Mandarin Gobies - What’s the truth?

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Hancat

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If it’s the only one eating copepods you should be good. A 40gal would be a nice upgrade for sure. See if you can find a long 40. Makes for better viewing in my opinion. But a 20 would be okay. Keep an eye out for copepod numbers if possible. They eat a lot of them. Some say they will eat up to 1000 per day, so there are people that put in a bottle a week of copepods.
Appreciate your help, they’re an amazing fish but I think I’ll hold off a bit longer, I don’t want to risk them starving to death. Will definitely look for a tank bred one though when I get my upgrade!
 

dangles

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Here’s my (limited) experience…

I bought a pair of Biota mandarin gobies from my LFS this past August (2024). They were TINY (normal for captive bred). They were small enough I was concerned about putting them in my 120 gallon display and not being able to keep an eye on them. I wanted to make sure they were eating and growing. So I put the two of them in my 5 gallon pico tank. Obviously not a long term solution. I wasn’t concerned about food supply though because I had started the pico a couple of months prior with rock from my display’s sump which was LOADED with microfauna. I spot-fed them the super teeny tiny TDO Chromaboost maybe twice a month. Other than that they fed exclusively on the pods in the pico. They did great in that tank, evidenced by their constantly fat little bellies, and their growth! A few weeks ago (roughly 5 months after I got them) I moved them to my main display. They’ve thrived.

Obviously this is just one case so YMMV. But I think the keys to success with these guys is a (very) healthy copepod population - whether naturally reproducing or “dosed” regularly - AND buying captive bred proven pellet/mysis eaters. This will give you your BEST chance of success. And since these are living creatures, unless you can give them the BEST chance of survival, it’s better to pass on them.

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tayyybra_

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every mandarin ive ever had took very little interest in frozen or pellets, and was on the hunt for pods all day. typically ive always told myself if i can see visually the pod population growing in my refugium, a mandarin would be happy. they are such wonderful fish. im in the market for one myself
 

nickng

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Hi there,

I’ve been doing extensive research on Mandarin Gobies as I hope to own one some day when I can adequately care for them. I’ve read books, researched quite a few articles, and have read quite a few forum posts indicating that this species must have access to copious amounts of copepods, and live in a tank larger than 30 gallons.

However, today, I noticed a keeper on Reddit (yes I know, not the most reliable source) claiming to keep a Mandarin Goby successfully in a shallow nano reef tank, sustaining it only on frozen foods.

My question is: is that really possible? Can they really live healthy lives without copepods?

I’m just trying to figure out how this reefer is claiming such success when it goes against every piece of information I’ve found thus far.

Maybe I am incorrect?

Thanks for your thoughts!
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i kept one for about 1+ year in a biocube 32gallon with a refugium. Mine will eat frozen brine shrimp and will hunt for copepods in the rocks. No agressive fish like damsels since the mandarin isn't really able to defend itself except for manuvering into rock crevises that are hard to reach. Got mine from petco.. very healthy and not shy at all. Lost the fish when my tank got infected by velvet.
 
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PotatoPig

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The secret to that redditors success appears to be that the Mandarin has just been put in the tank so hasn’t had time to starve… yet.

They aren’t particularly fast or efficient feeders, so assuming they can be kept alive via feeding is a risk, as they can be outcompeted by faster fish with more aggressive feeding habits.

Thing about these fish - if your tank doesn’t provide an appropriate habitat for one you’re going to be on a never ending uphill battle keeping it alive, but if you can provide an appropriate habitat they’re one of the easiest fish in the hobby - they don’t depend on feeding schedules, are resistant to many common diseases, and are peaceful tankmates that neither draw nor give out aggression to most other inhabitants.
 

winxp_man

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The secret to that redditors success appears to be that the Mandarin has just been put in the tank so hasn’t had time to starve… yet.

They aren’t particularly fast or efficient feeders, so assuming they can be kept alive via feeding is a risk, as they can be outcompeted by faster fish with more aggressive feeding habits.

Thing about these fish - if your tank doesn’t provide an appropriate habitat for one you’re going to be on a never ending uphill battle keeping it alive, but if you can provide an appropriate habitat they’re one of the easiest fish in the hobby - they don’t depend on feeding schedules, are resistant to many common diseases, and are peaceful tankmates that neither draw nor give out aggression to most other inhabitants.
I find a lot of rocks and some kind of caves to be the key.
 

DaJMasta

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I've had a pair of mandarins and one or two ruby red dragonets in my e170 for several years now. I trained every fish onto frozen before releasing it into the tank and have collected fertile eggs from regular spawns of both. I got two mandarins to settlement, but through my own process mistakes, never got them to their full adult coloration.

So yes, you can get calorie and nutrient requirements more than adequately met with varied, regular frozen feeding. I feed twice a day, pumps off, and rotate four frozen foods.
 

Reef By Steele

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I would first agree that the post on Reddit appears to be a new tank that hasn’t even cycled yet. Pristine dry rock and white sand. My best guess is that without a serious pod population that mandarin even if tank raised isn’t going to be healthy. I personally kept mandarin gobies in aquariums that were not dosed with pods, but it was in the 80’s and I started the tank with ocean sources live rock.

When I got back into the hobby I learned so much more with the internet, especially R2R. My opinion is that even tank raised Biota Mandarins should be given a pod population. Even though they are “trained” to eat pellets and frozen, in nature Mandarins hunt constantly and continuously pecking at the rocks. As with anthias and wrasses that feed constantly in the wild, I feel they should have a constant food source or multiple daily feedings for them to have their best life. I try to as closely as possible provide our fish with as natural environment as possible.

As for a 20, one reason they are recommended in larger tanks is that they alone can decimate a pod population as they graze non stop (at least during the day). To maintain one fat and happy in a smaller tank, purchasing or culturing copepods for an endless supply would be my suggestion. Or wait for at least a 40 gallon tank.
 

Doctorgori

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I’ve kept several for years…While I cant swear they will thrive on a frozen only diet, they most certainly can and will supplement their diet if trained.
All of the ones I kept ate mysis with relish and quickly learned where the feeding dish was.
Disclaimer being it was a seahorse tank and fish are kind of “monkey see/monkey do” learners
 

BubblesandSqueak

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I’ve kept several for years…While I cant swear they will thrive on a frozen only diet, they most certainly can and will supplement their diet if trained.
All of the ones I kept ate mysis with relish and quickly learned where the feeding dish was.
Disclaimer being it was a seahorse tank and fish are kind of “monkey see/monkey do” learners
what's relish? I do Piscine Mysis and pods and she's fat and happy.
 

CHSUB

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Never been successful, always starved. Tank raised was never an option when I tried and pods were not available to purchase, iirc. Sure would like to try again with a tank raised one that eats frozen foods. Amazing fish!
 

Faurek

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I never had one, but had pipefish and seahorses and it's okay if they feed once or twice on frozen, since apparently they are the same care if you want one do this:
When you go to the LFS ask them to feed frozen so you can see they actually eat it.
Feed more complete stuff like mysis and if you want supplement that with live enriched baby brine shrimp.
 

Faurek

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They are feed pellet and what not but competition is slim. In a reef tank competition is fierce. Crabs snails and other fish will out compete it.

I still think a very healthy pod population is a must
Want to know what kind of snails and crabs you have, cause I want some of those, never in my life saw a crab or snail that could outcompete fish. Daring shrimp are the biggest competition.
 

yanetterer

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claiming to keep a Mandarin Goby successfully in a shallow nano reef tank, sustaining it only on frozen foods.
For how long? Until it has lived to its typical life expectancy without being malnourished, I'm not sure it can be considered successful. More like, "not concluded to be unsuccessful."
 

fandaga

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My two from Biota are doing well after about 9 months. They started out at 3/4” and now are about 1.5”. I never really saw them eating pellets or the recommended food from Biota early on but only in the last couple weeks at least one mandarin has started eating some LRS reef frenzy after I upped my feeding because of new fish. Spot feeding in the past never really worked for me. I supplement with pods twice per week that I culture. I bought the system from Poseidon for pod culturing, but it seems easy to make your own: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brands/poseidon-reef-systems.html
Phyto I get from my LFS, but that’s just an excuse to stop in every couple weeks to check out new corals.

One issue I should mention is that I first bought a male that actually turned out to be female based on the dorsal fin once it grew larger. I then bought a female a month later that fortunately turned out to be male. I think the sexing of these fish at such a small size from Biota is a crapshoot. Maybe they have better success if you buy a pair instead of separate male and females. Unfortunately if you get two of the same sex, they’ll apparently kill each other.

Nevertheless, these are GREAT fish and well worth the effort in husbandry. Below are some videos of mine:

Eating pods early on:


At the 9 month mark, swimming together and flashing fins:
 

Cheese Griller

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Interesting, I guess I didn’t realize they could just be fed pellets and or frozen and still be satisfied, I guess I need to do some more research.
Although captive bred mandarins often do eat pellets and frozen, they have such a fast metabolism that they still need pods to supplement. A well-established 40 gallon should be fine for one!
 

Paul B

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There are so many mandarin threads and many people feel they are a difficult fish. They are not. They are probably the least maintenance fish there is and readily spawn "IF" your tank is correct for them.

Success with a Mandarin is about 10 years as I feel that is about their lifespan and as long as I normally keep them and I have been keeping them ever since they were imported.

The first ones I kept, all starved. But my tank wasn't set up correctly and the hobby was young so I didn't know what I was doing.



I personally do not think you can "successfully" keep one on only prepared foods like pellets.
They have a stomach like a seahorse which is just about the lack of a stomach and needs to eat constantly, that means a pod every 6 or 7 seconds so if you want to feed a pellet every 6 or 7 seconds, you may be successful but have no life or girlfriend. In your case, boyfriend.



You need a tank large enough with some age on it. By age, I don't mean 3 or 4 years.
You need a tank with a bit of growth in it no white or almost white, bare rocks.

Notice the growth on my rocks.


This guy is 10 years old here.



They constantly spawn.




Pods grow naturally in any mature reef as long as you don't quarantine or clean the heck out of the tank. Mandarins need little but pods and thousands of them. I never bought a pod in my life.

 

sfin52

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Want to know what kind of snails and crabs you have, cause I want some of those, never in my life saw a crab or snail that could outcompete fish. Daring shrimp are the biggest competition.
It's how the mandarin eats. They are deliberate and slower feeders. Mandarins don't chase food around. They let it settle watch it and than grab a piece. This gives inverts chance to compete
 

Paul B

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They eat exactly like these ruby red dragonettes. I also have a few of these and they also spawn continousely. Count how many pods she is eating. I counted 15 in that short video.
She is still in my tank.

 

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