Mysis Shrimp & Green Mandarin Goby

[Stoffer]

I just got a Green Mandarin Goby, and I've heard that they're not very fond of frozen food, even though I did see it eat one piece that was sitting on a rock today. When it comes to live mysis shrimp living in my tank, there were a lot of large visible ones before I put my 6line wrasse and all my other fish in there, and now every night when I shine a flashlight into small holes and caves of my liverock, I always see swarms of really tiny, what I assume to be, mysis shrimp, easily hundreds total. Am I to assume that I have a stable population of mysis shrimp that will sufficiently feed my green mandarin goby? Because along with the 6line wrasse, a direct competitor, I also have a coral banded shrimp eating the mysis shrimp I think, although I think the 6line wrasse is usually full from eating all the frozen food I feed them.

[reefrunner69]

In your profile it states you have a 20g tank, IMO your tank is not large enough or mature enough to support a mandarin, much less with another micr predator in the tank. Unless your mandarin is eating prepared foods, you should return it.

[Stoffer]

I know people that have had success with mandarins in 20gal tanks, so I thought I'd give it a go. What type of prepared foods do you mean?

[reefrunner69]

What type of prepared foods do you mean?

non live food that you put in the tank, frozen mysis, prime reef etc...

I know people that have had success with mandarins in 20gal tanks

What is you definition of success? I've been in this hobby for 14 years, I was actually in the business for 3.5 years, and I have never known anyone to have success with a mandarin in a 20g tank, unless it was eating prepared foods.

[Stoffer]

Oh, in that case yes, the case I was referring to involved the mandarin eating prepared food. Actually, the first day I put it in I saw it eating frozen food that landed on the rocks, so I think it'll be fine when it comes to food. When I bought it I asked the employees of the aquarium store, and the only concern they had was the feeding of it. One of the guys has a similar setup as me, 20gallons with a 6line wrasse and a mandarin, and both are doing fine.

I'll observe the mandarin closely for the next couple weeks, just to make sure he's eating. If not, then I'll probably return him to the store and wait a while before I get another.

But from what I've gathered online, mandarin's are sometimes known to readily eat frozen food and sometimes even flakes, so i'll see what happens.