melev

The Psychedelic Mandarin is one of my favorite fish. I became enamoured with one early on when I got into reefkeeping, and kept one successfully in my 29g even when others pointed out that it wasn't an ideal situation. My 29g was full of liverock, and I fed the tank often. It seemed quite content, and didn't appear to be emaciated. Basically I was the exception to the rule, and while "melev might be able to do it" it wasn't recommended for small tanks.

I wasn't being stubborn at the time and listened to what others with more experience were saying. I already owned the fish and was doing my best to keep him fat and happy. I wrote an article with advice for others to consider so they too could keep this beautiful fish in their aquariums at home or at work. Article: http://www.melevsreef.com/mandarin_care.html

However, there was an important element that could not be ignored. My mandarin was eating pellet food. Each day I'd toss in some Formula One or Formula Two small pellet food for the fish, but it was months later before I actually noticed how he would slurp them up one by one off the substrate. My fish had learned this was another food source, which boosted his chances of survival in my 29g. That tank had a large refugium and I was dosing phytoplankton into the system often to maintain a healthy pod population in the closed system. All these factors lead to success.

In 2004, my 280g reef went up and the 29g was shut down. All the livestock was moved over, including several mandarins. Initially they seemed to get along well and I bought another one, an orange target mandarin. The larger bioload of fish was quick to consume the food as soon as it hit the water, and the mandarins didn't get their share like they did in the smaller tanks. That's when I made the Mandarin Diner, which allowed these gentle fish to get their fill of food and kept the bigger fish from devouring the pellets. Article: http://www.melevsreef.com/mandarin_diner.html

When the 280g leaked and the fish were moved into a temporary system of holding vats, the mandarins were moved as well. They however lost their access to liverock with the pod population and one by one I lost my pets. It wasn't like I could see them but when I realized I wasn't seeing them any more that I realized what was happening.

In 2011, I set up a new system and within a couple of months I was able to purchase the Mandarin pictured in today's blog. This is an ORA tank-raised fish and it too has been seen eating pellet food. When the 400g sprung a leak in early 2012, all livestock was moved to the 215g and I'd see the Mandarin about once a week for a few seconds. It looked healthy and plump, and then would vanish again into the rock and corals for weeks at a time.

When I set up the 60g in November 2013, I decided this fish would go into that system so I could enjoy seeing it far more often. The tank didn't have a lot of liverock, and was primarily set up to house the anemones but I thought it might be okay food-wise. I watched him closely and he appeared to be getting skinnier. He would usually hover on the left side of the tank, seemingly longing to get into the 400g that was within its sight. One day he swam upwards toward the surface, and in one scoop of the net I moved him into the bigger reef with access to more food, more rockwork and a better likelihood of survival. The 60g just didn't seem to be cutting it, pod-wise.

It's been a few months since then, and all these pictures were taken today. He's very fat, and still quite elusive. When I approach the tank, he quickly darts back into the protective shadows of the reef's structures. But when he comes out, his vivid coloration brings a smile to my face every-single-time.

By the way, the 60g is teaming with pods now. They litter the walls of the cube tank and scurry about on the rockwork. The refugium has pods too. And the frag tank is full of tiny bugs. Since all these systems are tied to the 400g, it seems likely that at least a portion of these benthic critters end up migrating into the main reef for the Mandarin to dine upon.

It's nice to know I have a beautiful fish that was tank-raised by ORA (Oceans, Reefs, & Aquariums in Florida), and that he has continued to stay healthy and happy despite the setbacks over the past three years.