Feeding Mandarin Gobies

[sen5241b]

I have had 2 now and I have gotten them fat on the same diet. (I bring this up because it can be hard to get them to eat especially in smaller tanks.)

Ocean Nutrition Marine Pellets (Small) Formula One - they eat these readily especially when I throw them into the tank so they land right in front of the MD.

Orange Flying Fish Roe - Available at Asian markets (also called sushi roe). All my fish go nuts when I put this in the tank. You may notice that the MDs and other fish seem to spit the sushi eggs out but if you look very carefully you will notice they are spitting out only the hull of the egg after sucking the yolk out.

Copepods - They need these. Consider how many pods your tank supports but consider moreso fish that compete for pods. Wrasses and damsels will decimate your pod population leaving little for your MD.

Bristleworms - I've watched both of my MDs bite a bristleworm in half and then finish them off. They seem to hunt them more when its dark.

Hope this helps.

 

[motorcyclereefer]

I actually just picked one up today. A Male blue mandarin who just eats bloodworms and some kind of crab pellets. He does not touch(yet) brine shrimp which was unique.

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

Thanks for the info. I'm planning on picking one up and that's a good rundown on what I need look at, food wise.

 

[dcantucson]

I love those fish, but they jump out on me. Sen that was a lot of good information. Thanks.

 

[sen5241b]

According to the website MOFIB, you have to train MDs to eat frozen brine shrimp. It seemed like a lot of trouble when you consider brine shrimp is poor nutrition. My MDs have gobbled up live foods.

 

[Bifferwine]

You can train them to eat any frozen food, it doesn't have to be brine. I rarely feed any of my fish brine (only as a last resort when I've run out of other foods), but my picky eaters (pair of mandarins and leopard wrasse) have been trained to eat frozen mysis and other stuff.

 

[sen5241b]

You can train them to eat any frozen food, it doesn't have to be brine. I rarely feed any of my fish brine (only as a last resort when I've run out of other foods), but my picky eaters (pair of mandarins and leopard wrasse) have been trained to eat frozen mysis and other stuff.

Do you have a male and female MD? Did you buy them as a pair? I ask becuase I've heard 2 males will fight each other in the same tank.

 

[dcantucson]

Sen I agree. I had 2 Mandarins in my 150 which chased each other like crazy.

 

[project5k]

i got the mandrin gobie that i have now with the tank when i got it, and i dont know what he's eating, but he must be eating something, cause i allways see him hovering around, sucking stuff off the rocks and sand. I have yet to see anything he's eating, but i guess he's happy with it, cause he wont eat the mysis i feed the other guys, and i've tried crab pellets and blood worms, and no one will touch them at all, cept my zebra danio, he loves them.

 

[wontonflip]

How do you guys "train" them? Do you spot feed them with a baster when you know they're starving?

 

[Sharkie]

i got the mandrin gobie that i have now with the tank when i got it, and i dont know what he's eating, but he must be eating something, cause i allways see him hovering around, sucking stuff off the rocks and sand. I have yet to see anything he's eating, but i guess he's happy with it, cause he wont eat the mysis i feed the other guys, and i've tried crab pellets and blood worms, and no one will touch them at all, cept my zebra danio, he loves them.

hes probably picking copepods off the rocks, tahts what scooter (my MD) does :)

 

[Bifferwine]

Do you have a male and female MD? Did you buy them as a pair? I ask becuase I've heard 2 males will fight each other in the same tank.

I don't know. My first one was a female (she didn't develop the long dorsal spine over time like the males tend to do), and then about a year later someone was selling theirs for $15 (they had it in a brand new 10 gallon tank and it was starving to death). I figured I'd give it a shot -- if it didn't get along with my other mandarin in the 240, it was going to die in the 10 gallon anyways. So I didn't buy them together, but I've also never even seen them near each other.

 

[sen5241b]

i got the mandrin gobie that i have now with the tank when i got it, and i dont know what he's eating, but he must be eating something, cause i allways see him hovering around, sucking stuff off the rocks and sand. I have yet to see anything he's eating, but i guess he's happy with it, cause he wont eat the mysis i feed the other guys, and i've tried crab pellets and blood worms, and no one will touch them at all, cept my zebra danio, he loves them.

If his sides are sunken in then he is starving.

 

[dcantucson]

How do you guys "train" them? Do you spot feed them with a baster when you know they're starving?

wonton: a very small leash and whip works best :mrgreen: :D :shock:

 

[yote]

wonton: a very small leash and whip works best :mrgreen: :D :shock:

Actually,A cattle prode does even better.:mrgreen:

 

[wontonflip]

Actually,A cattle prode does even better.:mrgreen:

Ah. I thought you just tie them to their chair until they finish all their food.

 

[yote]

Ah. I thought you just tie them to their chair until they finish all their food.

That works good on the kids.But I've found that mandrines are just to slimy for the ropes to hold em.

 

[wontonflip]

Wouldn't work on my son. He once spent 2 HOURS chewing the same piece of green bean because he didn't want to swallow it.

 

[yote]

Wouldn't work on my son. He once spent 2 HOURS chewing the same piece of green bean because he didn't want to swallow it.

HAHAHAHA
Now THATS what I call stornd will'ed:D

 

[motorcyclereefer]

Hey, chewing is very important. He was just making sure that the threads on the bean would not get stuck in his throat...But I'm hoping to train mine to eat something besides the blood worms. But on the other hand he does not bother the sun corals during their feed time.