Mandarin Goby

[Hogdaddy]

A fish I would like to add to my 60gallon tank is a mandarin goby. I currently have 2 O clowns, a watchman goby, 2 turbo snails and 3 hermit crabs. I have a large HOB refugium with chaeto in it doing good.
In reading some about the mandarin...having a sustainable amount of pods seems to be one of the main issues. Would adding pods to my tank/refugium for a few weeks before adding the mandarin give the pods a chance to become established?

Could someone explain to me how to maintain copeoplds?

 

[ShaunRobinson]

As you are aware Mandarins need a steady supply of pods in your tank to get by unless you can find one that is feeding on frozen. A healthy established tank with plenty of rockwork should be okay but if it’s a new tank I would make sure you have a lot of pods in there. A lot of pods. Get some added to your fuge now if you plan on introducing one to your tank.

I believe a lot of places sell mail order fish in the states but I would never buy a delicate fish such as this without seeing it first. Look for at least a 2-3” specimen that looks fat and healthy and ask to see it feeding. If it takes frozen then the chances of keeping it are much better. Mine eats frozen mysis but still picks at the rocks all day.

Gorgeous fish, good luck.

Shaun.

 

[Gonebad395]

Mandarins are not a easy fish and needs pods. Their metabolism is fast like a humming bird you are going to need pods lots of pods. These fish are destroyed in this hobby due to aquarist not having the experience and a steady food source. It eats a lot all day all day long even if you get one that eats frozen it can convert back solid to not being feed enough frozen during the day. Then slowly starve it will be expensive to buy pods all the time

 

[sde1500]

That size tank is in the borderline size tank category for keeping them. A fuge will certainly help. A lot of live rock in the tank too, giving them plenty of places to populate that the mandarin cannot get to.

 

[Jesterrace]

With mandarins it's less about the tank size and more about having lots of live rock and a fair bit of chaeto, etc. in a refugium to support a breading population that can sustain mandarinfish and it usually takes between 6 months to a year to get it to that point. It's estimated that a Mandarinfish eats roughly one pod every few seconds. So it will eat thousands of pods each week. I would say a minimum of 75lbs of live rock with 6 months to build up the pod population is the MINIMUM to sustain a single mandarin long term.

 

[ech0o]

Do yourself a favor and do business with someone who works with Biota, to acquire tank bred/raised specimen. The chance for success is immensely better with a tank bred and raised mandarin, I have many service clients with growing mandarins in as small as 40 gallon tanks, whereas a wild would likely malnourish and die in the same sized system.

 

[dansreef]

I have a Green Mandarin in my 180 Reef System. It doesn't eat any prepared or frozen foods at all. I have a large 100 gal sump in the basement full of rock as well as a large Algae Scrubber both of which are loaded with pods. The display is constantly fed pods through the normal course of flow from the sump. My Mandarine is fat and had grown in the 18 months I have had it.

The key is to get a pod population going in your tank and refugium long before you introduce your Mandarin. Your tank is a bit small but as long as there are no other fish feeding on pods you should be ok. Having said that...

• You may want to find a ready source of new pods you can introduce to your system be it mail order or LFS. Keep your eyes on how the pod population in your tank grows and lives. I like to use a flashlight late at night. You will get a very good idea of the population you have.

• You may want to keep your nutrients up a bit to promote some algae growth.... Pods thrive in my tank with higher nutrients and some algae, both in the display and the sump / scrubber. If your tank is too clean and very low in nutrients, the pods waste away as they have nothing to feed on. Having slightly more dirty tank will lead to more algae and then pods and reproduction.
• As someone else has said, if you can get a captive bred & raised Mandarin, you may get one that will readily take frozen and prepared.

Good Luck. They are beautiful fish for sure.