This is a new series of articles I would like to introduce in order to help prevent primarily new saltwater aquarium keepers from making mistakes in livestock purchases. So, every once in a while, an AquaNerd author will pop in and write a little something about a particular fish, coral, or invertebrate that is available to hobbyists, but should be left in the ocean.
Green Mandarin
© 2009 Foster & Smith, Inc. Reprinted as a courtesy and with permission from http://www.LiveAquaria.com
For the first installment, I would like to discuss the mandarinfish. There are several fish that fall under this name, and all are alike in their nutritional requirements and poor survivability rate in the home aquarium. Mandarinfish are absolutely unusual looking though gorgeous, small in size, and have great “personalities”, hence their popularity. However, they rarely survive in captivity. Their survival is poor due to their finicky feeding habits. They have an insatiable appetite for live aquarium meiofauna, such as amphipods. In nature, the meiofauna are virtually everywhere on the surrounding substrate, but in the home aquarium they are very limited. The mandarinfish will probably thrive in the home aquarium for a short while, depending on the size of the tank and the amount of food available, but it will eventually starve and die.
Spotted Mandarin
© 2009 Foster & Smith, Inc. Reprinted as a courtesy and with permission from http://www.LiveAquaria.com
Some have had success by feeding these fish live amphipods, brine shrimp, or other live cultured foods, but keep in mind that breeding live food is a chore by itself and continually having to purchase live food can get expensive rather quickly.
Though very beautiful and tempting, please leave this animal to the ocean. If hobbyists continue to buy these fish from their local fish stores or online vendors, then they will continue to be caught from the wild.
Permissions and Sources:
Red Mandarin Dragonet
Spotted Mandarin
© 2009 Drs. Foster and Smith, Inc.
Reprinted as a courtesy and with permission from
DrsFosterSmith.com (http://www.DrsFosterSmith.com)
Free pet supply catalog: 1-800-323-4208
