Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Location: Steilacoom/Seattle, WA
Posted: 2003.04.04(Fri)20:21 Post subject:
AH, that folks, is a goby! Thank you, I'm better now. he he _________________ "Nothing is good, nor bad, but thinking makes it so." -William Shakespeare
Thank you About 3 inches, that's about half grown for a mandarin. They get about 5 inches and they fill out more. As far as he or she not a clue _________________ 150 Gallon (567.811768 liters) community tank, 50 Gallon African Tank, 7 reef tanks, 6 FOLR, 28 freshwater tanks
Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Location: Steilacoom/Seattle, WA
Posted: 2003.04.06(Sun)13:36 Post subject:
All right, it may be the coffee talking, but what beautiful shots of your Mandarinfish (I'm sure your Spotted is panicking now)! It's funny, I almost asked you one time if you'd thought of getting one, but I didn't think you would, because I'd read they can be a bit difficult to keep (in terms of feeding, at least), and you seem to have your hands a bit full as it is. But hey, look at that! Congrats! About the snails: how big are those? They look to be at least 1.5"... do they feed on algae, or live mice? he he (Kidding, kidding!) _________________ "Nothing is good, nor bad, but thinking makes it so." -William Shakespeare
The reason Mandarins are hard to keep is there specialized diet. They only eat small shrimp and copepods. To sustain a large enough population of pods to support a Madarin you need a pretty good sized tank with live rock and live sand. Most people say 55 gallons minimum. Well I have a 55 Gallon with a 5 gallon refugium(livesand and macro). I have a healthy pod population. I see them crawling on the glass during the daytime that's always a good indicator. The Mandarin is the only Pod specific eater in the tank. The orange spotted goby will grab one occasionally, but I keep him fat and happy on frozen mysis shrimp and blood worms.
Just to be on the safe side I put a copepod seeding pack on order. That should put that mandarin in seventh heaven.
He's the final fish I'm going to add to this tank. I don't want to push the bio-load.
The chestnut snails are about 1.5 inches and they are algae vacuums. _________________ 150 Gallon (567.811768 liters) community tank, 50 Gallon African Tank, 7 reef tanks, 6 FOLR, 28 freshwater tanks
Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Posted: 2003.04.06(Sun)15:02 Post subject:
wow nice mandarin love his colour patern. is it a he or she? also I have heard of someone keeping a mandarin in a 100L tank but before he put the mandarin in he gave the pods 1-2 months to start a coloney. Keep the pics coming! Thanks for sharing your tank! o and they way to sex a mandarin is to watch them and if your mandarin has a large dorsal fin it will be a boy and if is smaller its a girl. good luck!
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Thank you, I'm better now. he he 
About 3 inches, that's about half grown for a mandarin. They get about 5 inches and they fill out more. As far as he or she not a clue 
About the snails: how big are those? They look to be at least 1.5"... do they feed on algae, or live mice? he he (Kidding, kidding!) 
