Is this Mandarin skinny?

[trini2debone]

I have no difficulty with folks stating their belief about fish care. However, in the same sense you don't have to accept Paul's statements about fish husbandry, others don't have to accept what you say. I find your responses excessively sarcastic which is why I spoke about respect. I will admit that Paul can come across as blunt as well though, particularly if you are unfamiliar with his style of posting. He does often offer advice to folks on the forums and has given me helpful advice. That being said I have observed that a lot of experienced fish keepers recommend a live diet (pods, BBS, etc) for mandarins. Thank you for your consideration.

You don't know me, so that's you projecting. Every accusation is a confussion. I really don't care what his hypotheses are, when incorrect hypotheses (back by anecdotal evidence) are stopping people from enjoying the hobby I will call it out. I guess the success Biota has been seeing with the captive breed Mandarin counts for nothing... Thanks for your consideration.

 

[trini2debone]

18 Must-know Facts About Mandarin Gobies

Mandarin gobies are extremely popular reef fish. Also, they have a unique body shape and vibrant color patterns.

lifeoffish.com

About Mandarins not have stomachs, which is not factual. They just have a high metabotism, like another fish we have figured out how to keep "the anthias". As so stated by this peer reviewed researcher.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

You don't know me, so that's you projecting. Every accusation is a confussion. I really don't care what his hypotheses are, when incorrect hypotheses (back by anecdotal evidence) are stopping people from enjoying the hobby I will call it out. I guess the success Biota has been seeing with the captive breed Mandarin counts for nothing... Thanks for your consideration.

I presume that you don't know Paul B? So when you accuse Paul B of being wrong that's a confession (I assume confussion is a typo for confession)? I will read the article. I'm always happy to learn (not sarcasm). I am very familiar with how research is done, as I work in the medical field. But even in the medical field peer reviewed research is not the only way people need to learn how to do things. We can't research everything immediately all the time, so experience and common sense still have a place in fields of knowledge. Thanks for the link.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

After reading the article, I assume you are trolling me. The article basically agrees with what Paul B said. I should know better than to get into these discussions. I stopped using Facebook for just that reason. So if your goal was to teach me (or someone else) a lesson I guess you can consider that done. Thanks for the humility.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

I love these guys.




And her.





From Wikipedia

Diet​

[edit]
Based on the gut analyses of seven wild fish Sadovy et al. (2001) determined that the mandarinfish has a mixed diet that consists of harpacticoid copepods, polychaete worms, small gastropods, gammaridean amphipods, fish eggs and ostracods. In the wild, feeding is continuous during daytime; the fish peck selectively at small prey trapped on coral substrate in a home range of many square meters.[10]

Mandarin dragonet facts​

Here are a few facts about the Mandarin dragonet that might interest you:

1. The Mandarin dragonet can live a long fruitful life in the wild, but its lifespan tends to drop in captivity. While wild Mandarins live an average of 10 to 15 years, their captive counterparts only tend to stay around for two to four years.

i love your orange/blue mandarin, paul b!!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

i wonder how op did with the mandarin... got me thinking...i wonder if mine looks healthy!! ive had it for a few years. but is this how they are supposed to look? was trying to compare with yours paul. this guy is always moving and hard to get a pic of!! but he usually comes up to the glass to say hi

 

[Paul B]

Smitten, your mandarin looks like the picture of health to me.

 

[Paul B]

About Mandarins not have stomachs, which is not factual.

Why on here said Mandarins do not have a stomach?

If you want to quote me, quote me "exactly". Thanks

. Mandarins have a stomach like a seahorse and can't store much if any food so they need to eat constantly.

 

[LiamPM]

This is true. But a mandarin, like a seahorse is not a normal, run of the mill fish. A mandarin does not have a real stomach and was designed to eat a small meaty food every few seconds.

Why on here said Mandarins do not have a stomach?

If you want to quote me, quote me "exactly". Thanks

Imagine he's going by the above quote if im honest. Im assuming you didnt mean they dont actually have a real stomach but i can see why someone might take that literal.


Im a fan of breeding copepods myself and find that just as interesting as keeping these fish in itself but a Mandarin that accepts offered foods in any form is an added bonus all around.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Those mandarins look great. Some of my favorite fish.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

I got a Rescue Mandarin, that was skinny. Started eating pods, every few seconds, right away. The back part of it still looks slim, but belly is full. Four and a half months now, in my 120 Gallon. BTW, my filter socks, are modified with plastic snap in grommets, so the pods can escape.

 

[trini2debone]

I presume that you don't know Paul B? So when you accuse Paul B of being wrong that's a confession (I assume confussion is a typo for confession)? I will read the article. I'm always happy to learn (not sarcasm). I am very familiar with how research is done, as I work in the medical field. But even in the medical field peer reviewed research is not the only way people need to learn how to do things. We can't research everything immediately all the time, so experience and common sense still have a place in fields of knowledge. Thanks for the link.

I read his incorrect post and stated why it was incorrect. The only thing projected were facts. This is getting sad, and funny at the sametime. Your friend is wrong, no one is infallible. We are all human. Another thing people who can't just admit they are wrong do, refer to there profession which has NOTHING to do with the topic at hand. Happy to hear you work in human medical research. Are egos really still this fragile in the hobby?

 

[trini2debone]

Why on here said Mandarins do not have a stomach?

If you want to quote me, quote me "exactly". Thanks

You literally said "Mandarin like seahorse does not have real stomachs."...

 

[trini2debone]

After reading the article, I assume you are trolling me. The article basically agrees with what Paul B said. I should know better than to get into these discussions. I stopped using Facebook for just that reason. So if your goal was to teach me (or someone else) a lesson I guess you can consider that done. Thanks for the humility.

It does not though, Paul said these fish are not designed to eat frozen food. The article just said they have to eat all the time. Very differnet statements. Unless Biota been making up their claims...

 

[Northern Flicker]

I read his incorrect post and stated why it was incorrect. The only thing projected were facts. This is getting sad, and funny at the sametime. Your friend is wrong, no one is infallible. We are all human. Another thing people who can't just admit they are wrong do, refer to there profession which has NOTHING to do with the topic at hand. Happy to hear you work in human medical research. Are egos really still this fragile in the hobby?

We all understood what Paul meant. Let's not turn R2R into a twitter-esque "got ya!" environment. Let's just enjoy the pics of fat mandarins.

 

[Northern Flicker]

It does not though, Paul said these fish are not designed to eat frozen food. The article just said they have to eat all the time. Very differnet statements. Unless Biota been making up their claims...

Speaking of Biota, here is a quote from their care guide:

Now here is what Paul said:

 

[Paul B]

You literally said "Mandarin like seahorse does not have real stomachs."...

Yes I did and I stand by that. But I didn't say they have "no" stomach. They have a short tube like a seahorse that is not a "real" stomach like other fish and can't store much food.

Paul said these fish are not designed to eat frozen food.

Yes I did and I stated it incorrectly. A mandarin will eat any small meaty food "But they need to eat it all day long," something frozen food is difficult to feed constantly like the fish was designed to eat.

If you want to keep a mandarin for it's presumed lifespan which is at least ten years, it needs living pods or something you could feed every few seconds like they eat in the sea.

I doubt you will find one that lives on a diet of "only" frozen food or pellets, unless you are in the business of breeding these and have a tank with only mandarins where you could automatically dispense foods constantly.

 

[trini2debone]

Imagine he's going by the above quote if im honest. Im assuming you didnt mean they dont actually have a real stomach but i can see why someone might take that literal.


Im a fan of breeding copepods myself and find that just as interesting as keeping these fish in itself but a Mandarin that accepts offered foods in any form is an added bonus all around.

Honestly I breed copepods as well, three strains to be exacts(marco algea as well). It's fun for me, it also takes up extra space and time consuming. Most importantly it is not the only way to raise a mandarin. My wrasses and diamond goby's benefit from the constant addition of copepods also, does that mean we should not feed wrasses and diamond goby's prepared food as well. The above misinformation and attitude around it only make this hobby expensive and inaccessible. IMHO

 

[Northern Flicker]

Yes I did and I stand by that. But I didn't say they have "no" stomach. They have a short tube like a seahorse that is not a "real" stomach like other fish and can't store much food.


Yes I did and I stated it incorrectly. A mandarin will eat any small meaty food "But they need to eat it all day long," something frozen food is difficult to feed constantly like the fish was designed to eat.

If you want to keep a mandarin for it's presumed lifespan which is at least ten years, it needs living pods or something you could feed every few seconds like they eat in the sea.

I doubt you will find one that lives on a diet of "only" frozen food or pellets, unless you are in the business of breeding these and have a tank with only mandarins where you could automatically dispense foods constantly.

Even the Biota website recommends 5x+ a day, which for most hobbyists will be tough, so it's much safer to have healthy pod population like you are saying. Especially when you consider that other tank inhabitants will also be getting fed, that can turn into a really nasty feeding regimen for your tank overall.

 

[trini2debone]

We all understood what Paul meant. Let's not turn R2R into a twitter-esque "got ya!" environment. Let's just enjoy the pics of fat mandarins.

I understood what he wrote... It's not about got you, it's about not pushing new people out of the hobby. His misinformation and the attitude around is one of the reason why people leave this hobby on mass.