Mandarin Goby questions

DalPal25 · Jan 15, 2017

Hey everyone,

I was thinking about getting a mandarin goby for my tank. Right now I have two clowns and a cleaner shrimp. My tanks been running for over 6 months now.

I've been hesitant to get one because I've read they're difficult to feed. I don't want to spend 90 dollars on a fish that'll end up starving to death. Any tips on taking care of them? And pictures are always welcome!

Baby Ray · Jan 15, 2017

DalPal25 said:
Hey everyone,

I was thinking about getting a mandarin goby for my tank. Right now I have two clowns and a cleaner shrimp. My tanks been running for over 6 months now.

I've been hesitant to get one because I've read they're difficult to feed. I don't want to spend 90 dollars on a fish that'll end up starving to death. Any tips on taking care of them? And pictures are always welcome!

How big is your tank?

Leslie Tabor · Jan 15, 2017

So here is my take on mandys...they are not difficult tor feed IF you are willing to allow and nuture their natural feeding behavior. If you make sure you have a good pod population and are willing/able to supplement or grow your own pods to add to the tank regularly, they do their thing. I am currently keeping a pair of blue mandarins, 2 ruby red scooter females, and a scooter successfully (they are growing, fat, happy, have been in my tank for months). HOWEVER I add pods from Algae Barn every month just to be safe and added THOUSANDS of pods prior to getting them. Now, there are people that insist on changing these guys, trying to rewire them to eat frozen food or brine shrimp. For some it works, for some it doesn't. You have to decide which direction you want to go. There are lots of success stories, so it is not impossible to keep them either way.

Flippers4pups · Jan 15, 2017

I don't currently have one, but have had them in the past. Larger the system and mature is key. They eat all the time during the day and need a lot of pods to be healthy. I did train one back years ago to accept frozen P.E. mysis shrimp by spot feeding it with a syringe and hard plastic tubing. Worked for six months, but it was labor intensive. Got tired of feeding it this way and took him to my LFS.

Unless you have a healthy pod population already with a refugium that's full of them or as has been stated, buy tons of pods on a regular basis or attempt to train one and spend a great deal of time feeding it, I'd pass on them. Now if you have a large system, water volume in excess of 100 gallons and have pods everywhere now, go for it.

Just don't let them starve. Good luck and happy reefing!

DalPal25 · Jan 15, 2017

Baby Ray said:
How big is your tank?

40 gallons

DalPal25 · Jan 15, 2017

Thank you everyone for the help!

Flippers4pups · Jan 15, 2017

DalPal25 said:
Thank you everyone for the help!

Your welcome.

Leslie Tabor · Jan 15, 2017

I don't know that one would fare well in a 40 gal without a GREAT refugium full of pods. You need a lot of live rock to support a pod population big enough for these guys. They eat constantly!

PetuniaTheCat · Jan 15, 2017

Algaebarn is currently selling captive bred mandarins, and although some people say their captive bred mandarins revert to pods, captive bred mandarins are much more likely to eat frozen then wild caught ones. I have a mandarin in my 65 that eats omega brine shrimp and cyclops and he is doing well. If you get a mandarin that is eating frozen, feed him regularly, and buy pods every so often to keep the population up, he should do OK!

laga77 · Jan 16, 2017

I have a pair of Red Scooters in a 47G tall which is my Seahorse tank. It has a small foot print but there is enough rock and fake plants to support the pods. They also get fed live worms, and fish eggs 2-3 times a day. Just this morning, I was feeding the FOWLR pieces of chopped shrimp and a piece of shrimp the size of my male Spotted Mandarin fell right next to him. He proceeded to take 5-6 bites out of the shrimp before moving on. I have a total of 4 pairs of Dragonets in my tanks.