mandarin goby question

gamma · 07-01-2004, 11:50 AM

My lfs has some beautiful mandarin gobies. I'm eager to pick one up, but I'm concerned that my tank is still too new (3 mos).

Let me back up a bit, the reason I was looking into the goby was I noticed one evening that there was a lot of activity on the substrate (this was after the lights were off for some time). I flashed some light in the tank and found a lot of either tiny worms or tiny shrimp (worms don't swim do they?) A bit concerned that my tank might be infested w/ these strange creatures I looked into gobies. The lfs said it would help control the tiny shrimp.

Any advice on how to handle these weird creatures? They're too small to take a pic of.

JohnO · 07-01-2004, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Any advice on how to handle these weird creatures?

My advice would be not to try and control them at all. The little critters will always be there and their population will increase and decline depending on the availability of food. They are also good food for other larger critters and coral.

John :-)

reefman_MC · 07-01-2004, 05:17 PM

In my opinion, you should probably wait until your tank is up and running for about a year to get a mandarine. I have a mated pair in my 75. If the little bugs your seeing look like fleas they're probably pods. Which are what the mandarines exclusively feed on.

gamma · 07-01-2004, 09:35 PM

ok, i've identified these "creatures" as amphipods. from what i've read they're a sign of a healthy tank. phew!!! i learn something new everyday about this hobby...

da colts · 07-02-2004, 12:08 AM

reefman is correct, a year at least. madarins are not gobies at all, they are actually dragonets (so are scooter blennies) and they do only feed on copepods and amphipods. so if you ever want to get a scooter blenny, treat them the same as madarins. growing copes and amphs is one of the best reasons to set up a refugium, you can put a few live rocks in it and farm the little critters and switch out the rocks as they are eaten.

karlas · 07-04-2004, 02:35 AM

its a good idea to let your tank mature and get TONS of them in there, a single mandarin can and will wipe out a tank of pods in no time. most do not eat frozen foods but a few will so do not count on them eating other foods as a main food source.