Finally got the first fish I wanted

[duc]

Took a year but it was worth the wait. Had him since Monday, eating constantly and seemed adjusted to the new surroundings before he was even out of the bag.
Clif

[NaCl_H2O]

Very nice :D Mandarins are one of my favorites, if your pod population is healthy he will live a long life :)

[duc]

Pods are so thick you can see them crawling around on the rocks in the day time, no to mention the sump makes the tank look baron so I am hoping for the best.

[pilot_bell777]

Dang Duc....when I get setup; I'm coming to get some of your pods to populate mine with! LOL

Congrats...beautiful fish! I want one too.

[duc]

I was giving away pods not to long ago my eel tank was overrun with them, guy who bought it turned it into a sea horse tank. Never heard how it worked out, if you read this let me know guy who bought my 37gal.
Clif

[Sherri]

My first fish was a Blue Mandarin Clif....that was 3 yrs ago and he is beautiful and healthy. My tank is also crawling with pods and he's one happy camper. congrats! :P

[duc]

My first fish was a Blue Mandarin Clif....that was 3 yrs ago and he is beautiful and healthy. My tank is also crawling with pods and he's one happy camper. congrats! :P
Good to hear it is still doing well and thanks!

[Sherri]

Here's my Blue...isn't he cute! :wub

[Sherri]

Oops...didn't mean for pic to be so big. :blush

[duc]

Here's my Blue...isn't he cute! :wub
Gorgeous!!!!

[cpreefguy]

They are my favorite fish too. I have one in my 12g, but he loves frozen brine and mysis :)

[NaCl_H2O]

Here's my Blue...isn't he cute! :wub

Gorgeous Sherri :wub

Hey, let's turn this into a Mandarin Thread :D

[Sherri]

Their markings fascinate me...mine won't touch ANY food I put in the tank...he solely lives on pods...I love to watch him search for food. He's my Desktop... :wub

[NaCl_H2O]

Sherri, the blues on yours are amazing :o definately a unique variety!

Mine eats nothing but pods too. Actually, I have three Mandarins - one in each tank. A little green similar to the one above, and a green spot. They are all pod gobblers - I can watch them search and peck for hours :)

[Sherri]

Thanks Steve.....mine is actually a small one too even tho I've had it for 3 yrs. - he was a baby when I got him - of course, I had no idea he was a pod eater and thank God my tank was crawling with them back then. Like most people starting out in this hobby - this guy is so beautiful, ya just go for it. I'm glad I read up on him quickly. I do strongly suggest especially to beginners to make sure they had the correct conditions for this beauty...they have a very high starvation rate. You're lucky cpreefguy that yours will eat mysis & frozen brine also.

[edge78041]

Oops...didn't mean for pic to be so big.



That is okay,
I put him as my desktop background on my pc.

Great picture.

[seamonkey2]

ooops it log me out

Jose

[GaryP]

Ya'll are making me want to add one too. My fuge is over a year old now and maybe its time to give it a try. I have a ton of amphipods (grammarus shrimp) in my tank and I think the copepod population is doing well too.

[Reef69]

Heres mine.. :skeezy

[duc]

ooops it log me out

Jose
Man I was 99% sure you were seamonkey2 but I was sure once and e-mailed someone who wasn't the intended person and didn't want to do it again.
Great to hear all is well in sea horse-ville.
Clif

[GaryP]

One good thing about Mandarins is that they are not very suseptible to the common diseases we see in other fish. They don't have scales like most fish. Their skin is more like that of a catfish. They will survive quite nicely through an outbreak of Ich.

Unfortunately most of them die in the tanks of well meaning aquariaists that don't understand their nutritional requirements. The rare individual mandarin that will accept frozen food adds fire to the myth that they will survive in any tank. These individuals are the rare exception, not the rule. In addition, they are not aggressive feeders and may get left out at feeding time even if they will take frozen food because more aggressive fish wipe out any food before the madarin can get to it. They may eat frozen food in a small tank at the LFS but a community take with a large population of aggressive feeders is a totally different world.

I would never recommend getting one for a tank that does not have a mature fuge. Even a fuge-less system that "Has a ton of pods" can be quickly wiped out of pods and result in a starving fish. Also remember that it will be competing for food with other pod eaters such as wrasses, butterflys, and cardinals.

[Sherri]

Well said Gary...a fuge is a must. :)

[GaryP]

I just wanted to make sure that some folks that are not real familiar with this species understand what they are getting into. I'm always afraid there is going to be a large run on a species after one of these types of threads. Its great that a lot of folks have good success with this very beautiful species. However, and I speak from personal experience from my days when I was a lot less knowledgeable, it is not always the case. To make it worse, a lot of LFS staff aren't much more knowledgeable of its LONG TERM requirements.

I put this species in the same category as a lot of other difficult fish such as butterflies and some angels. Its really something you need to do research on before jumping in. Definitely not a fish you want to buy on impulse or because you saw the success other reefers have had with them.

[NaCl_H2O]

Definitely not a fish you want to buy on impulse or because you saw the success other reefers have had with them.

I agree completely!!!! I starved one to death in my earlier years before knowing their needs. They are the perfect impulse buy - beautiful, peaceful, small, cheap ... funny how a $19 fish can require such a complex and expensive aquarium setup to survive!

[duc]

Man this site is full of "crazy" smart people, I LOVE IT! I almost bought one as my first fish and believe it or not the fish store told me not to, then every other time I went to buy one I got the third degree followed by do not get one yet be patient. Very surprising the all mighty dollar didn't smack the goodness out of the stores. Tank is "hopefully" mature enough and fuge is "hopefully" mature enough, only time will tell for sure but my fingers are crossed.
Clif

[NaCl_H2O]

Awesome show of colors/fins :D Mine will hover for minutes at a time "dancing" for me so I can snap pictures!

As long has he/she is smimming around picking at the rocks, it is probably finding pods.

BTW - Sometimes at night they will partialy bury themselves in the sand creating a mucous (goo) cacoon and coloration will be faded - first time you see that you will think for sure it is sick & dying - don't freak out, it is normal.

[GaryP]

In case you didn't know, your fish is a male. The tall first dorsal spine is characteristic of a male.

[NaCl_H2O]

In case you didn't know, your fish is a male. The tall first dorsal spine is characteristic of a male.

Hey Gary, I have heard that from others too, and really wanted to get a female to go with my big fat (apparently) male Mandarin :D

But, I have heard others say that isn't necessarily true, and if you get two males together they will fight to the death :(

I am always inspecting Mandarins at LFS for a "Female", but have never seen one that didn't have a fairly tall dorsal spike.

Do you have any links that talk about sexing these for sure? I would REALLY REALLY like to get a pair going :)

[GaryP]

Here is a pic of a female. It may that the trade just concentrates on the males because they are more highly valued and you just don't see females at the LFS as often.

[NaCl_H2O]

Here is a pic of a female. It may that the trade just concentrates on the males because they are more highly valued and you just don't see females at the LFS as often.

Well, that is definately different!

How the ^%$&^%#$ can I get a female :angry

Anybody got one they want to sell - or lmk if anyone ever sees one at a LFS???

[Sherri]

Steve...maybe a LPS can special order you one???? :) I wouldn't having a female Blue myself...my tank is crawling with pods. I'm more than sure it is enought to handle 2 Mandarins...my male is small.

[NaCl_H2O]

I asked Louis (AW) once if he could order one, and he is one that said he didn't think the dorsal fin was necessarily an indication of sex. I did some research via Google and never got a clear indication one way or the other. I would like to see an authoritative article on this?

I would absolutely die if a new Mandarin caused my long-time friend to perish :cry

Sherri - Maybe we could just start a Mandarin <3 dating service <3

[GaryP]

I asked Richard about this today. He basically confirmed what I said earlier. The males are more sought after and that's what we get more often in the LFS.

[GaryP]

Here is pretty good info on the species, including clarification about the male dorsal spine.

http://www.petco.com/caresheets/fish/MandarinGoby.pdf#search='Mandarin%20Goby'

[NaCl_H2O]

Thanks Gary!

Hey Richard, are you reading this? See my Mandarin up a few pages ... think you could order me a compatible female (green Mandarin)? I have had my male for about 2-3 years and it is about 2.5" long and FAT.

I need to come see your place again anyway!

[bigdscobra]

Here is my spotted one, He loves frozen foods ;)

[seamonkey2]

hmmmm..I am lucky monkey, I got a pair that eats frozen brine, and even more lucky, I got the female first and I could not find a male anywhere, until 4 months ago, now the pair are inseparable, they do this love mating dance, is fun to look at.

also I hide food for them under rocks and little holes, they spend all day looking for food separately and at night they get together, for a little romance :wub

and just to add to Gary's comment the male has the elongated fin

and Steve, you mandarin thinks he is a shark :lol (insert JAWS music here)

Jose

[Sherri]

I'm jealous Jose...that's great - what a treat. :) What size tank are they in?

[GaryP]

See, even a blind hog can find an acorn occasionally.

Translation - even Gary is right on rare occasions. :)

[seamonkey2]

hey Gary, I don't think of you as a blind hog wearing a thong :sick :lol :sick

when I need advise, I check with Gary first

thanks Sherry, they are in a 125ga now, but soon they'll move to a 240ga

Jose

[NaCl_H2O]

hey Gary, I don't think of you as a blind hog wearing a thong :sick :lol :sick

Ahhhhhhhhhh, somebody get that image out of my head :o

[seamonkey2]

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol