Manderin update 2 Mths Later and loving it..A must have

T

THE FLAMMER

Well guy's, I just want to say thanks for all the help. Also, The update is full of success. I tried the manderin diner( thxs Marc ) but I coudn't keep the other fish out..So, I tried several things until I finally found the one...I now take an Angel cube ( frozen ) and slice it into small pieces and I put it in a sqzz able bottle and mix it with tank water..I leave it in the icebox, and when ready I just squirt it into the tank..You can see the Manderin eat it off the sand or rocks right away..I also took noticed that he's getting bigger...
F.Y.I, I've always wanted a Manderin from day 1 but was scared to invest in one knowing the care level...I tell you first hand, buy it..This little guy will brighten up your tank and is very playful..I'm so happy that I went thru this and you will too..He will let you pet him as he sit's on top of a rock..He is so cool, and the only thing that sucks is that you can only house 1...If you want to complete your tank, you must have one...
 
That is nice to read. So the frozen angel food is something the mandarin likes?
 
Yes, but I put it in the jar with the tank water in the box so it thaws out...I just squeezes a little out twice a day..My other fish love it too, I at first put the brine in the front and waited for the other fish to be busy and then put in the back...Now I just break it down more so it gets to the bottom and into the rocks..
 
I've lost 3 mandarins in my tank for reasons unknown. I didn't have any of them long enough to starve to death (2, 3 days tops), so my only guess is another one of my fish did them in or they were gonners before I got them.
 
That sucks, I waited a while until I made the buy..I have 2 E.crabs - 2 damsels - nemo - Valentino Puffer - royal gramma and of course the Manderin...I've never seen any of them bother him..I'm wondering if maybe it's a water condition if not your first geuss. ( fish ) I hope that you can get to the root of it because it will be worth it if you can house 1...Unless I just got lucky, but mine will let you pet him as he's porched ontop of the rocks..

Marc, have you ever heard or done that before ????
 
Could have been something in the water. There is always the chance that something we don't test for wiped the poor guys out. I will probably try again after my new tank is up and running and has been matured a while.
 
No, I don't pet my mandarins. Our skin can actually affect their slime coating.

When shopping for a mandarin, always try to buy the fattest one you can see, and make sure it is active and not hunkered down in a corner.
 
Flammer:

This is good news. I really want this fish for my Last Fish, but have held back because my tank is still pretty young, and I'm sure the pod population is not well established enough to support one of these remarkable criters. It is my understanding they are hard to keep in a small tank. Please keep us posted.
 
OK, this may seem like a strange question about Mandarins...

We are always urged to QT any new fish (and coral!) before introducing to our main tanks.

HOWEVER - mandarins require pods, right? And those are in our mature, main tanks. So what do we do here?
 
Good question. They say to quarantine minimum 4 weeks, and a mandarin in a qt may not eat. It would be a shame to qt one and have it not eat. After my bout with ich, I always qt even rock, anything that goes into the tank, and that's why I haven't bought a mandarin.

Kay
 
Steve - From my understanding, they're resistant to Ich, but not immune...

I'll admit, I don't practice the best quarantine practices, but if I were a better boy in this regard, I'd prolly quarantine a Mandarin, and just move a little algae from my fuge's to the quarantine tank every day to move 'pods into the Mandarin's quarantine tank...
 
As far as I know you're right. But I would say that they're not as succeptable to ich because of their thick slime coats. Anyone who's ever picked up a mandarin knows what I'm talking about, they are slimy! That would be my take on why they don't generally get ich outbreaks.
 
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