Green mandarin goby

[dirty_south87]

My favorite fish so far is the green mandarin goby! Every time when I’m in my lfs they would ask what fish I have when making a purchase they get a little crazy about the care of them and how it is so hard to keep them alive. They lose their mind when finding out that mine will eat frozen brine shrimp. does anyone have the same issue?

 

[LouisianaReef]

I have had one that would take brine shrimp, but it is normally hard to get them to take the shrimp and your lucky if they do.

 

[Rmckoy]

My favorite fish so far is the green mandarin goby! Every time when I’m in my lfs they would ask what fish I have when making a purchase they get a little crazy about the care of them and how it is so hard to keep them alive. They lose their mind when finding out that mine will eat frozen brine shrimp. does anyone have the same issue?

I don’t think that’s a green mandarin
I believe that’s a blue mandarin dragonets

green spotted mandarins are much smaller and mainly all green
I’ll see if I can find a picture of mine

 

[JGT]

His is a green mandarin even though it is largely blue. Yours is known as a spotted mandarin even though it’s largely green. Go figure.

 

[Rmckoy]

His is a green mandarin even though it is largely blue. Yours is known as a spotted mandarin even though it’s largely green. Go figure.

Thank you for clarifying .

 

[i cant think]

Whilst I have yet to see one in this thread I just wanted to say there is also a red mandarin which looks almost identical to the Blues however their 2 large pectoral fins are red and not blue.
The OP does have a blue mandarin

Now, before this gets derailed I will answer the original question.
Even though I don’t own a mandarin personally, I have seen my LFS get intrigued when they see someone with a wild mandarin that eats frozen because of how difficult it can be (Even my LFS that has possibly the smartest reefing guy in my area gets intrigued).

 

[Katherine Corals]

Ive owned a saltwater fish store for 3 years before selling, and I never could get them to eat frozen foods lol So, to account for their busy lifestyle in the tank and if your tank size is smaller than 90 gallons, I recommend a bottle of tiger pods, once-twice a month be dumped into the refugium of your sump.
I did however, have a customer that had one eating pellets! I was in complete shock!

 

[dirty_south87]

I have had one that would take brine shrimp, but it is normally hard to get them to take the shrimp and your lucky if they do.

It actually surprised me when I first seen him go for it. I still make sure to keep copepods in the tank for him

 

[dirty_south87]

Ive owned a saltwater fish store for 3 years before selling, and I never could get them to eat frozen foods lol So, to account for their busy lifestyle in the tank and if your tank size is smaller than 90 gallons, I recommend a bottle of tiger pods, once-twice a month be dumped into the refugium of your sump.
I did however, have a customer that had one eating pellets! I was in complete shock!

When I first got him i had a 55 gallon setup, I kept stock on copepods for him but when he started eating frozen food I cut back on buying copepods and bought a cube for them to multiply

 

[dirty_south87]

Whilst I have yet to see one in this thread I just wanted to say there is also a red mandarin which looks almost identical to the Blues however their 2 large pectoral fins are red and not blue.
The OP does have a blue mandarin

Now, before this gets derailed I will answer the original question.
Even though I don’t own a mandarin personally, I have seen my LFS get intrigued when they see someone with a wild mandarin that eats frozen because of how difficult it can be (Even my LFS that has possibly the smartest reefing guy in my area gets intrigued).

I have seen the red ones, eventually I’ll buy one lol

 

[i cant think]

I have seen the red ones, eventually I’ll buy one lol

I’d love a mandarin I just don’t have the tank for one (well I do but my last fish is already planned for that tank). Your mandarin is beautiful, and looks incredibly healthy

 

[dirty_south87]

I’d love a mandarin I just don’t have the tank for one (well I do but my last fish is already planned for that tank). Your mandarin is beautiful, and looks incredibly healthy

I try my best with my aquatic friends!
what fish do you plan on getting?

 

[homer1475]

There is green, red, and blue. All just slight variations of it's coloring(not sure if it's dependent on region?) @Rmckoy mandarin is known as a target mandarin(named so by the bullseye spots on it's body).

Mine many moons ago was some of the original captive bred that came out of biota. While it ate frozen and small TDO pellets originally, in my tank over the years it has reverted to pods only.

 

[dirty_south87]

There is green, red, and blue. All just slight variations of it's coloring(not sure if it's dependent on region?) @Rmckoy mandarin is known as a target mandarin(named so by the bullseye spots on it's body).

Mine many moons ago was some of the original captive bred that came out of biota. While it ate frozen and small TDO pellets originally, in my tank over the years it has reverted to pods only.

I’ve been lucky so far mine still goes after frozen food. Now he is picky on which type tho

 

[i cant think]

I try my best with my aquatic friends!
what fish do you plan on getting?

A Regal Angel is in the plan - I recently lost my Genicanthus hybrid so I figured I should go for something that will break the bank just as that guy did

 

[dirty_south87]

A Regal Angel is in the plan - I recently lost my Genicanthus hybrid so I figured I should go for something that will break the bank just as that guy did

Ain’t nothing like breaking the bank for something beautiful

 

[OrionN]

I have seen the red ones, eventually I’ll buy one lol

Right now, the Red Mandarin has not been classified as a separate species yet, although they should. Instead of having darker brownish coloration it is brighter reddish on the body and having light orange pectoral fins instead of blue fins. Picture from LiveAquaria.com. I was thinking that they were just variation of the same species in the past, but in my tank, the female Red Mandarin do not pair and spawn with the male Green Mandarin. IMO, the green/blue Mandarin looks a lot better, while the red variety is not as common. I know the picture below are not fair comparison. Mine is a full adult male in display while the Red Mandarin from LA is not in display and seem to be a young male. I don't have Red Mandarin with I exchange back to the store when I find that she does not spawn with my Green Mandarin.
Red Mandarin

Plenty of Green Mandarin pictures. Here is mine.

 

[i cant think]

Right now, the Red Mandarin has not been classified as a separate species yet, although they should. Instead of having darker brownish coloration it is brighter reddish on the body and having light orange pectoral fins instead of blue fins. Picture from LiveAquaria.com. I was thinking that they were just variation of the same species in the past, but in my tank, the female Red Mandarin do not pair and spawn with the male Green Mandarin. IMO, the green/blue Mandarin looks a lot better, while the red variety is not as common.
Red Mandarin

Plenty of Green Mandarin pictures. Here is mine.

The red mandarins are stunning in person (Photos rarely do them justice). It seems over here the blues are the rarer one whilst over in America the reds are rarer.

How old is your blue?

 

[OrionN]

The red mandarins are stunning in person (Photos rarely do them justice). It seems over here the blues are the rarer one whilst over in America the reds are rarer.

How old is your blue?

I had him for about 3 years in that picture. He was about 1.5 inches when I got him. Estimate about 2.5-3 inches in the picture above