Mandarin pair

[DeltecUSA]

As a surprise Christmas gift, my wife got me a pair of mandarins from Biota, which I had been hinting at for about 2 months, and I had actually been establishing copepod and amphipod colonies in my reef for quite a while prior to that just in case. They arrived to my complete surprise the Wednesday before Christmas late in the afternoon on a day that was brutally cold here. Upon opening the box, I noticed that the bag was cold and they were not swimming but rolling around looking pretty much DOA. The acclimation page on the Biota website stated to float them then put them into the reef, no acclimation beyond that. So I let the bag float for 15 minutes, opened it up and put them into an acclimation chamber in my reef. And to my total surprise they were both moving about immediately. Everything I have read has indicated that they are small, but I really wasn't prepared for just how small they are. In fact, the female somehow managed to get out through a tiny gap in the lid the first night. I decided to let the male loose the next day and didn't see the male for a week in the 50g cube they're in. However I saw them both for the first time today, hunting right next to each other and considerably larger in size. And utterly spectacular. I haven't seen them eating pellets since they hide most of the day, but clearly they are eating well. So if you're considering picking up a pair, I highly recommend.

 

[KrisReef]

I’m thinking we need to clone your wife!
Great report and fantastic recovery of the ice fish.

 

[haitian_reefer]

I’m thinking we need to clone your wife!
Great report and fantastic recovery of the ice fish.

Hoping she has a rich sister?

 

[Buckster]

I also bought the pair and they were small. They have now doubled in size. They do very well and eat the frozen food that I feed to the other fish. Glad yours survived!

 

[cdw79]

I also bought the pair and they were small. They have now doubled in size. They do very well and eat the frozen food that I feed to the other fish. Glad yours survived!

Do yours ever come out during the day? I bought a single, think she's a female, but I see her maybe once a day and only in the mornings before the tank lights come on. She's definitely put on size but that has admittedly been a bit of a disappointment :/

 

[Buckster]

They both are out during the day. I probably should use the baster when feeding to direct the food towards them but most likely overfeed the tank so plenty of food passes them buy giving more of an opportunity enticing them to eat which they do.

 

[Pvtgloss]

I just got my pair last Friday. They are eating baby brine for sure. Not sure about frozen yet. I still have them in the ice cap fish trap that I'm using for acclimation. Kinda nervous about setting them lose yet.

Which one is the male?

I'm definitely happy with the packaging, shipping and condition they arrived in. Biota hooked it up.

 

[dedragon]

the one closest to the camera is def male, you can tell by the spike on its dorsal fin

 

[Pvtgloss]

the one closest to the camera is def male, you can tell by the spike on its dorsal fin

Awesome. Thanks man. How long you think I should keep them in the acclamation box? It's either the small or medium ice cap fish trap. So it's not that big, but they're so tiny. I think they're reaching 3/4 of an inch at the moment