The Mandarin Candidate

lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#61
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#61
Hey Jammerz, it's always great to see a conscientious mandarin keeper.

Try using a turkey baster to propel some food near the bottom... even with floating food, pieces get stuck on the overhang of rocks. It's a great sign yours eats brine. I hope he'll take to roe too as enthusiastically as mine did. Please keep us posted.

I use the orange capelin roe, seasoned (unfortunately all that's available). I've seen the mandarin eat almost 1/2 a teaspoon in one sitting. Quite remarkable, as it's purported dragonetts only eat in tiny portions, like hummingbirds.

That fuge with the macro should really keep you in the game. Maybe throw half a dozen scrubber pads in there too to encourage pod reproduction?

And if you're interested in having a pod pile just for extra pods in the main tank, one easy way to create one is just to use seashells, bits of coral rubble, and small rocks. I have mine in the corner. Two scrubber pads are at the base, and I can always see pods crawling in and out of the plastic mesh. It can look kind of ghetto, but if you have larger rocks, you can position it behind them. My plan is eventually to cover my pile with various zoas.

Anyway, best of luck to you, and I'd love to hear how yours treats roe...
 

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jammerz

Large Fish
#62
Feb 28, 2005
308
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Boise
#62
hey lordroad
my mandarin didnt even realize there was fish eggs in there for him i put probably a tablespoon in and he didnt do a thing but i will keep trying, luckily my friend works at a sushi joint so i get free eggs....he acted like he wanted something he was fluttering all around but never got any..should i try soaking the roe in garlic juice to help entice him?

-the cleaner shrimp sure loved it though, they were stoked-
 

lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#63
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#63
jammerz said:
-the cleaner shrimp sure loved it though, they were stoked-
Click to expand...
Well, that's good at least. I'm sorry to hear he didn't go after the roe. In my experience with my mandarin, when there's something he won't touch, he just won't bother with it. Maybe try tricking him with the brine he eats by mixing it with mysis?

Nice hook-up with the sushi joint.

Check out this site for some pods to boost your system... http://floridapets.com/ (thanks Ares!)

Even though mine eats other stuff, I intend to continue supplying pods to keep the small tank alive with em.
 

lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#67
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#67
9-15-05
(and 9-25-05)
Apologies for the long hiatus. Yes, the mandarin is still alive, and he's thriving. He is beautifully well rounded and there isn't a trace of the line you see in so many mandarin abdomens. My pod population has seemed to hit a stable point, and you can see hundreds at night over the glass. In addition to the copepods and amphipods, I've seen some huge isopods, nearly ten times the size of the largest amphipod. Pretty neat.

I took three pods from the main tank and dropped them into the pico vase. I did this a month ago, and the vase is filled with pods now. So far I haven't needed to harvest them for the main tank, but if that time comes, they are here.

The mandarin continues to eat roe and Cyclo-peeze with relish. I also believe he's eating mysis.

I'd take some new pictures, but he hasn't changed really at all from the last shots.
 

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lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#75
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#75
2006, fish still A-OK

Nothing new to report. This is good, of course, but I have some future plans in the works for the mandarin as well as this whole project...

I may be moving soon to an actual house. I'd like to upgrade the tank to a 20 gallon long and add an HOB refugium chocked full of chaeto, scrubber pads, and small pieces of live rock, while keeping a healthy flow.

Camaro and Ares, quick question... how are your Aquafuges holding up?

I feed approximately 1/2 teaspoon of roe every other day (off days cyclopeeze), rinsed in tank water to get most of the unnatural dye before it hits the tank. Pods are visible in the tank at night so a steady number appear to coexist with the mandarin. I supplement sometimes from my vase, which is crawling with pods, by swapping out a pourous rock of GSP and zoanthids.

For a while in Nov. and Dec. I got lax. I only dosed roe about twice a week during the holiday shuffle. Finally, when I spent a couple hours looking at the tank, I noted the mandarin's abdomen was concave. Still well-rounded and very healthy, but his stomach looked as if he were sucking in.

Not good.

Immediately I started a daily roe feeding program. In three days he was back to himself... full stomach, no trace of lines on the side. A healthy mandarin looks chubby, like a fat muppet from Sesame Street, and when you see his stomach on the underside it should either be flush with his body or slightly rotund.

Here's a shot I took a couple days ago. Note the purple rock in the background... that's the pod-infested rock from my vase.


The daily feedings of rich foods like roe obviously take a toll on the tank. I do weekly water changes, 1-2 gallons, which is about 20% due to the live rock and sand that takes up some of the volume. Nitrate has not once tipped over 5... actually it has never registered on my test kit, and I hope to keep it that way. However, green hair algae is a constant problem, thanks to the high nutrient content and dosing of phytoplankton, but the water changes and chaeto macro I keep in the tank seem to keep it in relative check.

I had a breakout of mild cyano and nasty red string hair algae a long time ago but an extra powerhead kicked that, along with some nassarius snails to stir up the sandbed.

Everything else in the tank is doing great, though my central focus is the mandarin. Seems like I keep him well fed and healthy, everything else comes along with the ride.
 

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tommyo125

New Fish
#78
Jan 19, 2006
9
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#78
I have to say I am the novice who purchased a mandrine without research. I relied on my LFS for information..... BAD IDEA! Forums like these helped me alot in my quest for a successful nano "12g eclipes". Unfortunatly for the mandrine it was to late. If I had only known I would have never purchased. I feel bad! I did inform one of the LFS I go to how disapointed I was that they would sell such a fish knowing I was novice and had a 12g. Every time I look for a purchse I state what I have "type of fish inverts etc .... hoping they will inform me, but I now fear there knowlege is Basic and most have no idea. I thank those that have helped me in my quest " in these forums etc... " to educate myself and make sure I am doing the right thing.

Good job to you and Good luck!
 

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1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#79
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
43
San Ramon, CA
#79
well, unfortunately even if they know they are trying to make money. the more stuff they sell you the more money they make...a good LFS will not sell you things you cannot keep but they aren't all good
 

lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#80
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#80
A new development...

The president of my local reef club makes up a special frozen omnivore food recipe in the food processor. He gave me a bunch of frozen cubes during our latest trade yesterday. The stuff is a lot of shrimp, krill, squid, selcon, some plant life, etc. and gelatin for thickness all blended together and frozen.

I dropped in a piece and the clown (named "Spit" by my wife for her tendency to try out food and then spit it out) tried a piece and lived up to her namesake.

The mandarin was getting noticably excited as he hovered around the tank, drawing close to where the piece landed.

He charged right for the piece and took the whole thing in his mouth. Unfortunately Spit moved in and stole the piece, but the mandarin continued eating small bits of it on the sand.

I imagine the stuff is very similar to Marine Cuisine which several mandarin owners have reported success in getting their fish to eat.

I'll try to get a pic of it sometime. It's pretty crazy.
 

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