Mandarin Dragonet vs 3 months old tank

[nuwave59]

Hi!

I'm going to buy a fish in a few minutes, and I REALLY like the Mandarin Dragonet. I know they're picky for eating and I don't want to starve this guy. My tank is 3 months old, and I see a few pods when the lights are out, but I have to watch carefully. It's a 30g tank, with a 5g in sump fuge. I put 25 lbs of live rock and 20 lbs of base Rock. My base rock is getting colored, so I guess it's live now. I plan to switch rocks between my fuge and display tank. I have cheato in the fuge. Do you think I can take a chance and buy the fish? Or wait this spring for my tank to be more mature? Tankmates are 2 false percula.

 

[Tfain]

You can buy the pods. I saw them on all the fish websites I went to. It's 13.99 for an 8 once bottle

 

[nuwave59]

If they keep some at my LFS, I'll go for it!

 

[Tfain]

Ok. Tell me how it go's. I have almost the same set up and I was looking at either a red or green mandarin

 

[Whitegurl84]

Ask the lfs if the mandarin will eat other food to until you get a good pod population. My mandarin eats blood worms and any frozen shrimp I put in.

 

[carey]

If you don't get a mandarin eating frozen and it still needs pods you will be buying an obscene number of pods every week. Not very cost effective.

I got an ORA mandarin and she didn't eat prepared foods for almost a month and lived off the pods I had. It was tricky and time consuming to get her eating frozen and my water parameters suffered as I was feeding LOTS of different kinds of food and 3 times a day. mandarins eat all day long.

 

[Tfain]

Yea iv heard some of them do eat other stuff and it would be nice to get rid of the blood worms I have in my freezer that I got for my fire eel

 

[carey]

Mine loves bloodworms, thats the first thing she goes for. But she also eats brine and mysis shrimp too. No luck on the pellets so far or flake but you never know. lol

 

[crister13]

Could I get a mandarin? Ive heard they are usually ignored, but I have a grouper lol. Could I get one?

 

[Greenturtle]

I am getting an ORA spotted mandarin for my biocube 29 eventually. I am expecting him/her to not eat prepared, so I am setting up a fuge until I can get them onto prepared. Hopefully everything works out

 

[Tfain]

Iv heard the spotted mandarins accept prepared foods alot better than the green or red mandarins

 

[Greenturtle]

Iv heard the spotted mandarins accept prepared foods alot better than the green or red mandarins

That is the reason I am getting it. And, they are like half the price.

 

[Tfain]

True. I'm deciding between the red or green mandarin. I can't chose!!!!!

 

[crister13]

Do you think I would have a chance at keeping one?

 

[Tfain]

I would by the pods and put them in your tank and let them grow and reproduce some and them get the mandarin

 

[crister13]

Who were you talking to? The OP right? GL!!!!! And also the swapping the rocks is a good idea.

 

[Tfain]

Who were you talking to? The OP right? GL!!!!! And also the swapping the rocks is a good idea.

I was talking to you. I'd look into it a little more cause those groupers are pretty mean and eat everything. I saw one at my lfs trying to eat another grouper the same size as him

 

[crister13]

Thanks YOU!!!!! GL!!!!!

 

[nuwave59]

Hi! Bought a green mandarin last sunday! It's doing fine. The lady at my LFS told me it was already trained to eat frozen brine shrimps, she it it for quite a while. It didnt eat the 1st 2 days, but I saw him with a big chunk of shrimps in its mouth (well big for him!). So I think I got lucky