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lgreen's Mandarin FAQ


lgreen

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I talk to a men today that breeds Mandarins he told me that they may also eat http://www.vividaquariums.com/10Expand.asp...Code=02-9002-10 My LFS will not have them in till next week so I will get them then. But for now I just got my pods today so my Mandarin is happy hunting them for now.

 

Pics of my Mandarin here>

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=170848

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I can buy 7oz of live copepods for $28.

 

How many ounces would a mandarin require monthly?

 

None if you train it to eat frozen mysis and or pellets, etc etc.

 

There is a thread in the fish section about Mandarins with some excellent info for training them to eat prepared foods.

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None if you train it to eat frozen mysis and or pellets, etc etc.

 

There is a thread in the fish section about Mandarins with some excellent info for training them to eat prepared foods.

 

Been there, done that.

 

I had one eating mysis no problem but I would need to feed him 10X per day to keep him fat.

 

If all I need to do is dump live pods in the nano to keep him fed that would be the ultimate setup.

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Has anyone tried breeding pods?

 

It seems pretty simple to me. Setup a 10g tank with lots of phyto to keep the pods well fed with an air pump to keep the water oxygenated and they will multiply like crazy!

 

Scoop up a bunch of pods into the nano every few days to keep the mandarin nice and fat.

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If you have a large fuge (on any system) you can make a bunch of "pod condos" and rotate them through your mandarin tank, it is something I'll probably do even if I get mine trained on prepared foods.

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Just wondering if Capital Aquarium is still in business? When I lived in Sactown and Elk Grove I use to go their almost weekly... :D

 

Capital aquarium is horrible. Last time I was in there, there was a tank with a floating bag of 40 dead clown loaches in it. There was also a tank with a butterfly and a tiny skunk clown in it that had an excess of 50,000 bristleworms in it! I'm not joking, the sand and rock (the two tiny pieces of fake rock) were red and moving because there were so many worms. I't was like a horror flick, I hate hate HATE bristle worms now. I swear I could single handily run that place better than the idiots that work there... but I'm not bitter! :P I go to Aqualife in Rocklin instead, which is a million times better.

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Yeah they are, but I don't even bother going there any more. Place has gone down the pooper.

 

Yes, I saw that coming before I moved out of state... Down the street from CA was a really nice FS but they went out of business. The Fish Bowl was also nice back in the day in South Sac...

Edited by Acerone
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I had seen a video on bottle training mandarins and its working for me. Here are some pics and a video I made. I think he was a little nervous that I was looking at him eating.

post-37416-1222574200_thumb.jpg

post-37416-1222574212_thumb.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
Been there, done that.

 

I had one eating mysis no problem but I would need to feed him 10X per day to keep him fat.

 

If all I need to do is dump live pods in the nano to keep him fed that would be the ultimate setup.

 

Then you had a fish with something wrong with it. Mandarins can be sustained just fine on mysis....Mine is going on a year and growing.

 

Dumping pods in an hoping he finds them is it not worth the risk. They need to be fed to thrive.

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To get one of these awsome fish you need to find a very responsible and specialised LFS. I will be getting my Mandarin in a few months or less. The LFS I deal with is owned and opperated by a very knowlegable faimly. They have a supplier that has both Tank Bred and Live cought Dragonets that he teached to accept frozen.

 

I have a red scooter right now that i think is fine. He is a juvinile only an inch or so long, he waits for the frozen every day or two. I was told that one of the problems with them eating frozen is they somtimes will stop eating copods altogether. This will mean if you want to go on a trip you are very limited on how long you can go away for.

 

Here is a picture

post-39211-1223561312.jpg

 

 

I am such a proud pappa showing him off to everyone. I know he is not a Mandarine but he is so cool to watch.

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i just got a red dragonette also and i was nervous about putting him in QT with no LR or LS (no pods) but he took right to the mysis and blood worms....i just shut the pump off and dump some on him and he goes to town. lol

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  • 2 weeks later...

hi all

 

great thread.... my question... does an algae blenny eat pods or just algae? need to determine whether an algae blenny would compete for pods with a mandarin thus would make a good tankmate? please advise... I notice pods crowd around algae too... do pods consume algae also or just phyto?

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  • 2 weeks later...

just cause i can :)

 

lgreen's Mandarin FAQ

 

 

 

800px-Synchiropus_splendidus_2_Luc_Viatour.jpg

 

 

Copyright lgreen 2008

 

Note: In this guide, Mandarins will be referred to as Dragonets.

 

Table of Contents

 

I. Introduction

II. The Basic Truth About Dragonets

III. The Dragonet Family

IV. Dragonet Basics

V. The Case Against Keeping Dragonets In Nano Tanks

VI. Successfully keeping Dragonets in Nano Tanks

VII. Feeding/Food Rearing Technique

VIII. Bibliography

 

I. Introduction

 

The purpose of this thread is to help educate you first about the potential consequences of keeping such a delicate fish in a nano tank and second to help provide some info and advice should you choose to venture down this road.

 

As reefing in general is not an exact science the approach I have taken to organizing this information is to provide a framework that includes my knowledge of dragonets, but also to encourage others to share their experience and knowledge for the benefit of everyone.

 

II. The Basic Truth About Dragonets

 

Generally speaking, dragonets are not a suitable choice for nano tanks. Nor are they a suitable choice for any unexperienced reefer, regardless of your tank size. Although these fish are very attractive and often inexpensive, if you are inexperienced and/or do not provide the proper habitat for these fish, they will die. This is not to say it is impossible. With proper research, the right habitat, and some special care, mandarins can be kept alive in nano tanks. I cannot stress enough though that this is NOT a beginner fish.

 

The most basic explanation for why these fish are so difficult for many to keep is because their diet is very specific and therefore they can be very difficult to feed. A more detailed explanation for the case against keeping dragonets in nano tanks can be found later in this guide.

 

At the most basic level, successfully keeping a Dragonet in a nano-tank does not just involve providing the right food, but MOST IMPORTANTLY providing a continual source of that food. Methods for providing a continual source of food will be discussed below.

 

III. The Dragonet Family

 

Synchiropus splendidus

 

Common names: Green Mandarin Goby, Psychedelic Mandarin Goby

 

 

awakefieldmandarin_400.JPG

 

 

Synchiropus picturatus

 

Common names: Yellow Target Mandarin Goby, Spotted Mandarin Goby

 

 

mherndonmandarin_500.JPG

 

 

Synchiropus ocellatus

 

Common names: Scooter Blenny, Scooter Dragonet

 

 

 

 

 

Synchiropus stellatus

 

Common names: Red Scooter Blenny, Sterry Scooter Blenny, Red Scooter Dragonet, Sterry Dragonet

 

 

 

 

 

IV. Dragonet Basics

 

First and foremost it is necessary to distinguish Dragonets as their own genius of fish. They are often incorrectly classified as gobies and blennies. Dragonets are most commonly found in the western pacific ocean ranging from southern Japan to northern Australia. They tend to hang out in shallower reefs and lagoons. Dragonets are bottom-dwelling carnivores that feed mostly on small micro and macro invertebrates such as copepods.

 

Copepod:

 

 

 

 

 

V. The Case Against Keeping Dragonets In Nano Tanks

 

So what we already know is that Dragonets are very difficult to feed since their primary source of nutrition is the copepod. Therefore the biggest challenge in keeping a Dragonet is not just having copepods, but rather having a continual supply of copepods. You may see copepods in your tank, however you must consider that a dragonet can wipe out a tanks worth of copepods in a short amount of time. Therefore, not only must you have copepods, but the population of copepods must be continually breeding. The key to keeping your copepod population continually breeding is to provide the correct habitat, which basically consists of hiding spots where the Dragonet can not get to them. This is what can prove to be the most difficult challenge in a nano tank. There is simply not enough space to provide the habitat (hiding spots) in a nano tank to support the continual copepod population that the dragonets need. So in general with out really going above and beyond in terms of providing the correct habitat for the copepods, your success at keeping a dragonet in a nano tank, or any tank for that matter, will be limited. As we will discuss below, successfully keeping a dragonet in a nano tank will involve providing some sort of supplemental habitat to your tank dedicated specifically to copepods.

 

I would also advise people be very cautious when reading success stories about dragonets. Many people buy a dragonet and if it lives for a week or even a month, they consider that a success story. This is very false. This is a fish that can look totally healthy and appear to be eating for 2-3 months and then just suddenly disappear. Now if someone tells you that they have successfully kept a dragonet in their nano for 3-6+ months, I would consider their experiences/techniques worth discussing.

 

VI. Successfully keeping Dragonets in Nano Tanks

 

Coming Soon!

 

This section will explain all the elements that must be taken in consideration to successfully keep a mandarin. Topics will include tank size, tank mates, pairing, and what questions to ask/how to find a healthy specimen. This section also may feature links to success stories.

 

VII. Feeding/Food Rearing Technique

 

Coming Soon!

 

Frozen Food

 

Live Copepods

 

Refugiums

 

Rubble/Crypitc Zones

 

VIII. Bibliography

 

Coming Soon!

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  • 1 month later...
Restored to original form!

Now how about yall post an in depth guide on how to train them to eat mysis? Pretty please ;)

Edited by ddr_phish
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Has anyone tried breeding pods?

 

It seems pretty simple to me. Setup a 10g tank with lots of phyto to keep the pods well fed with an air pump to keep the water oxygenated and they will multiply like crazy!

 

Scoop up a bunch of pods into the nano every few days to keep the mandarin nice and fat.

-pod farm-

 

10 gal tank---free, i had 2-3 of em lyin round the yard

air pump(small is ok)----$0.00 plus tax

old school filter box(or sponge filter)--less than $5.00

lots and lots of rubble.....can use a mix of live and dry rock busted up...what evers cheaper..less than $5.00

less than 1' of mix media substrate.....a mix or any will do...mine was crushed coral/aragonite

some live rock if you need it for "looks"

clear (glass/acrylic) lid to keep salt creep down

most importantly.......macro algea......to keep nitrates and stuff in check....

! this tank has to be seeded(provided w/ a culture) in some way!

 

as far as water, i never threw out my old water change water out of fear of one day being out of water for some freak reason....yup i used old stagnant tank water..yummy pod and macro food!

 

i started the tank as a holding area for cheato/macro before i took it to the store.

flow should be almost nil.....the larva dont handle being pummeled by a good pump....

 

i had peppermint shrimp and emerald crabs spawning in this tank...thats how i know pumps are no good for growing plankton....chops em up! i noticed a change in numbers when i tried a power head...

 

i had more success in growing pods with just air.....

water parameters?...just make sure its salt water....old tank water works great

temp???.....they can survive temps of 85+ to colder....but keep it 80ish to be safe....

 

as far as collecting pods.....possible to bait them into going into a water bottle...other than that i dont know....at the time i had the tank,i had no real reason to harvest them...

 

light.....free, i used a very sunny window....but i also tried GE REVEAL halogen bulbs, full spectrum of course, which works find but you might get hair algea...but thats not a problem...this is a pod farm not a display...

 

there are other ways of doing the whold pod farm thing, but i worked w/ what i had at the time.....

 

the "green water" method might yeld better populations than this, but i liked watching this tank....i had peppermints and emerld crabs spawning in it...it was very low maitenince and had an anus full of pods...

 

but thats just my pod farming experience....

post-23358-1230438286_thumb.jpg

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catchnrelease

I have a Mandarin in a 35L tank, along with a few other fish. I'm new to this and may have dove into the deep end accidently. I don't think there's enough live rock to sustain a population of Copepods, but that's all done now, more research should've been done blah blah blah, no point whining, I want to make things better.

 

Which leads to me asking whether you guys have had any success with Mandarins and feeding them Daphnia. When we got the fish the guy told us he had successfully turned a small Mandarin into a Daphnia eater. We bought a different one (ordered in) and now it's going everywhere in the tank looking for food, which worries me. Is there such a thing as too much live rock? Like I said, I'm kinda new to this marine business, all my previous tanks were freshwater and tropicals.

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