Mandarin fish

[Fish-Addict]

Does anybody here keep mandarin fish? I've heard they are really difficult to keep alive and feed in captivity.

[TURBO_CORAL]

having a lot of live rock will make it easier to keep

[Squawkbert]

You need a tank that can support a huge pod population, so lots of LR to host some out of Mandarin's reach, lots of sand to house them in general...

[Fish-Addict]

Is it possible to get them onto any man-made food?

[Reefscape]

Not that many successfull reports of Mandarins feeding off human produced foods..Luck of the draw with them, but, personaly, its not a gamble i would take..

[Catpicklesdog]

I have a green spotted mandarin. I've had him for quite a while now and not once have I seen him go for the frozen food. The majority of my rock is over 3 years old and for a few months before getting the mandarin I kept adding pods to the sump and main tank. My tank is 180gals with loads of rock in it, so plenty os hidey holes for pods:)

[khmerspec]

I have a 55g tank with 2 mandarins.

Lucky for me, they readily feed on fozen food (brine shrimp & mysis), however they dont touch the cyclop-eeze, which many say they devour.

As for the live rocks, i only have about 40lbs, very little as to what is recommended, but they are doing fine.

I recommend getting a refugium to develop a pod population though, a workinprogress for me, just as a snack between feeding for the fishes.
I cant afford premade refugiums, or find any of my old 10/20g tanks to make my own, so im making a plexiglass box that'll go in a corner of the tank for the copepods to breed.

Another thing is to do your research on the species, then on the fish you want to buy. If your LFS has plenty in stock, ask what they feed them, and when is feeding time so you can watch which ones readily eat whats offered.

Many will flame for this, saying its not what they naturally eat, etc etc.
I say, I got it, it's still alive, its full, better then what i can say about the other 10 that were sold.

[Fish-Addict]

OK everyone thanks for your replies!
One question though, what are pods?

[7itanium]

I havent ever kept them.. but I havent heard good things

[Reefscape]

OK everyone thanks for your replies!
One question though, what are pods?


Pods = Copepods..

Copepods are small crustaceans which is said to be the largest bio-mass critter in the world. They feed on detrius, phytoplankton and bacteria. Pods are an essential food source for many fish in the ocean, notably the mandarin dragonete. Aquarists can buy tubs of pods from companys who cultivate them to give colonys a booster when starting off an aquarium or refugium.

A well known company who sell them are OceanPods (http://www.oceanpods.com/) ( <--- click it )

One of the most common found in our aquariums are cyclopoids. Pics below...

81459 81460


Hope this helps..

[Fish-Addict]

Pods = Copepods..

Copepods are small crustaceans which is said to be the largest bio-mass critter in the world. They feed on detrius, phytoplankton and bacteria. Pods are an essential food source for many fish in the ocean, notably the mandarin dragonete. Aquarists can buy tubs of pods from companys who cultivate them to give colonys a booster when starting off an aquarium or refugium.

A well known company who sell them are OceanPods (http://www.oceanpods.com/) ( <--- click it )

One of the most common found in our aquariums are cyclopoids. Pics below...

81459 81460


Hope this helps..


So you put them in and provide hiding places so they can't get to them, then they start to reproduce/multiply and then the fish eats them?

[Reefscape]

So you put them in and provide hiding places so they can't get to them, then they start to reproduce/multiply and then the fish eats them?

Yes..They will spend all their time on / in the live rock, and fish will pick and eat them as and when they like.

Usually, people will add pods directly to a refugium where the pods can grow and build a colony, and eventually, these find their way through the tanks plumbing system into the main display tank..

[Fish-Addict]

Cool. I never realised how complex the reef aquarium was...

[Reefscape]

.....and your only just touching the surface of it ;)

[Fish-Addict]

.....and your only just touching the surface of it ;)

Such a shame because there is this aquatics store about 17 miles away which I only go to about once a month or even not that often. In there they have a massive reef section with coral and rock and these wierd fish and inverts I've never seen before and it all looks so cool! One day when I have my own place I might attempt it. Until then, think I'll give it a miss.

[ToeJam]

.....and your only just touching the surface of it ;)

Hah thats a nice way to put it..:thm:

[thincat]

I have one for about 6 months now. It eats reef chile from bulkreefsupply.com, plus cocopods, blood worms and mysis. They are really slow eaters. Check out Melevs reef. He has them documented pretty well. He feeds his in an olive jar and he feeds pellets. Yea, could not believe, but true.