Spotted Mandarin Question

Does any one have any experience keeping the Spotted Mandarin (Synchiropus picturatus). I've been thinking about getting one for my 75g reef. I've heard they are supposed to be more hardy then the Green Mandarinfish. They are also supposed to eat brown flatworms which I seem to have. The little Bast.... hitch hicked on a new piece of coral that I bought. Thanks,
Larry

 

I heard just the opposite about them. Ive never kept them. I do know you need a lot of pods for them to munch on.

As for the flatworms.... yellowtail damsels love flatworms.

 

also, you should ALWAYS dip any corals you get and put it in a QT to make sure you didnt get any freebies(hitch hikers)

 

I dip and QT all my corals now and only buy dry reef rock now. Live rock is a thing of the past for me. I'm also looking into buying a Velvet Nudibranch to take care of the problem and then try to loan it to someone else with flatworm problems.

 

I've heard from two LFS both sides...

1st - that the spotted is less hardy (owner seems less knowledgeable)

2nd - they are about the same (psych and target) - 2nd owner actually cares

 

I have always treated them both the same and have had no issues. Just make sure the tank is well established and it should do just fine. I found the only cure for flatworms is to find the source that is keeping them alive.

 

I've had my cleaner shrimp and coral banded shrimp eat flat worms and bristle worms and keep them to a minimum. All the mandarin really needs is a lot of copepods to eat and it should be fine.