ORA Mandarin

[Purevil21]

Has anyone purchased one? Have you had any luck with it, and how much did it set you back. I am very interested in getting one, but I am still researching them. I plan on seeing if my LFS can even get them.

 

[dadime69]

Has anyone purchased one? Have you had any luck with it, and how much did it set you back. I am very interested in getting one, but I am still researching them. I plan on seeing if my LFS can even get them.

I got a male an female they do great but better make sure u got ample pods or they will not make it

 

[Purevil21]

That is why I want an ORA tank raised, they will eat prepared. I have only seen a few stores with them though and that was months ago. ORA released them about six months ago. I don't personally know anyone that bought one, so I was wondering if anyone on here had gotten one, and how well it was doing in their system.

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

I haven't gotten one since I've always had great luck with the wild ones which are cheaper but my LFS has had them in quite a few times. He has one now that's been there for at least a month and it's eating well every time i see it. They must be doing good since he keeps ordering them in at the store.

 

[uscamaro]

I got a male an female they do great but better make sure u got ample pods or they will not make it

What size tank & sump do you have and how long has it been established? How do you make sure there are ample pods? I would love to get a manderin in the future and want to make sure they're set by preparing now.

 

[jenatron]

I don't remember what site it was, but on another forum all I kept seeing was people saying their ORA mandarins were in fact not eating prepared foods.. Can't say whether it's true or not, but it's at least something to look into. It'd be a shame to get one, and turn out that it won't eat.

 

[Purevil21]

Yeah, I have read a few horror stories as well as success stories, I was just wondering if anyone on this board has actually owned one and if so how it faired, I don't want to buy one if all I am doing is sentencing it to death. Youtube has some videos of ORA mandarins eating prepared frozen and pellet foods.

 

[PrettyFishies]

Check out Welcome to Saltwaterfish.com - Reef Fish, Marine Fish, Coral, Aquarium Supplies & more

But yes, what about your tank setup? You should have an large pod supply to supplement.

 

[carey]

That is one beautiful fish. How are pods introduced into the aquariu7m to begin with? I know it comes from mature tanks....but other than that I have no idea....

 

[iDream]

Carey- They come on LR, hitchiker essentially, if you see little white/clear "bug" like things crawling on your rock and glass, then you most likely have pods

Pat- A 75 with about that many lbs of rock with a decent sized sump should be good

And from what I've looked at they are not cheap, like around $100. And like you stated there are some that just don't stick to the prepared, if it were me, I'd just make sure I have a large enough tank to support it so if it doesn't eat prepared it'll be fine

 

[uscamaro]

You can get a green/red manderin around $15. I'm going to purchase a Dremel soon and start turning my wet/dry filter into a sump, hopefully I'll build 1 with a large enough refugium

 

[PrettyFishies]

They sell these locally AlgaGen Reefpods Copepods Food perfect to start your refugium

 

[dadime69]

What size tank & sump do you have and how long has it been established? How do you make sure there are ample pods? I would love to get a manderin in the future and want to make sure they're set by preparing now.

Well my tank has been gkoing for like 4 years but just added a fuge few months ago but I see them picking stuff out the cc day n night

 

[dadime69]

You can get a green/red manderin around $15. I'm going to purchase a Dremel soon and start turning my wet/dry filter into a sump, hopefully I'll build 1 with a large enough refugium

That's what I did to my old wet dry made a 2 stage n added a wet dry befor the fuge that way my nits don't get out of controle being as I do still use cc

 

[cmor1701d]

The PODS in a Bag are ok, but are usually just one type. Indo Pacific Sea Farms (IPSF.org) and Inland Aquatics sell detrivore kits which consist of several different types. I recommend getting 3 or 4 different detrivore kits to get as much variety as you can.

 

[Unicorn]

I got my mandarin from my LFS and it's doing fine with live brine shrimp. When I went to the store I specifically asked what they eat, observed for a while, and made sure for myself that she really did eat what they claimed. She is currently in my QT and doing fine.
And she came with the regular $30 pice tag