Keeping Mandarins?

Mr Saltwater tank dude had a breeding pair of green mandrin's in his 90 gallon, he seemed to have pretty good luck with them. You may solicit his advice/input.

 

Unless you have a large tank. (90 or larger) Keeping a Mandarin fat can be an extremely difficult task.(and expensive if purchasing pods) For those trying it with a smaller tank here are a few suggestions.
A.Purchase a tank raised Mandarin that is eating prepared foods.
B.Purchase a wild caught Mandarin and try to train it to eat prepared foods.(Not always as easy to do as some people make it seem)
C. Choose your tankmates wisely. Any wrasses or other pod eaters will compete and obliterate your pod population. Aggresive feeders in the same tank can also pose a problem when trying to feed the Mandarin as they are slow eaters and easily spooked.
D.Small piles of LR in the DT can also help as they provide safe havens for pods without predation.(I like to call them Pyramids to the pods)
E.Be sure when you pick your Mandarin that it is fat.(Look at them from the bottom not from the side.) It can be almost impossible to bring a skinny specimen back to health.
F.To increase your chances for this fish in any sized tank getting it to eat prepared foods is key because the pod population does wax and wane.

IME the best way to get a Mandarin to eat something other then pods is to use a small QT or even a breeder box in your DT.When you first purchase this fish(mainly wild caught) it will be extremely hungry as most haven't eaten in days. Start by introducing live brine.(most will readily accept it) Then mix some live brine with frozen Mysis. Once the fish recognizes what is floating by as food you are good to go as the main problem with them is they usually feed off the substrate and not out of the water column. People here have also had great success using Nutramar Ova.Keep in mind that this fish can take months to slowly starve to death so if you are not willing to put in the effort or can't provide the correct enviroment then don't purchase this fish.

 

I have kept a mandarin in my 125 for 2 years its by far my favorite all time fish. I love the way they flutter threw the water like a hummingbird