Mandarins

[NeveSSL]

Although I don't expect anything short-term, I'm hoping a year or two out I can get my mandarins to breed. Well, I hope they spawn before then, I just probably won't have the facilities to do anything with them for another year or two. :)

Just thought I'd share with you guys. Just picked up a female at a local store who looked pretty good and readily ate brine. I've had her about 2 months and she's fattened up and looks great! She and my male seek each other out after the lights go out, but now spawning yet. I thought that the fact they hooked up was pretty darn cool enough. :)

They seemed to hit it off pretty quickly! She followed him around for the rest of that day. Now they're back to normal, but in a good way. Forage during the day, get together at night. I think she may be a bit young to spawn, but I've been told at MOFIB by those more experienced than I that she may be old enough. We'll see!

Pics from when I first put her in:

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa280/NeveSSL/Salt%20Tank/Mandarin/DSC_3882.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa280/NeveSSL/Salt%20Tank/Mandarin/DSC_3879.jpg

[FB]

I would love to try something else eventually.

Good Luck

FB

[NeveSSL]

Thanks FB! I also hope to give clowns ago at about the same time. Gotta finish my masters degree, get a job, and get out of this apartment first, though. :)

Brandon

[mastou]

Also good luck from Denmark :D

I would also really like to try and breed mandarins and hope my couple will spawn at some point. So far I have only tried breeding clowns (A. ocellaris) and succeeded in first go with six small clowns (didn't catch that many) and are now trying to make the clowns lay their eggs on a small tile - but so far without luck.

Please keep us updated about your mandarin breeding :p

And finally a couple of questions, in what size tank are the mandarins, are there any other fish in the tank, and what will you feed the larvae/juveniles - rotifers, copepodes or ?

/Magnus

[NeveSSL]

Will do Magnus. Good luck with yours as well!

The mandarins are in a 45g tall. They are eating frozen, plus I still have lots of amphipods and copepods for them. I'm going to try to wean them onto frozen mysis, though, as I hear its a great food for them to be on for spawning. Its a community tank, so lots of other fish in it including clowns, royal gramma, coral beauty angel, and a small tang I'm borrowing for algae consumption. ;)

I'm not sure what I'll feed the small ones just yet. I plan on using Matt Wittenrich's research and methods whenever I get to that point... at least as closely as I can. My understanding is that he is using wild-caught copepods, but I'll figure something out if someone else doesn't first. :)

Check out the MOFIB if you've not already.

Brandon

[mastou]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13929555#post13929555 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NeveSSL
Check out the MOFIB if you've not already.

Brandon

I am already registered at MOFIB - great source of information concerning breeding :)

/Magnus

[NeveSSL]

I thought you may have already joined. :)

Brandon