Biota raise green mandarin

[bvanfish]

My LFS has some green biota raised mandarin. They eat mysis etc. I’m wondering how they’d do in my 25 gallon. I have seeded it many times with pods and feed phyto daily. I have lots of rock and I figure with them eating mysis and me having decent pods it would do well.

Any thoughts/ feedback ? May go get one

I have done lots of reading on here and online and see extreme different views. But it seems biotas are the way to go since they do take food.

 

[bvanfish]

@Habachi_Grill and @jrill @blaxsun I saw some threads where you got them

 

[eraser2001]

I got a pair of mandarins from biota at 10 gallons. Both are tiny, but are doing great. They started looking for pod around the rocks, now both are eating frozen food.

 

[bvanfish]

I got a pair of mandarins from biota at 10 gallons. Both are tiny, but are doing great. They started looking for pod around the rocks, now both are eating frozen food.

How long have you had them for? Do you keep on putting in new pods? Or feed frozen like many times a day?

 

[eraser2001]

I got Them around August last year, I feed twice a day frozen food. I just seed my tank one time with pods

 

[bvanfish]

Ok so I’ve seeded like 5 or 6 times In the past few months and dose live phyto daily so I’d have to imagine I’d be good

 

[Jmp998]

My biota mandarin preferred pellets (TDO) for a long time but now eats anything small pellets, pods, frozen, etc. Now I feed pellets in the morning then he eats pods all day. Only problem is they are slow feeders so they will do better if you can feed them something your other fish have limited interest in. TDO pellets still work well for me because most of my fish either prefer to eat from the water column or are so fat and spoiled that tiny TDO pellets are of little interest. I think if my mandarin depended on mysis then he would have a hard time in my tank as my puffer and two file fish would outcompete him for food because they do not leave any shrimp uneaten.

 

[Tamberav]

Main problem is other fish who are super greedy types or cleaner shrimp. They are such annoying tank mates to have with a mandarin when trying ti spot feed it.

 

[BlueFynn_Ian]

We have a Biota Green Mandarin in our 150g reef tank for about 2 years now, she spends a lot of time hunting pods but also eats just about anything else we have ever put into the tank. From day 1 she was eating mysis almost her size which I was amazed to see a mandarin trying to pull apart a shrimp. Previously I had just been used to wild caught ones that only ate pods.

 

[Salty_Taste]

My LFS has some green biota raised mandarin. They eat mysis etc. I’m wondering how they’d do in my 25 gallon. I have seeded it many times with pods and feed phyto daily. I have lots of rock and I figure with them eating mysis and me having decent pods it would do well.

Any thoughts/ feedback ? May go get one

I have done lots of reading on here and online and see extreme different views. But it seems biotas are the way to go since they do take food.

If they are eating mysis and you pre seeded your tank along with constant phyto, it's no problem.

I own a pair in my IM 14g Peninsula. Cycled my tank with home cultured pods & phyto 4 months in advance along with having cultured white worms and baby brine. Initially they fought for 2 weeks then caught them doing the mating ritual around 2 months in. Coming up on 8 months of ownership.

Check out my build thread or IG for more content!
(I have videos of them doing the mating dance on IG)

Best of luck if you decide to pick up the Mandarin. Love my specimen, came in as wild.

 

[blaxsun]

@Habachi_Grill and @jrill @blaxsun I saw some threads where you got them

My LFS. All my mandarins have been wild caught.

 

[Biota_Marine]

We always suggest feeding our mandarins pellets first in new environments. TDO B2 size works really well or really anything in that 400 µm range they'll quickly go after but it needs to get down to where they hang out. We also shut the flow off for feeding which helps elicit a response.

 

[bvanfish]

@Biota_Marine like this?

TDO-B2 Chroma BOOST Granule Fish Food

Food for Saltwater Fish and Invertebrates 1/2" and Larger Reef Nutrition by Reed Mariculture TDO Chroma BOOST food is granulated and pelletized then "top dressed" with Haematococcus Algae providing an excellent source of astaxanthin leading to healthy animals that are able to show off their...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[areefer01]

Main problem is other fish who are super greedy types or cleaner shrimp. They are such annoying tank mates to have with a mandarin when trying ti spot feed it.

Remove cleaner shrimp

Teasing of course but you are not wrong. They are a bit of a poo head here and there which is why I don't keep them anymore. Shame too because I do like them but when they try and steal food from mouthy / fleshy corals like an Elegance it is time to go

Hope you are doing well.

 

[Tired]

The problem with mandarins is that their digestive system is rigged for a constant stream of food. One feeding a day, of anything, won't keep them fat.

 

[Daenion]

I got two in my tank for about 3 months now. I seeded 3 times over the last 6 months. I feed pytho here and there.

Mine are doing really well. I got some very active fish that are a lot bigger than them. Mandarins have a very chill attitude which is great during feeding time as they dont get spooked by fish 10-20x their size eating next to them . They are very active for 3-4 hours after lights go out and you will see them during feeding time.

In a smaller setting there will be less issues with spot feeding especially as they are biota and they can snack on whatever pods remain in the aquarium at night.

 

[areefer01]

The problem with mandarins is that their digestive system is rigged for a constant stream of food. One feeding a day, of anything, won't keep them fat.

True - and also very true with young fish such as any captive bred/raised. I know I feed my pink square anthias (Biota gems) 3 times a day pellet (2 drum rotation) and 1 heavy frozen. Not that it matters but I can't stress enough the additional feeding for young fish while maturing.

 

[Biota_Marine]

@Biota_Marine like this?

TDO-B2 Chroma BOOST Granule Fish Food

Food for Saltwater Fish and Invertebrates 1/2" and Larger Reef Nutrition by Reed Mariculture TDO Chroma BOOST food is granulated and pelletized then "top dressed" with Haematococcus Algae providing an excellent source of astaxanthin leading to healthy animals that are able to show off their...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Exactly, this is what we use here in addition to other feeds listed on their product page.

 

[Biota_Marine]

The problem with mandarins is that their digestive system is rigged for a constant stream of food. One feeding a day, of anything, won't keep them fat.

100% we feed them 4-5x a day at our facility and I recommend at least 2-3x a day at home