# Anyone have/had a Mandarin Fish?



## meldiane (Nov 16, 2011)

These fish are ABSOLUTLEY Stunning and was thinking about getting one sooner or later. Has anyone had any experience with them and what do you think?

Thanks and happy late thanksgiving!:smile::smile::smile:


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## meldiane (Nov 16, 2011)

After reading more into them it will be a LONG LONG time before I get one but just curious how others fared with them


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

They're saltwater, fyi


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

I've never kept them, but they are really only for expert fish keepers. They will not eat flakes, pellets or frozen foods. You need to be able to grow copepods for them. Very few of them will take prepared foods, and those that do have been weened from copepods over a long period of time (they are usually very expensive as well). If you do manage to ween them from pods, then they can not be in a tank with other fish, since they have a very difficult time competing for food. 

This is not a fish that someone with only experience in a 20G freshwater aquarium can do. This is a difficult fish that requires at least a 30 gallon marine aquarium (you posted this thread in the freshwater forums).


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

Yeah SW which I have never dabbled in. The issue with a lot of SW fishes is being wild caught. This is the main reason the Mandarin is so difficult to feed. IMO there is also the ethic reasons of trying to keep a wild caught species that is known to do pretty poorly in the aquarium. 

A quick google tells me these guys have been captive bred by ORA. Much more expensive but supposedly takes frozen food and wasn't plucked out of the ocean.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

They're awesome fish, but they need a steady source of pods, as bmlbytes said. This level can be attained in a well established tank, but it takes time. Even then, they are delicate fish.

I know where you're coming from though; I would love a pair!  Thanks for researching them too! I hate it when people buy a fish that is sure to die without knowing how delicate it is. I've been there, and to everyone, trust me. It's a bad feeling...


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## meldiane (Nov 16, 2011)

Thanks all! Everywhere I look shows them as fresh water....hmmmm.... 

Its way too much for me to handle.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

You are talking about this right?








I have never seen them listed as freshwater. 

This site has it under this category:
Saltwater & Marine Fish > Dragonets > Green Mandarin


This freshwater fish has the common name "Mandarin Fish", but is not really something people keep in aquariums. When people refer to "mandarin" in the fish hobby, its almost always the saltwater one.








Siniperca chuatsi


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