Biota Blue Mandarin Pair or single?

[ReefLife_Guy]

Thinking about whether I should go for a pair of Biota mandarins or just one. I'm not particularly interested in breeding and even if the pair did breed I'm not sure how much of an effort I'd make to raise any fry but I do like the way fish interact with their own species. At least with my clowns it has been a positive and rewarding experience watching them court each other and interact day to day. I would assume they are like any bonded pair, that it is more successful with two of varying size. Does anyone have any positive experiences with a pair of @Biota_Marine mandarins? I have seen some negative ones on here but those are usually the only ones that people go out of their way to share, so interested to see what other people thought who have been successful keeping 2.

 

[blaxsun]

2 with the caveats that the tank is large enough to sustain a copepod population for both and that they're a male/female pair.

 

[DaJMasta]

How big is your tank? Also an assurance that it's a male and a female is important, as same sex mandarins will not tolerate each other.

Bonded pair doesn't really apply, exactly, to mandarins, as males will basically stake out a territory and then mate with any females in the space - they don't pair up the same way other fish do, but a pair can certainly spawn (and usually will a few times a week when properly fed and established). They don't act hugely different towards each other (or than a single one) during the day, but in the evening the male will chase after the female or otherwise seek her out.

As for raising the larvae..... good luck. I'm still trying with the eggs from my pair, and I don't think I've kept a larva alive a whole week yet (though I've made some changes that may help soon). As with many marine pelagic spawning fish, the larvae are very small, so they require very small live food as their first food source, and artemia nauplii are some of the largest foods the young larvae can manage. It's certainly been done, but you should consider it an intensive process if you really wanted to try.

 

[ReefLife_Guy]

2 with the caveats that the tank is large enough to sustain a copepod population for both and that they're a male/female pair.

Yeah I have a ton of pods in my DT currently and I'm assuming my refugium can sustain the population. I figured with these coming from Biota that they will eat prepared frozen foods and I would use the copepods more for variation in diet and enrichment purposes. I was hoping that strategy would keep them fed but also keep them eating their preferred foods.

How big is your tank?

Current tank is 55 gallon but I plan to upgrade this year to a 100+ gallon. I assume if I purchase Biota's "Blue Mandarin Fish Pair" that they will ensure compatibility of the pair.

 

[blaxsun]

Current tank is 55 gallon but I plan to upgrade this year to a 100+ gallon. I assume if I purchase Biota's "Blue Mandarin Fish Pair" that they will ensure compatibility of the pair.

I assume so, but I'd also get it in writing that it's male/female. 55-gallons should be fine at the outset, but these things are like little floating hoovers - and can deplete copepod populations very quickly.

 

[ReefLife_Guy]

I assume so, but I'd also get it in writing that it's male/female. 55-gallons should be fine at the outset, but these things are like little floating hoovers - and can deplete copepod populations very quickly.

Yeah I would definitely confirm with them first before buying. I heard these guys will decimate a pod population, so I bought a pod hotel too and thought I would try moving it back and forth between the DT and refugium to keep the population going in the tank but not sure if that will even help keep up. If they are more solitary fish and not attached at the hip like my clowns, I might just go for one and maybe avoid some of the potential issues with getting 2.

 

[blaxsun]

They are very solitary fish. I have a wild-caught male in my 160-gallon display and he is always off in the rock work hunting (he does come out to partake in occasional brine and calanus, though). So we rarely see him.

In a 55-gallon you'll see mandarins much more frequently. If you want the pair I'd get the pair - just be prepared to supplement pods as needed.

 

[DaJMasta]

The pods in a 55G will not sustain them as adults, and it will be a matter of a couple of weeks before the pod population is low enough that they will start to starve, even with a refugium, unless they are very small (and they are likely to be). I would take the time to make sure they will eat some prepared foods in isolation (I use a mesh breeder box in the tank), Just to make sure they will take the foods you have to offer before releasing them to run amok on the pod population.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Thinking about whether I should go for a pair of Biota mandarins or just one. I'm not particularly interested in breeding and even if the pair did breed I'm not sure how much of an effort I'd make to raise any fry but I do like the way fish interact with their own species. At least with my clowns it has been a positive and rewarding experience watching them court each other and interact day to day. I would assume they are like any bonded pair, that it is more successful with two of varying size. Does anyone have any positive experiences with a pair of @Biota_Marine mandarins? I have seen some negative ones on here but those are usually the only ones that people go out of their way to share, so interested to see what other people thought who have been successful keeping 2.

If your not interested in keeping/ breeding pair plus the upkeep of ongoing monitoring/ feeding to keep these guys/ constantly happy then maybe just one, if any?
These guys need ALOT of attention, learning so much about them beforehand will definitely help so please research

 

[Tchung23]

I had a pair of biota mandarins. Purchased when they were tiny less than an inch. They seemed fine with each other until one day the male turned on the female and killed her. This was after about 6 months of living together and sleeping in the same hole in the live rock. Hard to say why this happened. If I would do it again I still would try to get a pair. Just don't expect that they will like each other.

 

[OrionN]

I love to keep breeding units of fish in my aquarium. My Mandarin Dragonet pair are WC, but they are a pair. They seem to be apart during the day except in the evening when they spawn every few days. And they sleep very near each other, often touching each other.

 

[OrionN]

I had a pair of biota mandarins. Purchased when they were tiny less than an inch. They seemed fine with each other until one day the male turned on the female and killed her. This was after about 6 months of living together and sleeping in the same hole in the live rock. Hard to say why this happened. If I would do it again I still would try to get a pair. Just don't expect that they will like each other.

They should have enough food. If they don’t they will fight.
I have my pair I. A 40 gal breeder reef with a male male Ruby Red Dragonet. I am looking for a female