out my pods and starved by now, but I see more and more every day. Am I crazy putting a mandarin and sand-sifting star together? Like I said, there are pods on every surface of the tank at all times.
 
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Phreek

Member
im sorry but where did you read that every reef tank has to have a mandarin? you were wildly misinformed. Mandarins do best in ESTABLISHED aquariums, and are not for the novice keeper. I think you should take it back before it dies in your aquarium. Please do more research before purchasing a mandarin.
 
Tuscaquatics

Tuscaquatics

Member
Phreek said:
im sorry but where did you read that every reef tank has to have a mandarin? you were wildly misinformed. Mandarins do best in ESTABLISHED aquariums, and are not for the novice keeper. I think you should take it back before it dies in your aquarium. Please do more research before purchasing a mandarin.
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Great reply. Who said my tank wasn't established? Who said I'm a novice? I've done plenty of research. You did nothing to answer my questions. Thanks for nothing, know-it-all. I'm sure that correcting me was the highlight of your otherwise pathetic day.

And, no, I'm not bringing him back to the LFS. One of the reasons I bought him was to rescue him from tanks that have zero pods for him to eat.
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
Tuscaquatics said:
He was only 14 bucks. I read that pretty much every reef tank has to have one. So I acclimated him via drip method and just put him in my 55-gallon a couple hours ago. He swam under some rockwork and hasn't come out yet. Is he gonna spend all his time under there, or will he come out so I can watch him?

Also, I have a sand-sifting star that's been in there since before the tank was even done cycling. Based on what I've read the star was supposed to have completely wiped out my pods and starved by now, but I see more and more every day. Am I crazy putting a mandarin and sand-sifting star together? Like I said, there are pods on every surface of the tank at all times.
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Yes, mandarins do hide a lot. They are very timid. You usually will not see them much.

I wouldn't recommend putting a sand sifting star and a mandarin together in a 55 gal tank. Both are tough on pods. You are using about the minimum size tank for a mandarin. You might get away with it, but I'd be prepared to remove one or the other.

No, every reef tank does not need a mandarin. In fact, if you were setting up a tank specificly for a mandarin, it would be more like a mangrove swamp than reef.

They are a very colorful fish, but you'll be surprised how well the green and red blend right into LR. As pointed out you don't usually see them much.

As for feeding, I have gotten them to eat frozen blood worms and live black worms, but it depends upon the individual fish. Some will not eat anything but pods.
 
KathyL

KathyL

New Member
Put a clean (de-labeled) jelly jar on its side on the bottom of the tank and put some frozen mysis in there. Maybe some frozen enriched brine shrimp. Keep an eye on it. If you see the mandarin go in, and eat, you are lucky. You can check the jar daily, make sure its empty, and then add some frozen goodies. Soon the mandarin will be waiting for its meal INSIDE the jar!

Make sure the food comes to rest inside the jar. Too much water flow can mess up the whole idea.
 
Tuscaquatics

Tuscaquatics

Member
DaveK said:
Yes, mandarins do hide a lot. They are very timid. You usually will not see them much.

I wouldn't recommend putting a sand sifting star and a mandarin together in a 55 gal tank. Both are tough on pods. You are using about the minimum size tank for a mandarin. You might get away with it, but I'd be prepared to remove one or the other.

No, every reef tank does not need a mandarin. In fact, if you were setting up a tank specificly for a mandarin, it would be more like a mangrove swamp than reef.

They are a very colorful fish, but you'll be surprised how well the green and red blend right into LR. As pointed out you don't usually see them much.

As for feeding, I have gotten them to eat frozen blood worms and live black worms, but it depends upon the individual fish. Some will not eat anything but pods.
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Now, that's an intelligent reply. Thank you.

I kind of mistyped when I said that "every reef tank needs a mandarin." I guess I meant that I've read that they're very popular amongst reefers. As for the star, I've read plenty of people say that they're almost impossible to keep since they eat ALL of the pods. Like I said, he was in there since before I had pods to speak of and he's doing great and he hasn't depleted the pods. But I did think it might be an issue. Thanks, though.
 
fivel

fivel

Member
I have had my red mandarin and sandsifting star in my tank for 4 years now and they are both doing great.

I also lucked out in the fact that I managed to train my mandarin to eat the pellet food that I put in my tank. Although not every reef tank needs a mandarin, they are in my opinion one of the most beautiful fish in this hobby and because of that a treat for anyone who an keep them.

They will also get less shy as they get comfortable and older. Mine doesn't hide at all anymore, he's always swimming over the rocks or chilling right in the front of the tank. Just keep watching for him and make sure that he does venture out to eat off your rock work. They can be very timid and skittish to start though, so just give him some time and keep us posted.

Best of luck and congratulations on your new beauty :)

Rich
 
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csmsss

Member
I've never found mandarins to be particularly shy, as long as none of their tankmates are terribly aggressive. As long as they are well fed, they tend to be fairly active, doing their little helicopter routine all over the tank.
 
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jski711

Member
Just an FYI you CAN train a mandarin to eat frozen foods. You need to start out by putting the fish in a breeder net and feeding enriched adult live brine though. If you some more info please just ask.
 
Paul B

Paul B

Well-Known Member
I have been keeping these guys for over 30 years and they are argueably the most colorful of fish. I find them to be a long lived least maintenance fish.
I know some of them eat dead and even prepared foods but a mandarin was built to eat tiny organisms and to eat one about every 15 seconds or so. They have a stomach (or lack of one) like a seahorse in that they can not store food. Fish like that need to have food all day available to them. If you can get them to eat pellets, they can only digest one, then that will have to pass through their limited digestive tract before they can utilize another one. They may eat a few of them but they can't store it and the first ones will just get pushed out. There is no real stomach there to store it.
So while you could suppliment their diet if you like, they really need a constant supply of pods to live for many years. You said you have an abundance of pods so yours should do well. Pod populations could crash in a day so keep the rest of the tank well fed to feed the pods. Pod populations are dependant on food. Unfortunately, so are water conditions.
Good luck
Paul
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Phreek

Member
Tuscaquatics said:
Great reply. Who said my tank wasn't established? Who said I'm a novice? I've done plenty of research. You did nothing to answer my questions. Thanks for nothing, know-it-all. I'm sure that correcting me was the highlight of your otherwise pathetic day.

And, no, I'm not bringing him back to the LFS. One of the reasons I bought him was to rescue him from tanks that have zero pods for him to eat.
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Lol easy there killer, perhaps you need to adjust your attitude before typing. I in no way meant any disrespect by my reply. But by the way you asked your questions, and know so little about mandarin behavior in general it lead me to believe you are a "novice". Please do not disrespect me again, as I intended no disrespect to you. Mandarins are not an easy fish to keep by any means, and though many are successful in keeping them, there are many many more who are not. I would highly recommend returning the fish, untill you fully understand their behavior, requirements etc. Before you become trigger happy and blast off with another smart remark, consider this is a peaceful place, where all can share their opinions and information. I am treating you with respect, and kindly giving my suggestion of returning the fish, untill you fully understand it. If you proceed to be a pompous disresepctful individual you will get the exact same in return. The others who responded can help you, but only if you truly know what you're getting yourself into. Please consider returning this fish, if you must keep it, I pray it survives and does well in your tank.
 
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Phreek

Member
As for me correcting you being the high light of my day. Please do not flatter yourself. I understand it's impossible for you to realise there is a life and world outside of your ego, please learn to cope with this. I would scarcely consider you highlight reel material...perhaps more of a "wipe my feet and get this crap off my shoes" kind of person....
 
Tuscaquatics

Tuscaquatics

Member
Phreek said:
As for me correcting you being the high light of my day. Please do not flatter yourself. I understand it's impossible for you to realise there is a life and world outside of your ego, please learn to cope with this. I would scarcely consider you highlight reel material...perhaps more of a "wipe my feet and get this crap off my shoes" kind of person....
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You still don't know what you're talking about since every other reply basically contradicts what you said.

And my ego isn't the issue. You're the one who stormed in with a smart-aleck reply that offered no help other than to "take him back; he will die." I'm sick of know-it-alls chiming in with their usually worthless two cents.
 
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Phreek

Member
Perhaps you took my reply the wrong way. I did not intend my original reply to be rude or unthoughtful. And in no way did I mean disrespect. The others are not contradicting what I have said, they are simply stating their experiences and views. None of them said Mandarins are for beginners, or that they belong in new tanks.. which would be the opposite of what I said. So how are they contradicting me? I am by no means a know it all, just sharing my opinion. I think you should have researched the fish more thoroughly before purchase. Perhaps given a backstory as to how old your tank is, its overall well being etc, so the reader is not left to assume its a newly established system.
 
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Phreek

Member
After reading through your other posts my assumptions were right...your tank being only 3 months old is not nearly established enough to house a Mandarin. Perhaps thats why your pod population has not died down yet. The star hasnt had enough time to deplete it. I wouldn't recommend housing a mandarin in a tank that is any younger than 9 months. By this time, the tank will (hopefully) have come to a balance, and things should be stable enough to house such delicate animals.
 
D3monic

D3monic

Member
then perhaps you should just unplug your computer and never venture into a forum again. The net is nothing but e-knowitalls self proclaimed experts in what ever field they researched that day. Your behaivor is appauling for a forum of this magnatude. I would of been more than happy to help you with what ever Mandarin related questions you may have, but your half cocked attitude is rediculous. GL with your fish and if you need someone to point you toward a forum full of people with your kind of attitude problem I would be more than happy to point you that way.
 
Wakeskater02

Wakeskater02

Member
I have decided that you guys are arguing dumb points.

Here is what we know about the Mandarin Fish...

-it is an extremely difficult fish to keep alive.
-in order for good health they need to eat constantly.
-they do not have a full-fletched stomach, or many internal organs.
-in the wild they eat pods contstantly to stay alive and healthy.
-if they do not eat constantly, they will definitely die off in a home aquarium.

As for your tank (and take it from me, I have been house tropical marine aquaria for over 10+ years)
-it is much too early to stock one of these fish and it is almost too early to stock a number of common species of marine aquaria in your aquarium.
-just because you like a fish, or really want one, does not mean that you should keep it, or buy it.

As for this forum/thread and site...
-I would be careful what you say on this thread, as the modders have the ability to kick you both off. Plus, everyone else does not want to hear your bickering back and forth. If you want the information and opinions of the great folks here on RS then by all means ask a question. If you don't then maybe you shouldn't be on here in the first place. If either of you are going to argue back and forth continuously then maybe you two should both head on over to Reef Central?

Thanks,

Keep Reefin'
 
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