Green Mandarin OR Scooter Blenny

[Bigalwoo]

This is a tough one now that i have been scratching my brain over for a few weeks, i love both of these fish dearly, although i can't decided which one i want to introduced into my tank. i like them both because they are almost always at the bottom of the tank searching through the substrate, yet they are both very appealing fish and interesting to watch.

I can't decide between the two and am not even sure if they are exactly ideal for me as of yet, but i want to get one of these in the future. Please let me know what you think of the two. Also, if theres another (attractive!) fish that loves hanging on the bottom of the tank, let me know THANKYOU GUYS

 

[Sniperhank]

If you keep an eye on LA or saltwaterfish.com you'll spot red manadrin's for sale once and awhile. I'll be honest, even with my reef being up for a year here in a couple of months, I still can't produce the pods I want for keeping my green mandarin alive. The BOGO offers on pods from reefs2go.com come in handy, comes up monthly and when they do I pounce to fill the tank up til the next time around. It gets expensive.

 

[Khij159753]

I think there's also a red scooter blenny. I like my scooter totally on frozen foods and he'll go around all day eating all the left over food that got stuck in the rocks my nitrates never go up.

 

[bavass]

Mandarins are very hard to keep and require a constant supply of live pods to eat. Not many will or can eat artifical, or frozen foods. They have a very small mouth. You really need a live culture of pods to keep them. Go for the Scooter Blenny

 

[Khij159753]

Mandarins will eat frozen it just takes Alot of work teaching them to eat frozen. Scooters are the same way just a little easier to train.

 

[AbsoluteFaye]

I loooooove my scooter Blenny!!! He eats mysis shrimp and constantly picks at the rocks. He's my fav!

 

[MikeYQM]

It doesn't take a lot of work to train them, it just takes dedicated work. Put them in a hang on breeder box & start them with garlic soaked brine shrimp, with enough flow, the shrimp should move some, enticing them to eat. Then move to planktonic fry food, then .5mm pellets. Takes a week or two with feedings 3-4 times a day.

Hoping you have enough pods or that they will just start feeding prepared isn't enough & that's why they die. Ill be getting a pair on Saturday to train them.

 

[Dano.]

I asked the guy at lfs to drop some brine in a tank he hand mandarins in and one of them went after it, so that the one I took home.

 

[Khij159753]

Awesome

 

[Gregcoyote]

I don't recommend Dragonettes in general. It takes either luck, or dedication, or both to keep them long term. They are very slow feeders and picky. Frozen brine doesn't have the nutrition live pods have, so it may be nice to see them pick at frozen brine, but it still might starve to death. Almost any wrasse worth it's salt will keep cleared out all the live food a Mandarine might eat. They all have that little mouth for a reason. I love them too, but have seen too many go in the trash. IF YOU ARE DEDICATED and read all the literature as a few members on this forum have done...you CAN have a fat healthy one that lives for over a year, but it is plenty of work. JIMO

 

[Elude82]

I would stay clear of a mandarin, go for the blenny, or other bottom dwellers. I personally like sleeper gobies, or starry blennies. Blennies have great personalities. I agree with most about mandarins. They are VERY picky eaters. FYI: in the wild, a mandarin eats a copepod every 3-4 seconds. Do the math, and that is more than most can breed or buy. Almost all your attention will go to it. Yes, they are without a doubt one of the most beautiful fish, but what they offer in beauty, they lack in personality! Kind of boring. Just my opinion. Blenny all the way! I'd look into some sort of sand sifter.

 

[danbstrong]

I would stay clear of a mandarin, go for the blenny, or other bottom dwellers. I personally like sleeper gobies, or starry blennies. Blennies have great personalities. I agree with most about mandarins. They are VERY picky eaters. FYI: in the wild, a mandarin eats a copepod every 3-4 seconds. Do the math, and that is more than most can breed or buy. Almost all your attention will go to it. Yes, they are without a doubt one of the most beautiful fish, but what they offer in beauty, they lack in personality! Kind of boring. Just my opinion. Blenny all the way! I'd look into some sort of sand sifter.

I havn had any trouble keeping mandarin i bought 1000 pods from reefs2go 2 years ago to stock my fugi my mandarin has been happy and fat for two years now ive never had to restock the pods they multiply rapidly in the fugi