New ORA Spotted Mandarin!

Discussion in 'Tropical Fish' started by Astrick117, May 10, 2012.

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  1. Astrick117

    Astrick117 Stylophora

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    Well, I have been pretty quite recently because my job has been kicking my @$$. BUT, I have kept busy with maintaining my tank and i just picked up an ORA mandarin tonight.

    I am extremely excited because I have wanted one since I began saltwater, but knew that I couldn't get one for a while because of their feeding habits. Only $35 and she is acclimating now...

    Anybody have any tips on how to get them eating after they get used to their surroundings? I'm going to try bloodworms, but the good thing is my tank has a ton of pods right now, so I have some time for "retraining". I just want to get her on other foods as I wonder how long the pod population will last.

    And yes, pics are coming as soon as my lights are back on tomorrow.
     
  2. Click Here!

  3. FaceOfDeceit

    FaceOfDeceit Hockey Beard

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    Have you seen it eat any prepared foods yet? At the LFS perhaps? $35 seems VERY low for an ORA Spotted. I have one that loves the micro pellets from NLS. 0.2mm I think...maybe 0.5, I can't remember.
     
  4. Astrick117

    Astrick117 Stylophora

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    Yes, it picked at a few specs of Spectrum while I was there. ORA actually just dropped their prices on the mandarins and they are now going for around $35. I was surprised too, but I saw someone else post on here about the same thing.
     
  5. tst400

    tst400 Astrea Snail

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    i picked one up and it wouldnt eat anything at all.... wouldnt even venture to the aquascape. it just stayed in the sand.. was very disappointed
     
  6. NanaReefer

    NanaReefer Fu Manchu Lion Fish

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    Mine is now 2 weeks in my tank! She's doing great :) I've loaded up on pods. She's eating Hikari blood worms chopped-Nutramar Ova. Being captive bread her aim with hitting a moving target is a lil rusty.
    See my thread, Keeping a Target Mandarin.
    [​IMG]
     
  7. Doratus

    Doratus Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    Here's the deal...

    Forget about the idea of it eating prepared foods. These fish need to constantly eat, and you simply cannot feed often enough to give it what it needs.

    The trick is to not have any other fish that eat what the Madarin eats. This means no wrasse or anything else that eats pods.

    The other trick is to have a breeding ground somewhere in your system for the pods where the mandarin cannot go. For me, this is the sump. I keep a plastic dish full of rubble right next to the return pump into my main tank so that the pods can breed and occasionally get sucked into the main tank.

    That's all you need.
    1. No pod competition
    2. A place for the pods to reproduce

    Simple as that... Again, forget about trying to feed it yourself.

    This is all my opinion. I'm speaking from experience in owning an ORA mandarin for over a year in a 40g tank. (still alive and fat on pods)
     
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  9. FaceOfDeceit

    FaceOfDeceit Hockey Beard

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    I've kept my ORA Mandarin alive with a "competing" wrasse in a frag tank (no live rock in DT) for over 8 months. Prepared foods can sustain both. I feed twice daily, as I also have a group of Reef Chromis. My Mandarin eats (estimated) 20-30 NLF micro pellets during each feeding. I do have a small population of pods, and have since inception of this tank, but not what I would consider a strong population by any means. While I do agree with Doratus on the point of having a stable, predator free environment to let pods populate, I disagree with the statement of not being able to feed enough. As long as the OP's mandarin IS eating prepared foods, sustainability is greatly increased.

    Welcome to the Target club!
     
  10. Astrick117

    Astrick117 Stylophora

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    Thanks! As I said, I am super excited.

    Do you recommend the New Life Spectrum food over frozen bloodworms, baby brine, etc.?

    Also, how do you get your food to stay around long enough for the mandarin to get it? I have a pretty good amount of flow in my tank- just wondering if there is a good way to keep it in one spot- other than turning off all of my powerheads.

    I was thinking that I might grab a glass baby food jar, put it on it's side and place the food in there.
     
  11. Astrick117

    Astrick117 Stylophora

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    That's awesome. I will definitely read up...