Psychedelic Mandarin and Green Mandarin

[Biomanjcs72]

I don't know what size tank you have, or what's in it currently, but I'll tell you what I know.
Those little guys, green and psychadelic mandarins only do well in LONG established reef tanks or FOWLR tanks. The reason is that these little guys won't (generally, there could be a few exceptions) take prepared food, they only eat live food and thusly need a very high concentration of gammarus/amphipods/mysid's, etc. in order to do well. Otherwise, they generally waste away and then "Poof" they are gone.
You can, in answer to your other question you can keep them together, they're quite peaceful little guys.
And no, I wouldn't recommend you put these guys in a freshly cycled system. HTH [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]



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JCS
"Take one and pass it back, just like your IQ's were normal."
-Professor Hathaway in the movie"Real Genius"

[This message has been edited by Biomanjcs72 (edited 05-09-2001).]

[Triggers]

very difficult if not in the right system.
not recommended for the average aquarist, not suggesting you are average , just making a statement.

many will starve after a few months.

[Ninong]

Originally posted by lil_shaggy:

i finished cycling my tank about day ago and was wondering if it would be possible to put these two species of dragonets together.

No, that would not be wise at all. Both Synchiropus splendidus and S. picturatus should only be introduced into established tanks that have mature populations of amphipods and copepods and lots of nice live rock. This usually means that the minimum tank size for a single individual would be around 75-gallons and the tank should probably be set up for at least 6 months first.

Another potential problem is that you cannot put two males into the same tank unless it is a very large tank, perhaps 300-gallons. You cannot even put a male S. splendidus with a male S. picturatus because they would very likely fight to the death unless the tank was a really large one so that they could avoid each other.

Ninong [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

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Irrational Exuberance!

[lil_shaggy]

i finished cycling my tank about day ago and was wondering if it would be possible to put these two species of dragonets together. i was also wondering if any one could give me any information on these two fish? well thanx for the help.



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soldja_shaggy@yahoo.com

[SPasse]

lil_shaggy,

First of all, WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

Sadly despite their wide spread availability probably less that 1 in 10 mandarins make it long term.

Their diet is exclusively pods etc. Some hobbyists get them to accept brine but this is the exception rather than the rule.

I have seen these little guys completely denude an established 90-gallon tank of its pod population. So they typically do well initially then starve to death. [img]/ubb/frown.gif[/img]

Too bad, what neat little fish they are.

Scott

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The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure.
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