Im about to do It!! Dream Fish!!!

[Dark_Knightt]

So for those of you that know me and have been following along will know that I absolutely LOVE mandarins! I have a 20g, and we all know that people dont usually the recommend wild-caught ones in a tank that size. So ive been communicating with an LFS that carries ORA captive bred mandos, and Im about to place an order. Ill probably get a female spotted mandarin, because 1. they are like 1% easier to care for than the blue ones as I've heard, They stay smaller, these ones eat pellets and frozen actively, and the spotted ones are the Australian ones, and I love all things Australia.
Order will be:
Spotted Mando,
2 Bottles of Reef Nutrition Arcti POds, or Apex Pods,
Reef Nutrition PhytoFeast

Ive already dosed pods about 3 weeks ago so I have a pretty big population. Tell me what you think,
**BTW dinos are going away if youve been following*

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

I’m excited for you, getting a dream fish is always fun! With that said, I would make sure that you have multiple different feeding options, as captive bred doesn’t mean automatic success. Maybe try to build a Paul B. brine shrimp feeder, or try live white worms for it. If you plan to feed it pellets, set up a feeding station for it. Good luck!

 

[Arthacker87]

Inwould.gp.buy pods now and let them start but might be too late. They say that "mandos" can eat upwards of 300+ pods a day (I have heard). Id still start a pod population now. It will be better for everything in your tank. But good luck i love them as well. One of the coolest fish imo

 

[Arthacker87]

I would go buy*

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I’m excited for you, getting a dream fish is always fun! With that said, I would make sure that you have multiple different feeding options, as captive bred doesn’t mean automatic success. Maybe try to build a Paul B. brine shrimp feeder, or try live white worms for it. If you plan to feed it pellets, set up a feeding station for it. Good luck!

Yes Ive thought about getting one of those Pod Hotels, they sell those on the site, and id hide it in a place in the tank where the mando cant get to it. Feeding station is definetly sometihng im going to do, for pellets.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I would go buy*

I already bought some like 3-4 weeks ago and I have a huge population hiding in my rocks and sand, with lots on the glass. Im gonna add 2 bottles to the tank, or use 1 of them for a culture.

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

I already bought some like 3-4 weeks ago and I have a huge population hiding in my rocks and sand, with lots on the glass. Im gonna add 2 bottles to the tank, or use 1 of them for a culture.

I would recommend trying to culture them, I think that would be a smarter choice in the long run.

 

[Coralsdaily]

Yes Ive thought about getting one of those Pod Hotels, they sell those on the site, and id hide it in a place in the tank where the mando cant get to it. Feeding station is definetly sometihng im going to do, for pellets.

I have a pod hotel, they don't really work LOL. But maybe that's because I have it in my refugium and the pods don't feel a need to use it. what actually uses my pod hotel are all the worms & tiny snails....

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I have a pod hotel, they don't really work LOL. But maybe that's because I have it in my refugium and the pods don't feel a need to use it. what actually uses my pod hotel are all the worms & tiny snails....

Yeah ive thought of putting one in the DT so that the pods can just leave right into the rocks and sand and theres really no point on havving one in a fuge because theres nothing to hide from in there.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Guys I did it!!! Bought it, its coming on Tuesday with some Dr. Tims, 2 bottles of pods, phyto. Super hypedddd

 

[SMSREEF]

I’m excited for you. I think the captive bred ones will be key in 20 gal.
Mandarins are my favorite fish by far, and I am looking forward to your success!
I want to follow along in this journey.

 

[Alenya]

I think a frozen munching Mando will do pretty good in a well stocked 20g! Won’t have to compete much to get non live chow. Good luck with one of our Aussies

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Oh I acc went with the blue one, I figured that was my day1 dream fish so it was now or never lol. My dream is to do medical undergrad. in Australia where they have those to buy in bullk XDDD jk. It was a tough choice tbh but im excited for this new chapter in my tank journey and my life Hopefully i can keep the mando nice and chubby ( im either naming it Mando because I love star wars or Dr. Tim because i just learned that Dr. Tim is acc a genius!! Read his CV!!)

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I think a frozen munching Mando will do pretty good in a well stocked 20g! Won’t have to compete much to get non live chow. Good luck with one of our Aussies

"Our Aussies"? You an aussie yourself mate?

 

[Alenya]

"Our Aussies"? You an aussie yourself mate?

Yeah mate

 

[Tamberav]

So for those of you that know me and have been following along will know that I absolutely LOVE mandarins! I have a 20g, and we all know that people dont usually the recommend wild-caught ones in a tank that size. So ive been communicating with an LFS that carries ORA captive bred mandos, and Im about to place an order. Ill probably get a female spotted mandarin, because 1. they are like 1% easier to care for than the blue ones as I've heard, They stay smaller, these ones eat pellets and frozen actively, and the spotted ones are the Australian ones, and I love all things Australia.
Order will be:
Spotted Mando,
2 Bottles of Reef Nutrition Arcti POds, or Apex Pods,
Reef Nutrition PhytoFeast

Ive already dosed pods about 3 weeks ago so I have a pretty big population. Tell me what you think,
**BTW dinos are going away if youve been following*

A 20g is doable, I recommend display macro algae and softy's/LPS and run a dirtier tank. Make some pod condo's or such and/or run a refugium.

I used to have 6 (2 spotted, 1 blue, 1 red, 2 scooters) in a 20g hex with densely planted and a fuge. They were all wild caught as this was before ORA. I had some of them for 5 years before I moved to another state and sold/rehomed.

That tank had pods everywhere. I fed the tank heavily and most took to frozen over time but the food kept the pods multiplying like crazy and the macro growing good. I also had a large clam and some NPS/Sun corals and soft corals/gorgs.

I got the idea from Matt Peterson who had 2 spawning pairs in a 29g biocube and the build was in one of the Coral Magazine issues.

Build your tank around your dream fish and it will go smoothly.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Yeah mate

I’m in Canada right now, but my dream isn’t to do a surgical undergraduate at James Cook Uni in Townsville. It’s been a life dream to visit Australia; and I really want to live there; it’s not that different from Canada other than warmer weather and dangerous animals lol

 

[Dark_Knightt]

A 20g is doable, I recommend display macro algae and softy's/LPS and run a dirtier tank. Make some pod condo's or such and/or run a refugium.

I used to have 6 (2 spotted, 1 blue, 1 red, 2 scooters) in a 20g hex with densely planted and a fuge. They were all wild caught as this was before ORA. I had some of them for 5 years before I moved to another state and sold/rehomed.

That tank had pods everywhere. I fed the tank heavily and most took to frozen over time but the food kept the pods multiplying like crazy and the macro growing good. I also had a large clam and some NPS/Sun corals and soft corals/gorgs.

I got the idea from Matt Peterson who had 2 spawning pairs in a 29g biocube and the build was in one of the Coral Magazine issues.

Build your tank around your dream fish and it will go smoothly.

My tank is all LPS and softies, tank is slightly dirty (which i don’t exactly like lol. Pod hotel or target feeder is something I’ll probably do

 

[Alenya]

I’m in Canada right now, but my dream isn’t to do a surgical undergraduate at James Cook Uni in Townsville. It’s been a life dream to visit Australia; and I really want to live there; it’s not that different from Canada other than warmer weather and dangerous animals lol

You’ll be all set, we love our Canadian brethren here

 

[Dark_Knightt]

You’ll be all set, we love our Canadian brethren here

Glad to hear that. Either way im getting a what we here call "australian accent" after a few months, to you its just english XD