How much to feed a mandarin

[DI68]

I was very fortunate and had a spotted and green for about 12mths both eating pellets til my tank crashed and I lost them both.

My new green is being fed lobster eggs and although I can see him picking and eating, he is losing weight as he was quite fat when I bought him. The cubes of frozen eggs are quite large so I have been cutting them in quarters as my nitrates are going up. How does everyone else get their Mandy to eat and how much/often? Thanks


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[coralbandit]

Mine have always fed off pods(in the tank/filter system) and Mysis shrimp.
I have also offer nutramar ova to the whole tank.
Nutramar Ova Fish Food 100g
Good luck!

[DI68]

Thanks Coralbandit. Mine hasn't paid attention to mysis shrimp. I tried to put the frozen eggs (while still frozen so I can handle them ) in a container for him to go into and so they are not floating everywhere but it's too hard. Not sure how much he's actually getting to eat each night.


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[carey]

It may be too late but you can try a hardcore approach to getting him to eat prepared.
I literally fed over a dozen different frozen foods to my Mandy over a months time to get her eating it. I started with frozen baby brine and put in some live brine with it as well. You might try that trick.... BUT the hardcore part is that i fed at least a dozen times a day, yes 12 at least. My tank parameters went to garbage numbers BUT she did start eating eventually. Only after she started eating pellets did I ease up on the feeding schedule. After the baby brine I went cyclopeeze then to reg frozen brine and then to bloodworms ( which were her fave!). There are so many options out there for frozen food to try! And of course if you have/had a refugium you would be in better shape.
I even tried to grow pods in a separate tank, albeit unsuccesfully. :-( It literally took mine a month to start eating enough frozen that i relaxed a little. Even two years later I still watched her like a hawk when I fed the tank. I lost her in a bad tank transfer, but she did die fat and healthy looking.
I count my blessings with that fish, that's why i wont try another. lol The majority of mandarins die and to have one eat prepared is a a one in a million shot. If yours is already showing weight loss I would get some pods and live brine in there asap. then you can figure out what to do from there. Just gotta stop the weight loss or its all over.

Good luck!! I hope you win the mandarin lottery again and it starts eating frozen.

[PB_Smith]

Originally Posted by carey

I count my blessings with that fish, that's why i wont try another. lol The majority of mandarins die and to have one eat prepared is a a one in a million shot. If yours is already showing weight loss I would get some pods and live brine in there asap. then you can figure out what to do from there. Just gotta stop the weight loss or its all over.

Good luck!! I hope you win the mandarin lottery again and it starts eating frozen.

Same here. I just lost mine this past weekend and I'm gutted. I was so elated when it started eagerly eating frozen foods 30 MINUTES after being in the tank. Probably never have that luck again.
Debating whether or not I want to roll the dice again...

[hackteck]

thats the reason over the years ive never gotten a mandarin all the horror stories

[Gregcoyote]

I gave up on that beautiful little fish a long time ago. Unless your willing to take measures to keep them fed (check out Paul B, his mandarins spawn) they are best left alone. I for one would like to see them no longer offered at the LFS. That's going to get me trolled, but I believe less than 1% of them live a natural life span. We SHOULD NOT be collecting wild fish that have such a high mortality rate...that is going to get us regulated out of the hobby eventually.


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[SeanMonster]

Originally Posted by Gregcoyote

I gave up on that beautiful little fish a long time ago. Unless your willing to take measures to keep them fed (check out Paul B, his mandarins spawn) they are best left alone. I for one would like to see them no longer offered at the LFS. That's going to get me trolled, but I believe less than 1% of them live a natural life span. We SHOULD NOT be collecting wild fish that have such a high mortality rate...that is going to get us regulated out of the hobby eventually.


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I agree with you Greg. The owner of the lfs I go to won't stock them.


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[ImACoolguy]

Originally Posted by SeanMonster

I agree with you Greg. The owner of the lfs I go to won't stock them.


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One of my local LFS won't either. They say it's too high maintenance and expensive to feed.


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[coralbandit]

Can't believe everyone has no real issue with taking corals that take who knows how long to grow and who most do kill(be honest ) and think this fish shouldn't be sold or is hard to keep?
I have not had a marine tank that did not grow pods and naturally feed mandarins(since the 1980's!).
I am all sump but not much else special?
If your tank is not balanced and any fish is suspect then a mandarin should not be on the list.
But if you are competent enough to keep your marine tank balanced and fish alive I would dis agree with most .
I have had 3 mandarins for the last three years.
2 in my 75 g, and one in my 120.
I actually starve my marine tanks compared to my freshwater.
And as for water changes.....My marine get maybe 1 water change for every 100 my fresh get(really!).
I think many of you are missing out on a great fish?

[Gregcoyote]

You are perhaps the lucky one. You need a system that generates hundreds of pods a day for a single mandarin. Most people's systems, including mine that's over 20 years old don't generate enough pods. Especially if there is competition with wrasses. I stick to my comment that the mandarin is a very difficult fish, long term, for most aquarists. I've bought my last.


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[SeanMonster]

While I can't comment on their origin (be it wild and harvested or tank propagated) I can guarantee that at least 90% of the coral specimens in my 90 and 180 have come from other tanks and not the wild reefs. So I stand by my statement that I wouldn't get a mandarin because of their poor survival rate in captivity. Just like I wouldn't get a shark, even if I had the means to do so. Not judging those who do or questioning those who do successfully. I have tried on a number of occasions to keep Angelfish without success. I will never buy another Angelfish.


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