Mandarin Goby

[sprinklerman500]

Im pritty new to salt and was wanting to get a Mandarin Goby for my tank.So as I have already learned to do research about the fish to make sure going to be live a heathy non abussive life.So any input would be nice.TY Chris

 

[sprinklerman500]

I should read these before I post.

 

[mapleredta]

I'd wait for ORA to start selling their tank raised mandarins that are eating prepaired food.

 

[sprinklerman500]

Whos ORA and thanks cause thats what I heard also.Any body know some one has them for sell that are feeding?

 

[gnashty]

I would personally wait, they are beautiful but their specialized diet lends them to the "difficult" category for care, unless you have a bunch of pods and a steady source for more they will likely die. I had heard from a fairly reliable source that attended MACNA that the T/R (tank raised) ones didnt "gobble" up the flakes and other foods like the hype suggested. Could have been because everyone walking up wanted to see them eat so they werent hungry, I was not there so cant attest to that myself. I want one but I will wait for the T/R ones to show positive reviews for a while before I buy.

If you get one, good luck and keep us posted!! PICS!!

 

[brianjfinn]

sprinklerman500;497729 wrote: Whos ORA and thanks cause thats what I heard also.Any body know some one has them for sell that are feeding?

ORA is Ocean Reef Aquarium. They do a lot of breeding and have recently been successful in breeding mandarins, which should mean that eventually they will be eating prepared foods.

It is sometimes possible to find a mandarin that eats prepared foods, or to teach one to eat prepared foods, but it is fairly difficult.

 

[gnashty]

sprinklerman500;497729 wrote: Whos ORA?

ORA = Oceans, Reefs and Aquariums

Oceans, Reefs and Aquariums (ORA™) marine ornamental hatchery produces aquacultured saltwater fish, invertebrates and live aquarium foods for the marine aquarium hobby. We are the largest producer and seller of marine ornamentals in the world. The ORA™ hatchery complex is located at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI) in Ft. Pierce, Florida. ORA™ is the largest marine ornamental hatchery in North America and we are constantly developing new techniques to bring the finest captive bred specimens to environmentally conscientious aquarists throughout the world.

Aquacultured marine life is the only alternative to wild caught fish and invertebrates for aquariums. ORA™ farm-raised fish help you avoid the uncertainty of capture, handling, transport, and disease associated with wild caught fish. Our fish are raised in an aquarium environment from the time they are born and therefore are exceedingly hardy as aquarium inhabitants.

ORA™ sells fish grown to full size and whose color is as vivid as that seen on the reef. Through the use of a special nutritionally balanced diet the color and vitality of ORA™ fish is unsurpassed in the field of aquaculture. ORA's™ goal is to provide a full range of aquacultured products that will ultimately lead to the 100% captive raised reef aquarium. This is our commitment to help ensure the future of the hobby as well as conserve the natural reef environment.

 

[drnecropolis]

Being that the tank is pretty new I wouldn't even consider a mandarin at this point.. They require an insane amount of pods to sustain them.. Mostly do better in larger mature tanks with lots of liverock..

 

[hhughes]

I had one in a 20g for about 3 years. But that's an exception to the rule. I was lucky to get one that liked frozen mysis shrimp.

I really want another but I'm going to wait for the ORA ones too... I hope they aren't insanely priced is all.

 

[brianjfinn]

hhughes;497753 wrote: I had one in a 20g for about 3 years. But that's an exception to the rule. I was lucky to get one that liked frozen mysis shrimp.

I really want another but I'm going to wait for the ORA ones too... I hope they aren't insanely priced is all.

Definitely the exception. I have one in my 20 gallon as well, but wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they have experience and are willing to take the time and effort needed to train them to eat frozen foods. They also need to be able to know when it's time to give up the fish if it isn't taking the frozen foods.

 

[jesspete]

Even experienced aquarists with large established tanks can find these are hard to keep. It's much better to leave these beauties in the store until you've been set up for quite sometime. You CAN buy pods and feed the tank with them, but to sustain one with live pods from the store would get really expensive. You probably wouldn't even notice it starving until is just wasn't there anymore.

 

[sprinklerman500]

Im so sad cause thay are so beautiful,looks like my friends at ARC have come through agin.I will wait nand get one from ORA.You guys are the best .TY Chris

 

[jennm]

I just have to point out, since it's a pet peeve of mine...

It isn't a "goby". 99% of the industry sells, "Mandarin Gobies" and "Scooter Blennies".

Both are Dragonets. None are gobies or blennies. Huge misnomer since gobies and blennies, by and large, are pretty easy to keep. A lot of hobbyists get sucked in that way.

Typically the "average" dragonet fares best in tanks 75-gallons or larger, established a year or more with 100 lbs of live rock or better. (Based on years-old reefs.org poll).

There are some exceptions - ones that will take prepared foods, but that's the exception not the rule. As others have mentioned, they typically only eat live copepods and amphipods which they find in the rocks. In a small tank or immature tank, they consume these "pods" faster than the pods can reproduce, and eventually they starve to death. In a suitable tank, the population of tiny fauna can reproduce at a rate that can keep the Dragonet fed for years to come.

They are beautiful fish - one of my faves. Just not suitable in every instance.

I'm watching for ORA to release their new aquacultured Dragonets - but the only thing I've heard about them is on the forums, I haven't seen anything from ORA proper.

Jenn

 

[sprinklerman500]

Thank you for the input.I do understand that I'm not going to be able to have one unless they are eating prepared food.I will keep my eyes open and thanks once again for the info,the links as well,and for the correction "Gobies",not Goby.The 60#s of 10 year old rock had no die off seeing how I kept it wet and at a good temp,this is still insufficient from what I have gathered?