To Mandarin or not to Mandarin
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Fish
Forum Description: This is the place to ask questions about fish.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12401
Printed Date: May 16 2025 at 12:29pm
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Topic: To Mandarin or not to Mandarin
Posted By: ReefBones
Subject: To Mandarin or not to Mandarin
Date Posted: May 21 2006 at 8:06pm
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Well .. it seems that I have a small outbreak of red flat worms .. :( .. I was so carfull .. but I guess you cant see them all .... anyhow .. I have been wanting a Mandarin since I setup my tank .. but I wanted to make sure that I had a good pod population going .. but now with the outbreak of flat worms .. do you think he would be ok? .. the tank is 4 1/4 months old .. tuns of pos .. now flatworms ... I have a fuge that is pretty populated with pods as well ...
What do you guys think? .. will the Mandarin eat red flatworms? (research has told my they do but will fly right by a flatworm to grab a pod) ... ------------- 140 gallon Reef 65 gallon Reef 55 gallon Aggressive www.thesalttank.com 801-865-6074 "encourage other divers and sea enthusiasts to take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles" |
Replies:
Posted By: Shane H
Date Posted: May 21 2006 at 8:25pm
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Tough call on the mandarin consuming the flatworms. This seems to somewhat hit and miss. You will likely hear just as many negative results as positive in regards to that question. However, the size of your tank suggests that a mandarin would be fine. I have had one in my 120 for years. He will occasionally take frozen mysis if it hits him in the snout.
I would likely go ahead and give it a try. If the mandarin won't hit on the flatworms, there will likely be plenty of other food for it.
Good luck.
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Posted By: reptoreef
Date Posted: May 21 2006 at 9:26pm
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I agree with Shane about the mandarin... coris, 6 line, and 8 line wrasses would be my suggestion for flatworms, but could mean trouble for shrimp. ------------- www.captivereefing.com |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: May 21 2006 at 10:27pm
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Trust me your tank is not ready for a Mandarin. Not even close. I really would advise against it. I think you'd be sad and dissapointed with it.
Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: ReefBones
Date Posted: May 21 2006 at 11:17pm
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Well .. I do have shrimp .. so a wrasse is out of the question ... what else can I do to rid the flatworms? . I really dont want to buy a mandarin ... but I dont want a flat worm infestation .... I guess I could try the chemical solution ... but I hate dumping anything into a tank ... ya know .. I really wish people would tell you they have/had issues with there crap before they sell it to you ... this really pisses me off!!! ... if I had known that there was a flat worm issue I could have done something about it before I put it in my tank ..
I know this could be turned around by saying it was my falt for not putting them into a quarantine tank .. but good lord ... ------------- 140 gallon Reef 65 gallon Reef 55 gallon Aggressive www.thesalttank.com 801-865-6074 "encourage other divers and sea enthusiasts to take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles" |
Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 1:33am
| wait so a 6 line cant be kept with shrimp? i had mine together and no problems. but then the 6 line died. i want another one pretty bad! |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 8:44am
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Ive got a 6line with pepermint shrimp. They live so..... ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: Kevin F
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 10:02am
Dude you gotta QT everything, even your snails. Not sure on the manderine flatworm issue, my eats them, but not all do. I'd wait a bit longer before getting a manderine. Even though you have alot of rock, and a refugium, best to give the colonies alot of time to establish themselves. Most manderins will only eat pods so the more the better. I too have kept a 6 line with peppermints, and cleaner shrimp. ------------- The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly. Albert Einstein |
thebutler4 wrote:Posted By: griffith
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 11:23am
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Q,
How long should you wait to add a Manderin?
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Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 11:30am
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A very, very long time. Unfortunately most aquariums today are just not well suited for them. Our live rock is a very pour quality and most people like to have clean rocks with lots of corals. Just not ideal conditions for a mandarin. It is like asking how long should you wait before adding seahorses, or before adding a tuna fish. It isn't really a matter of time as we just don't have the right set up for them.
Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 12:40pm
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Now Adam you gave me an Idea. We could be raising our own TUNA Fish. ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 12:47pm
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If you can convince your wife to let you get a tank big enough for tuna fish, then I'll buy you the tuna fish to go in it!
Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: Damon W
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 12:48pm
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I had a 6-line in my tank with both cleaner, pistol and peppermint shrimp and had no problems. The 6-line did a good job on the flat worms that I had in the tank. But that is no guarantee, not all 6-lines like flat worms. ------------- Damon Weimer Why bother with a tank? I'm in Hawaii! |
Posted By: ReefBones
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 12:57pm
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What about a 6 line with clams? ... ------------- 140 gallon Reef 65 gallon Reef 55 gallon Aggressive www.thesalttank.com 801-865-6074 "encourage other divers and sea enthusiasts to take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles" |
Posted By: Kevin
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 2:42pm
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From my personal experiences any fish you buy probably wont erradicate them. I have tried a couple of fish (including a spotted manderin) and have not had much success. (The manderin is doing fine, but he also eats frozen food). The only consistant successful experiences I have heard of have all used flatworm exit using one method or another. I know Mark had a thread on here somewhere talking about only adding as much FWE as you need to kill them and by doing that you hopefully dont kill a ton of other things in your tank.
I am still a little bit afraid of the FWE so I haven't done it yet either. |
Posted By: Kevin F
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 3:55pm
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O com'on Adam, many of us are keeping maderis and seahorses long term,
I even correspond with a guy who raises tuna. He uses net pens off the
coast of Australia though. The setup for Manderins is not complicated IMO. You need to have a well established refugium, a bunch of lr, and a big ol pod population. You can eve order pods online from several places. I've kept my manderin for years, started in an 18g and has moved several times to be at home in the 65g I now have. The refugium ont hat system produces enough food to feed all of my fish except for the 6 ghosts I put in daily for the seahorse. ------------- The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly. Albert Einstein |
Posted By: Jamison
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 4:10pm
I have an 8 oz can in my 120G and it does seem a little cramped. ------------- Educate. Inspire. Conserve. http://[email protected] |
Posted By: Gahlenfr
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 6:56pm
| If you know the mandarin will eat frozen food then that is a great deal but there is not guarantee. I got lucky with mine and it eats several different frozen items plus the pods. Everyones experience is different. Now flatworms. You can be upset all you want but stuff like that is bound to happen. Bruce did not want nudibranchs, no one wanted red bugs etc. You could have started with only one and that one could have came from a store purchased coral. Those are the risks. I have successfully used FW exit without any side effects "that I know of" fish, invertebrates and coral seem fine. It does take several treatments and some patience also. |
Posted By: ReefBones
Date Posted: May 22 2006 at 8:33pm
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Well .. I have taken the advice NOT to buty the mandarin ... I did buy a 6 line .. and a watchman gobie .. :) ... I hope the 6 line will feed on them ... if not i will use FW Exit ...
------------- 140 gallon Reef 65 gallon Reef 55 gallon Aggressive www.thesalttank.com 801-865-6074 "encourage other divers and sea enthusiasts to take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles" |
Posted By: Suzy
Date Posted: May 23 2006 at 7:29am
| Good choice! |
Posted By: Gahlenfr
Date Posted: May 23 2006 at 1:26pm
Adam, would you please quantify a very,very long time. What type of pod density do you consider sustainable for a mandarin? I am not trying to be argumentative here, just trying to learn....
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Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: May 23 2006 at 1:38pm
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Gahlen,
Good question. Not sure if I have a good answer. Hmmm. I've had aquariums that were a couple years old and I just never felt good about buying a mandarin. And if anyone was going to have luck it would have been me, because my tanks were packed full or random small life.
I'm not sure how much emphasis I put on pods, and how much I put on macro substrate. It seems that the swimming style and feeding nature of mandarins make me think that they would do very well in a chaotic over grown mess of a tank (like I typically own).
In other words, I think Suzy could do very well with them in her beautiful planted tanks, or Mark in his sponge sumps.
But I don't think they typically do well in pretty coral tanks (although tileman has the prettiest tank and a mandarin). So it is hard to say for me, but lush growth certainly seems to be the best bet.
Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: Gahlenfr
Date Posted: May 23 2006 at 1:43pm
| Adam, That makes sense. Mine is in a tank with different types of macro algae and spends most of its time swimming in and out and about. You may be on to something there! |
Posted By: Shane H
Date Posted: May 23 2006 at 2:29pm
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The psychedelic dragonet (Synchiropus splendidus) is one of my favorite fishes. When I set up my current aquarium, it was with this fish primarily in mind. The information at the time recommended a large aquarium with a large amount of mature, live rock. A refugium was also highly recommended.
I have kept my female mandarin fat and "happy" for years in my reef tank. She was one of only a handful of fish that survived the "incident" earlier this year.
However, I added a red scooter dragonet (Synchiropus stellatus) to my aquarium a few years ago. Both fish appeared to do fine for the first six to eight months. But the smaller, scooter dragonette eventually died after about a year. My only conclusion was that my 120 gallon aquarium was just two small to adequately feed two fish with such a specific diet.
Anyway, that's my take - and that's why I think a 140 gallon, mature aquarium would make a great environment for a single dragonet.
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Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: May 26 2006 at 10:09am
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I'm just weighing in because I'm still waiting for my tank to mature, but I have set things up in mind to support Manderin (or pair??). I have a large refugium in the basement to which I've added pods and the phyto from Readmariculture. Many folks from here have given me macro and LS and I've got all kinds of diversity in the substrate and LR and the macro is really growing well.
I can see that the main tank continues to go through changes of differnt types of algeas and small life (display in an east facing bay window, but the 'fuge has exploded with pod life and macro algae. I would hope that as long as I'm willing to grow live food, I would be able support a manderine after 6 mos or so. ------------- Connie Tooele |