Can I Have A Mandarin Goby?

Reed639 · Mar 6, 2011

Hi so I am going to purchase a Green Mandarin Goby today.
Could you give me a few pointers on feeding the fish.
What should I start feeding it when I get the fish?
Dont tell me this fish is difficult to keep because I am aware of that.

Thanks,
Reed

Troylee · Mar 6, 2011

Pods mostly... See if he is eating prepared foods in the store before you buy it would be the best bet... Nuva Ora prawn roe is a good start...

Reed639 · Mar 6, 2011

Do you think the fish would do fine in a 20 gallon high reef tank?

Reed639 · Mar 6, 2011

Also I am going to try to make a pellet pile for the fish.

Reef UP · Mar 6, 2011

How much rock do you have in there how long had it been in there ? Can yOu see pods on the glass or in holes or crevices of your rocks with a flashlight?

boehm742 · Mar 6, 2011

Reed639 said:
Do you think the fish would do fine in a 20 gallon high reef tank?

He will quickly decimate the pod population in time in a 20g. Do you have a fuge for pods to have safety from being eaten and you could add more to the DT occasionally? Your going to have to find one that is eating prepared foods for your best chance at survival in a 20.

Reed639 · Mar 6, 2011

Reef UP said:
How much rock do you have in there how long had it been in there ? Can yOu see pods on the glass or in holes or crevices of your rocks with a flashlight?

I have about 25 pounds of live rock in the tank.
Also should I turn all the lights off and get a flashlight to check.

Kataro · Mar 6, 2011

If he's not eating prepared food yet... he'll die in your 20G. It's best to find one that's eating pellet already

FishLipz · Mar 6, 2011

Ideal situation, you'd want a much larger tank because they are constant eaters. They can obliterate a pod population in a short time. What other fish are in the tank because you'll want to keep the competition for the pods to a minimum until he gets on prepared foods. My buddy has had success keeping them in small tanks by themselves and feeding them pods from his fuge and slowly weens them off pods while introducing other foods until they accept what they are given. But even then it doesn't always work

Reed639 · Mar 6, 2011

Kataro said:
If he's not eating prepared food yet... he'll die in your 20G. It's best to find one that's eating pellet already

I called and he is not excepting anything right now.

Reed639 · Mar 6, 2011

FishLipz said:
Ideal situation, you'd want a much larger tank because they are constant eaters. They can obliterate a pod population in a short time. What other fish are in the tank because you'll want to keep the competition for the pods to a minimum until he gets on prepared foods. My buddy has had success keeping them in small tanks by themselves and feeding them pods from his fuge and slowly weens them off pods while introducing other foods until they accept what they are given. But even then it doesn't always work

I dont have a refugium.

Reed639 · Mar 6, 2011

Do you think It would start to eat pellets if I would one.

Tabasco1 · Mar 6, 2011

I have been researching this fish a ton, and from what I have read, keeping them in an tank smaller than a 75g that is less than a year old can be a challenge because of adequate pod population available. It can be done, but the fish really needs to be eating prepared foods and you will also probably need to boost your pod population regularly. You can purchase live pods to seed your tank with.

+1 make sure you see it eating prepared foods before you buy. You can also train yourself, but I personally wouldn't try this until I had experience keeping the fish.

Tabasco1 · Mar 6, 2011

Just read all the updates while typing my response. If he is not accepting food, you don't have a fuge and 25lbs. I would wait.

boehm742 · Mar 6, 2011

I agree, this is not the fish to try and see if it will accept foods from you. How long has this tank been running?

Reed639 · Mar 6, 2011

boehm742 said:
I agree, this is not the fish to try and see if it will accept foods from you. How long has this tank been running?

Tanks been running since the beggining of october.

sf_ramsden · Mar 6, 2011

Reed639 said:
Do you think It would start to eat pellets if I would one.

Would need to know how long the tank has been up for... But by the sounds of it, it is not currently ready for a mandarin. I doubt if you were to buy one not currently eating pellets that it will start right up in your tank. Best to do some more research before buying one of these too quickly.

EDIT: you just posted it has been up since October, so that would confirm the tankmis not established enoughh to sustain a mandarin, unless you were to constantly add more Copepoda to the system.

FishLipz · Mar 6, 2011

With no fuge on a 20 gallon tank you'll spend a fortune buying and dumping enough pods into the tank to keep it alive. I've never heard of one just taking to pellets without almost being forced to.