Guess what I'm acclimating!

[Europhyllia]

You'll never guess it. :)

(and Polly's Pets employees don't get to participate! lol)

[profntbtr]

is it a tiny pony? if so can i get a frag?

[Europhyllia]

hm actually I am planning on tiny pony frags ... but not until winter ;)

[cbianco]

Let me guess, it is an aquatic animal from Polly's Pets.

What do I win? :p

Christopher :)

[Mike]

Is it one of those rare saltwater killer toads? I don't think they are reef safe. :)

[Europhyllia]

It's my very first tank bred baby blue mandarin :wub:

you guys probably don't remember this but a couple of years ago when I joined MAAST I was obsessed with mandarins. I bought several, trained them onto frozen, resold the boys that should have been girls... all to get a pair.

And I was dreaming of the day when tank bred mandarins would be available because they are so beautiful and perfect but it's awful how many of them die and even just the way they are caught.

Raising mandarins is super tough because the fry are so small that the stuff they usually feed other fish (like rotifers for clowns, etc.) is just too big for the tiny fry. But ORA came out with them now and since I already had the Target mandarin pair in the big tank I've been holding out for the blues.

So Pollys ordered me one (and also got in a second blue and a RED!!!). It was tempting to get that beautiful red one. Truly stunning. But I stayed with the classic and here he is:

http://www.dominopads.com/mandarinday1.jpg

[BSJF]

Awesome!

[danvan75]

Very cool

[cbianco]

Simply beautiful!

Why didn't you get a pair this time around?

Christopher :)

[Mike]

Sweet!

[Europhyllia]

they pair better when there's a size difference. so it's less stressful to get one, let it grow big and then add a smaller one later, Christopher

[kkiel02]

Are the blue and red a male and female at Polly's? I wouldn't mind a pair...

[Europhyllia]

I would say both are male. they are juvies so it's just getting pointed. but in my estimate I would say both males.
Plus like I said: they're the same age. If you want a pair getting one first and then the other a few months later might work out better.

The red is stunning! You should get it :)

[StevenSeas]

I am glad you like your mandarin Karin. Kevin, I also think the blue that came into the NB shop is a male, but is still beautiful :)

[Big_Pun]

congrats Karin, yes your right it is easier to pair them when the male is larger. when I introduced the smaller female to my tank they paired right away. the male had been in my tank 2 years by him self. here's a pic of my happy couple( not trying to hijack just share)

http://tapatalk.com/mu/a6cd0c4a-b63d-8667.jpg

[Europhyllia]

cute photo Chris! :)

[Kristy]

OMG he is awesome! Will the blue one go in the seahorse tank?

[Europhyllia]

Yes :)