Mandarin Gobys

Now that my tank has cycled, test checked out ok and we now have our 1st Domino Damsel...My wife wanted me to ask what's so difficult about the Mandarin Goby? We've been to several LFS's and they say they're a pain.

The book we have says it needs a mini-reef enviroment. How mini is mini? We have two fist sized pieces of crued live rock and a smaller piece with litttle tiny dusters.

Should I wait 'till I have more fish and a better established tank?

 

Well they are a pain because they are almost imposible to get to eat. They will almost always only eat pods. You have to have a well established tank with a steady supply of pods to keep them happy. You can buy pods, but that can get expensive. I would wait till the tank has been running around a year before trying one. Im in the same boat as you, I love the way they look, but they are just so had to feed. If you can find one that will eat frozen or dry food, grab it!! Youll have one in a millon. Hope this helps,

Michael

 

PS: your gonna need alot more live rock, to get a population of pods. I would shoot for 20-30 lbs in your tank.

 

Ah...finikey eater. I guess since we're going to have a FOWLR this won't really be an option for a good long while.

Thanks for the info!

 

yeah I have been really interested in getting a mandarin but have heard the same horror stories

 

I agree on waiting.
I waited 6 months with 100lbs of live rock.
My manderine is fat but that is also because my fuge is a 40 gal full of another 50lbs of life rock. The pods grow like crazy in the fuge and slowley work there way into the display so that the manderine is not able to destroy the entire supply of pods. So a Fuge is also another great way to keep them alive.

 

I had a mandarin for about 3 months before he finally starved. I had a brine shrimp feeder but the other fish hung out in front of it and devoured them as they came out. I did see the mandarin eat frozen mysis on occasion but just too dumb to eat it regularly even though you could see he was starved. I'm waiting until my new sump is built and adding another 50lbs or so of live rock before I try one again in my 72 bowfront with 40lb live rock now.

 

While we are on the subject... I have wanted a mandarin goby since before I started my reef tank. I have read many articles on keeping them, but I still have a few questions:

What are pods?

How do I know if there are pods in my tank?

What else eats pods besides the mandarin goby? (I have 2xblue/green chromis, yellowfaced goby (sandsifting), pink line goby (sandsifting), 2xOcellaris Clowns, 2xpeppermint shrimp, 1xSkunk Cleaner shrimp, 1xCoral Banded shrimp, serpant star, 3xhermits, and a bunch of snails.)

 

Pods are little bugs that will appear on your glass and on rock work. many different types of them. Your clowns and chromis might take a snap at them. also what size tank do you have? and how old is it?

 

I have a 55 gal, about 3 months old, but the rock and water I used were from a mature setup. I do notice really small, white, things that form on my glass, and I spot some really tiny creatures running around on the rocks when I use the flashlight at night... So, "pods" are not one thing, it's just a abbreviation for all of the tiny livinig creatures on the rocks. right?