Mandarin Goby question.

Ivydoodles · 05/23/2020, 10:23 PM

My son has a baby mandarin goby and was wondering if he can put an adult mandarin goby in the same tank?

Rhodesholar · 05/24/2020, 06:18 AM

Hello,

From what I have read that is not advisable.

Gobies are highly territorial and only a mated pair can be kept together.

Here's the info as follows:

Can you have more than one Mandarin goby?
Keeping Mandarin Dragonets Together
Do not keep males together or they'll start to fight over food, territory and females. Either keep this species on its own, or as a pair of one male and one female.

Sk8r · 05/24/2020, 06:23 AM

Females will also kill newcomer males if food is not adequate. Best rule is one very small mandy per mature 50-75 gallon tank.

billdogg · 05/24/2020, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Best rule is one very small mandy per mature 50-75 gallon tank.

^^^What Sk8r said^^^

Even tank raised will prefer live pods - to the tune of hundreds to thousands a day.

bhazard1 · 05/24/2020, 08:21 PM

Mine are all the pods then died. Hopefully you can get it eating other food.

cody6766 · 05/25/2020, 09:49 AM

1 per tank is the best practice. I wouldn't keep one in anything less than a 90g...and only if that 90g had plenty of live rock and places for pods to breed. I waited 6 months, seeded pods. and built areas of lose rubble so the pods could hide and breed before adding a mandarin to my old 120g. He was constantly buzzing around the tank and eating. They're like humming birds and need a HUGE and constant supply of pods.

I wish I could have one in my 60g since they're one of my favorite reef fish, but it's just not big enough to sustain one long term.

ThRoewer · 05/25/2020, 11:09 AM

Mandarinfish are not gobies, not even remotely related, but rather dragonets.

If you know what you are doing your can keep them in tanks as small as 10 gallon though 20 gallon would be the smallest I would put them in because they need some space to roam around. The limiting factor is not space but food and as long as you can maintain a steady food supply they do fine. You either need a good refugium or an external food source (pod culture).
For a pair you need a larger size tank and especially a taller one so that they can do their matting dance.

Most I ever had would sooner or later pick up on eating frozen mysis and my current pair seems to be going after red Planaria of which I have plenty in the sump tanks and refugium but none (visible) in the display where the mandrins are.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

cvrle1 · 05/25/2020, 12:33 PM

One thing that works quite well it seems is using mandarin feeder. Paul Baldassano created a pretty low tech feeder that looks to be working for lots of people. While I will give tank plenty of time for pods to breed, and will have hiding spaces for them to populate in DT and sump fuge, I plan on using this as well once I get to that point.

https://www.saltwatersmarts.com/diy-...pipefish-2804/

There is a nice thread on it on the other site that is blocked on RC. Search for "Thoughts on mandarins" by Paul B.

MondoBongo · 05/26/2020, 06:27 AM

i would advise against it. my mandy summarily executed another small dragonet i added to the tank. i didn't think it would be a problem, they were totally different species, one male, the other female. she wasn't pleased and dispatched the interloper within a week.

ThRoewer · 05/26/2020, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

... Best rule is one very small mandy per mature 50-75 gallon tank.

Tank volume is of relatively little consequence to the benthic pods Mandarins eat. Much more important than volume is the available surface area of substrate and algae. A thick layer of coarse gravel and plenty of highly porous rock in an algae swamp will do far more than a few more gallons of water in a minimalistic decorated bare bottom SPS reef tank.
Added volume does you only good if you fill it with settling grounds for pods, otherwise it does nothing for Mandarins.
Given the trend to minimalistic bare bottom tanks the guidelines for Mandarins should be based on live rock quantity and porosity, the composition and thickness of the gravel layer, and the presence of a macro algae refugium.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

cody6766 · 05/26/2020, 04:39 PM

^^^definitely true, it's just that small tanks rarely have enough rock to meet their needs. I used piles of LR rubble and crushed coral in the gaps inside my rock structures. The areas got plenty of gentle flow, were protected from the fish to some small extent and hopefully helped grow pods. I have no proof of that, but I did notice a TON of life burried in rubble and gravel areas on a reel reef, so I ran with the idea. I never had any nutrient issues, so it couldn't hurt. I still wouldn't try to keep one in anything small.

05/23/2020, 10:23 PM	#1
Ivydoodles Registered Member Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 20	Mandarin Goby question. My son has a baby mandarin goby and was wondering if he can put an adult mandarin goby in the same tank?

05/24/2020, 06:23 AM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Females will also kill newcomer males if food is not adequate. Best rule is one very small mandy per mature 50-75 gallon tank. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/25/2020, 09:49 AM	#6
cody6766 Super Best Friends! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: OKC, OK Posts: 3,772	1 per tank is the best practice. I wouldn't keep one in anything less than a 90g...and only if that 90g had plenty of live rock and places for pods to breed. I waited 6 months, seeded pods. and built areas of lose rubble so the pods could hide and breed before adding a mandarin to my old 120g. He was constantly buzzing around the tank and eating. They're like humming birds and need a HUGE and constant supply of pods. I wish I could have one in my 60g since they're one of my favorite reef fish, but it's just not big enough to sustain one long term. __________________ "The moral is the chosen, not the forced; the understood, not the obeyed. The moral is the rational, and reason accepts no commandments." - John Galt Current Tank Info: Cadlights 60G Arisan II mixed reef with 2x MP40s and 24" ATI

05/25/2020, 11:09 AM	#7
ThRoewer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Fremont, CA Posts: 9,555	Mandarinfish are not gobies, not even remotely related, but rather dragonets. If you know what you are doing your can keep them in tanks as small as 10 gallon though 20 gallon would be the smallest I would put them in because they need some space to roam around. The limiting factor is not space but food and as long as you can maintain a steady food supply they do fine. You either need a good refugium or an external food source (pod culture). For a pair you need a larger size tank and especially a taller one so that they can do their matting dance. Most I ever had would sooner or later pick up on eating frozen mysis and my current pair seems to be going after red Planaria of which I have plenty in the sump tanks and refugium but none (visible) in the display where the mandrins are. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk __________________ Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +...

05/26/2020, 06:27 AM	#9
MondoBongo Obligate Feeder Obsessed Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 4,061	i would advise against it. my mandy summarily executed another small dragonet i added to the tank. i didn't think it would be a problem, they were totally different species, one male, the other female. she wasn't pleased and dispatched the interloper within a week. __________________ [Citation Needed] "You don't use science to show that you're right, you use science to become right" - xkcd Current Tank Info: A rectangular shaped money pit.

05/24/2020, 06:18 AM	#2
Rhodesholar Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Crivitz Wi Posts: 754	Hello, From what I have read that is not advisable. Gobies are highly territorial and only a mated pair can be kept together. Here's the info as follows: Can you have more than one Mandarin goby? Keeping Mandarin Dragonets Together Do not keep males together or they'll start to fight over food, territory and females. Either keep this species on its own, or as a pair of one male and one female.

05/24/2020, 08:21 PM	#5
bhazard1 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 51	Mine are all the pods then died. Hopefully you can get it eating other food.

05/25/2020, 12:33 PM	#8
cvrle1 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Surrey, BC Posts: 454	One thing that works quite well it seems is using mandarin feeder. Paul Baldassano created a pretty low tech feeder that looks to be working for lots of people. While I will give tank plenty of time for pods to breed, and will have hiding spaces for them to populate in DT and sump fuge, I plan on using this as well once I get to that point. https://www.saltwatersmarts.com/diy-...pipefish-2804/ There is a nice thread on it on the other site that is blocked on RC. Search for "Thoughts on mandarins" by Paul B.

05/26/2020, 04:39 PM	#11
cody6766 Super Best Friends! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: OKC, OK Posts: 3,772	^^^definitely true, it's just that small tanks rarely have enough rock to meet their needs. I used piles of LR rubble and crushed coral in the gaps inside my rock structures. The areas got plenty of gentle flow, were protected from the fish to some small extent and hopefully helped grow pods. I have no proof of that, but I did notice a TON of life burried in rubble and gravel areas on a reel reef, so I ran with the idea. I never had any nutrient issues, so it couldn't hurt. I still wouldn't try to keep one in anything small. __________________ "The moral is the chosen, not the forced; the understood, not the obeyed. The moral is the rational, and reason accepts no commandments." - John Galt Current Tank Info: Cadlights 60G Arisan II mixed reef with 2x MP40s and 24" ATI