Mandarin (Dragonet)

[Clownfish767]

Hey! I just bought a new Spotted mandarin yesterday. It will eat some cyclope eeze but not much. Im going to set up a 10 gallon tank to breed copepods. I was wondering if anyone had tips for doing this.( Also i have put three bottles of tiger pods in my tank so far) Anyone know a good place to get great pods to start with that aren't 1 million dollars lol.

 

[carey]

I have a 10g pod tank right now. I put in live sand, some lr, a heater and an air stone. I put in one bag of sand and pods form my lfs and another bottle of pods to go with it.
I can see pods on my glass but I know it needs a few more pieces of LR and time to get a significant colony growing if at all.

I have only found pods for $15 a bottle. Some sites sell them but the shipping is crazy expensive.



I thought you got an ora? They are supposed to eat prepared foods?

 

[Clownfish767]

Yea but pods are better for them. and he ate more cyclopeeze this morning

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

I don't think it's an ora she got. She was unsure in the other post. You should try to find some amphipods. They would be a really good thing to have in your pod tank to feed the mandarin. I don't know if you can buy them but maybe try to find someone that has them and borrow a rock or something.

*just looked and I think you might be able to buy some.

Carey you should look into finding some too, I have some in my nano and my seahorse tank, probably why my mandarin and scooter do so well (plus they eat frozen foods)

 

[Smitty]

How big is the tank you have it in? How old is the tank?

The mandarin is considered one of the hardest fish to keep and is only for the experienced fish keeper. Also only recommended for large (90g +) tanks that have been going for 8-9 months at least. I would recommend you return the fish if you don't have the above.

If you still want to keep it then it will take a lot of money if it isn't eating prepared foods. They eat thousands of pods a day. For your pod breeding tank you could also add in pot scrubbers for a place for the pods. I would throw in a lot of them. Also start doing a lot of research and reading fast on this fish and the requirements to keep them up.

 

[carey]

I forgot the pot scrubbers! lol I threw some in too so I cn just move it from pod tank and shake out the pods.

I was able to convince my lfs to give me sand and chaeto from her sump so I have some big coepods and the little ones now too.

if you have any live rock from another tank you can move that into the pod tank too if it's got pods crawling on it all the better.

 

[Bige]

reef2go.com sells them. Like 2000 for 20 bucks

 

[Clownfish767]

You dont need a 90 gallon(+) tank for them. Thats a common misconception. Tou should do a little more research on them before you comment. I have heard about 5 success stories of a Mandarin in a 10 gallon nano tank. I'm culturing Pods in a separate container then putting them in the tank. Heres a link to a great success story Caring for a Mandarin Goby . So NO, a 90 gallon tank is definitely not necessary. So if anyone has tips on culturing that would still be very helpful. I have a 30 gallon tank by the way.

 

[carey]

The reason people say 90g is for the rock. it IS recommended to have over 80lbs of established rock to have a healthy pod colony without supplementing any.

I believe if done right a pod tank can work. IF. i have no idea if I'm doing it right but I think I am. This isnt toally off topic so heres a pic of my pod tank. I added another 15lbs or so of LR today, just got back from lfs.

It will take alot of work if he isn't eating prepared, but there are success stories out there. But there are also more tragic outcomes too. We just don't want you to have to watch your fish die is all.

Do you have any pictures of him yet? I'd love to see em'

 

[Clownfish767]

I'll be home at 345 central time and im taking some tank pictures then! and thanks for all the great help you always give

 

[carey]

You're in a potentially tough spot same as me. I cried and moaned about mine until I came to my senses and figured I'd better do something. LOL

This is all a learning experience every day. At least for me hehe

Looking forward to seeing your new little guy. I soo want one too!

 

[Clownfish767]

Haha yea i definitely agree about the learning!!!! ill send you a picture of my whole community. i didn't mention i bought a maroon clownfish and a coral banded shrimp also.

 

[carey]

You are gonna be the death of me yet!! LOL You picked some winners. I think the maroon clowns are the aggressive and larger ones. I could be totally wrong though. i passed on the shrimp cause I heard they get too big for my cube.

But i'm still looking forward to seeing the whole gang!

 

[Clownfish767]

One of them is of the maroon clown and the blue damsel(barely) haha. The other is just the Mandarin.

 

[Fishbone13]

Hey Clownfish I sent you a private message with a ton of links on the mandarin. I'm prestage'n for when I make my next attempt at add'n one to the tank. The one constant you're gonna come across is they really emphasize a lot of live rock. The amount kinda depends on the size of the tank. I hope it helps.

 

[Clownfish767]

I read your posts of when you first got on the forum and they made me want this more then before. Thanks for all the links there a Tremendous help! I will keep updating everyone here with how hes doing.

 

[carey]

He's a cute little guy. Keep trying to feed him

 

[Gti_Leo]

manderines are really really nice fishies, i wish i could get one but i'm worried it will starve and die, so i might have to wait till i can get a larger aquarium

 

[Clownfish767]

How big is your aquarium? Because i have heard of multiple success stories in tanks as small as 12 gal. And Mike i just finished reading all those links. Lots of great info i like the LR pile idea im gonna try it this week

 

[Fishbone13]

Awesome. I'm glad they helped, I got alot of great ideas from those links plus just surf'n the web. Granted there is alot of negative stuff out there but you gotta just pick out the useful info and try to apply that. I can't wait to hear and see how it goes when you go for it. I'll keep you posted on my status too. Great to be of any help at all and good luck. Keep me posted.