Green Manderine. "Excuse my Spelling"

[SeriousDude5]

I just bougt a green mandirne and I have read they are hard to keep. My tank is currently 7months old with many pods which I hear they eat. My question is is why are they considered difficult to keep. Please let me know!

[Rach101]

They are reluctant eaters.. they usually just eat pods, but there has been cases when they eat live foods and such too.

[seaham358]

In small tanks with little LR they can eat throught a pod population pretty quickly and then they slowly starve to death.
If your lucky the one you have will learn to eat prepaired foods that you feed the tank.
Do you have a fuge? If not pick up some LR rubble and make piles in the back of the tank, this makes exrta places for the pods to reproduce

[SeriousDude5]

I have a 65 gallon tank with a HOB fuge. I also have 80 pounds of live rock will it be alright?

[Kohan Bros.]

I think Mandarins survival also depends on when u get the mandarin if they start to starve before u get it, they may or may not have enough energy to look and eat more pods.

Its hard to say if u have enough live rock because no one knows how many pods are in that live rock and its hard to tell if u have enough. IMO its all about luck in 90 and less gallon tanks weather u have enough live rock/ pods to support a mandarin.
I Really HTH

[SeriousDude5]

The man at my LFS said for every 1 pod you see there 10 more you dont or something close to that. So I was looking in my tank today and long and behold I saw about 15 in my tank and 10 in my fuge. From what I could see. So I know there in there somewhere! I will post and update on its condition in a few days.

[MadManMac]

The key with a Mandarin is to look at its side. If there is a long horizontal rib showing, he is under nurished and may well die, if the side is pretty full and round, then he should be in good health and from there on out watch him and the pod population. IF the pods start to vanish, you will have to add more to the tank. I had a beautiful Spotted Mandarin for almost 2 years until a powerhead got to him, saddest day I have had in reefing.

[SeriousDude5]

It looked as if he was pretty round yesterday at the store. Now, he has found his home under a rock somewhere and I'm not invited in

[oyf709]

i thnk if you ask your lfs, they should tell you 65g 80lbs of lr is a bit pusing it.It might not probucing enough pods for it.But sometimes you will get lucky on it.
I have a pair mated mandarin in my tank with only 75g, i do have about 120-130lbs lr also my tank is about yr and half old.My refugium is a seperate 20g tank with more lr in it so, it shouldbe producing enough pods for now.
Hope to see yours doing well gl.

[SeriousDude5]

Right now I have the pods in the fuge and they spill over into the main tank. There is just cheto and sand in the fuge right now. would they reproduce more if I added LR Rubble into the fuge?

[nikycamp]

I got my green mandarin over a month ago and at the first two weeks he was behind the rocks most of the time ,now he hangs around the whole tank,they are always on the hunt for pods and they go into the most acquard positions to get what they want from the rocks;for mine,I stopped following all advise and went to a nearby Key(I live in Miami)and picked up about 50 lbs of rocks with macro algae growing on them,set them in the tank and that little devil is the happiest fish ever,those rocks dont have the pretty purple and green color of LR but this are really LIVE with tons of food for that little fellow and the hermit and angel.
My advise if you live by a beach ,go get some real rocks,if not put some LR in the sump with the macro and after a month or so put it back in the tank.

[SeriousDude5]

I would go down to my ocean but you live in the Flordia Keys, where the water is clear and coral thrives. I live in Connecticut, the water is a dark green color and the only thing that lives here is fish, sea weed, the clams you eat, and lobsters. There are signs posted to not eat anything cought from the ocean and if you do its like 1 fish a month due to murcuary. Heck starfish are no longer present here either. With all the ships and things coming in and out of the harbor its become more like the dead sea.