Where'd all the captive bred mandarins go?!

[BOMBreef]

Quiet a lot has changed in the last 4 years since I've been away. One of the most exciting things on the tail end of my last run was captive bred mandarins being introduced to the market. Seems as though that was short lived because it looks like ORA stopped culturing them. So what happened? Where did all the captive bred mandarins go? 

Also, what else have I missed?? 

[Tamberav]

2 hours ago, BOMBreef said:

Quiet a lot has changed in the last 4 years since I've been away. One of the most exciting things on the tail end of my last run was captive bred mandarins being introduced to the market. Seems as though that was short lived because it looks like ORA stopped culturing them. So what happened? Where did all the captive bred mandarins go? 

Also, what else have I missed?? 

 

ORA tends to do something new and then poof... many fish they once offered are no longer offered. I mean have you seen a Eastern Hulafish from ORA any time recently? Red Sea Mimic Blenny? Bundoon Blenny? White Spotted Pygmy Filefish? I sure haven't. I'm guessing its partly about profits and also some fish are just plain difficult and maybe not worth the effort. 

 

Luckily Biota is now breeding captive bred mandarins. So they got you covered. 

 

https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/5146/?pcatid=5146

 

 

2018 list showing what has been bred and what is actually available, scroll down: 

 

https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2018/03/15/coral-magazines-captive-bred-marine-fish-species-list-for-2018/

[BOMBreef]

3 hours ago, Tamberav said:

 

ORA tends to do something new and then poof... many fish they once offered are no longer offered. I mean have you seen a Eastern Hulafish from ORA any time recently? Red Sea Mimic Blenny? Bundoon Blenny? White Spotted Pygmy Filefish? I sure haven't. I'm guessing its partly about profits and also some fish are just plain difficult and maybe not worth the effort. 

 

Luckily Biota is now breeding captive bred mandarins. So they got you covered. 

 

https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/5146/?pcatid=5146

 

 

2018 list showing what has been bred and what is actually available, scroll down: 

 

https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2018/03/15/coral-magazines-captive-bred-marine-fish-species-list-for-2018/

 You're so right. ORA has been notorious for having their "flavor of the month", I once wanted a Bundoon Blenny and saw one at my LFS when they sourced from ORA, now they don't get anything from ORA anymore. 

 

Thanks for the info on Biota - I'll definitely keep an eye on that once my tank is more established around the ~1 year mark. 

[banasophia]

I love my captive bred Biota mandarin “Finnick” from LiveAquaria. I’ve had him 6 months now. 

 

 

 

[ReefCap]

Biota breeds them and I see them at my LFS about once a month. But the $90 price tag is pretty steep compared to the $25 wild ones

[banasophia]

18 minutes ago, ReefCap said:

Biota breeds them and I see them at my LFS about once a month. But the $90 price tag is pretty steep compared to the $25 wild ones

To me, so worth the extra money to have a mandarin that may have a hardier appetite, and be likelier to eat other foods in addition to pods, especially when considering one for a nano tank. 

[BOMBreef]

7 hours ago, banasophia said:

To me, so worth the extra money to have a mandarin that may have a hardier appetite, and be likelier to eat other foods in addition to pods, especially when considering one for a nano tank. 

Agreed! It's a feel good thing knowing I'm not "hurting" them or their habitat. I've never had one simply because of that, I've always tried to get captive bred fish. 

 

Banasophia, please tell me more about your mandarin. What do you feed it? Thanks!

[banasophia]

22 minutes ago, BOMBreef said:

Agreed! It's a feel good thing knowing I'm not "hurting" them or their habitat. I've never had one simply because of that, I've always tried to get captive bred fish. 

 

Banasophia, please tell me more about your mandarin. What do you feed it? Thanks!

I was basically prepared to do anything to feed my little guy. You name it, I tried it in the beginning. I actually got him very early on after starting my tank because I got a torch coral from my LFS that turned out to be infested with amphipods that seemed to be a harmful variety, so I was hoping the mandarin would eat them. Well, that part didn’t work out because the Biota mandarins are extremely tiny when you get them, maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch... their mouths are way too small to eat a larger amphipod. 

 

I got him with the plan to try a “mandarin diner” or a baby brine shrimp feeder. I added a refugium with chaeto to the back chamber of my Biocube, and a small rubble pile in the display, and I bought and added pods to my tank regularly in the beginning. I bought tons of types of foods to try - pellets, flakes, and frozen. I also got a Shrimpery to hatch baby brine shrimp, and I started culturing copepods. 

 

It turned out that what worked best in the beginning was to sprinkle whole and crushed up pellets on the surface with the pump and powerhead off, and add fresh hatched baby brine shrimp. The baby brine shrimp and copepods were attracted to the food and light at the surface, and then Finnick would swim up there and swim around the surface hoovering them up like a tiny vacuum. In the past month or so, he hasn’t been feeding off the surface as much as he did in the beginning. 

 

The downside is, I totally overfeed my tank... because of both my mandarin and NPS sun corals... while most people say not to feed more than your fish can eat in 3 minutes, I feed TONS for about an hour once or twice a day, so I have to work hard to keep nitrates and phosphates in check, and I have a lot of hydroids (which love baby brine shrimp).

 

So, it’s definitely a trade off. I love my fish, and I’m really happy with how my tank has come together, but I can’t keep some corals that are sensitive to hydroids, or SPS due to the high nutrients. And it’s definitely a high maintenance system. I am trying to convert over to more pods from my cultures, and less pellets, frozen food, and baby brine shrimp... I watch my fish closely to make sure he maintains his body mass and watch the sun corals to monitor for the tissue retraction that occurs if you’re not feeding them enough. 

 

If you really love mandarins, and you’re willing to run your tank around it’s care, I think it can be done, and I think the Biota mandarins will give you your best chance at success. 

 

 

 

[ReefCap]

19 hours ago, banasophia said:

To me, so worth the extra money to have a mandarin that may have a hardier appetite, and be likelier to eat other foods in addition to pods, especially when considering one for a nano tank. 

While I don’t think it’s a great idea to keep any mandarin in a nano tank under 30 gallons they would be the best option because you can supliment some of their pod only diet with frozen or pellet food. The problem is, while they will eat not live food, their anatomy hasn’t changed meaning they still lack a developed digestive system so the require food constantly through out the day.