Mandarin In My 20 Gallon FOWLR?

[OCDP]

Allo all...

During the weekend I thought I'd do a little more research on my favourite fish .. the mandarin goby! ... now I just assumed off the bat that I couldn't keep one due to my 20 Gallon tank... also from previous research I found that mandarin's are picky eaters and are hard to keep because of this picky diet.

Well, I got together with one of my buddies who has a 90gallon built into his wall (beautiful tank) anyways my friend has an enormous amount of experience with SW aquariums. I began telling him how badly I wanted a mandarin goby and he looked at me and said well then what are you waiting for? I don't know if he's right or wrong here guys ... can I put a mandarin in with my 2 clowns ? He said keep feeding them all frozen brine shrimp and give the mandarin some frozen mysis after a couple weeks... he told me the mandarin will pick off rocks and will adjust to the eating habits.

I do trust my buddies opinion here but I though I should hit up RC and get some further opinions... I am extremely tempted to go and buy this fish!!

[Mariner]

My question would be, "Has your buddy tried to keep a mandarin in a 20g?" If he's done so successfully, then I'd put a lot of trust in what he says, if not, I think I'd stick with what you found in your research.
All of the reading I've done indicates that one mandarin needs a tank of at least 50 gallons with mature LR and probably a fuge in order to have a chance. Even if you happen to get a mandarin that will adjust its eating habits to something other than pods, it's unlikely that other foods can meet the mandarin's nutritional needs.
FWIW,
Mariner

[Entropy]

I would not attemp it unless you have a good refuge with a lot of pods. The good news is your mandrin will have no competition in the tank, but the bad news is these little guys eat all day long and can wipe out a pod population very quickly. If you can add a refuge and mass grow pods, plus get the mandrin to eat something else (brine, mysis) it might work. That is a lot of "maybes" though. I personally would not try it with a tank less than 90g and a year old.

[OCDP]

hmm yes yes all very good points.... but i dont know... its really impossible to say whether or not it will adjust and survive isnt it... so therefore isnt it worth a shot? no one here can say "your mandarin will not make it" and you cant say it NEEDS a tank of 50G ... theres no way of knowing unless you try really... i just dont want to kill an animal u know? i really want to try and if things dont go so well then maybe i can just sell it or give it back to the LFS..

[OCDP]

haha these mandarins are starting to sound a little like some women i know... picky, need a huge house with a wealthy provider... ahhh this fish is driving me nuts! why oh why is it always the pretty ones :p haha like the saying goes im a sucker for a pretty face ... but id rather not harm an innocent fish by putting it in my tank.

[NewbeeReefer]

I got my mandarin to eat frozen mysis. I started by feeding him live brine from a turkey baster. Once he got used to the turkey baster (and figured out that whatever came out of it was food) I started mixing live brine and frozen mysis together. Eventually he started to eat the frozen mysis without the brine. Now he comes chasing after the baster almost immediately. He still eats pods off the rock all day long though.

[Reefmedic79]

Originally posted by OCDP
... i just dont want to kill an animal u know?

Originally posted by OCDP
....but id rather not harm an innocent fish by putting it in my tank.

Then don't attempt it, of all the threads I've read on RC about Manderins, I can only think of 2-3 members that have been successful in feeding them prepared foods. To ensure success in keeping one approximately 90lbs of LR would be neseccary to maintain a steady flow of food.

[OCDP]

ahhhh oh man ok forget about it... ill have to deal with it .

Time to post a thread about a new fish selection!