- Location
- Long Island
Where can I buy an ORA spotted mandarin?
ORA mandarin
- Thread starter jcolon2
- Start date
m'akoyPINOY
El filibusterismo
MA usually have them in stock.
- Location
- Hudson Yards
Just a heads up with these cute little buggers. They likely won't eat like ORA claims they will.
I still can't get my 3 (1 male and 2 females) to consistently accept frosen food, much less pellets. In fact one female has refused everything except - what else - live pods. I've even tried the mandarin diner. They go in but ignore the food and instead hunt for pods on the sides of the jar. I've heard many stories similar to mine. Just be prepared and ready to provide lots of pods if needed.
I still can't get my 3 (1 male and 2 females) to consistently accept frosen food, much less pellets. In fact one female has refused everything except - what else - live pods. I've even tried the mandarin diner. They go in but ignore the food and instead hunt for pods on the sides of the jar. I've heard many stories similar to mine. Just be prepared and ready to provide lots of pods if needed.
- Location
- Long Island
I have heard stories like yours as well. To be honest (I am completely for captive breeding) but the expensive price of ORA and the repetition of you story has me contemplating just purchasing a wil caught mandarin and trying out my luck (even though it goes against my better judgment).
- Location
- Hudson Yards
Me too. Even if they will only eat pods I'd prefer one that is captive bred. I have a wild caught male blue mandarin and the 3 little green ones. I'm holding out for a captive bred female blue to give my little guy a companion.
- Location
- Long Island
True. I guess I will resist temptation and stick to my guns. Where did you buy your mandarins? I am looking for a spotted dragonette and a green/red mandarin. Although I can only afford one right now lol. My tank was loaded with pods but that is not the case due to my crash not too long ago. Time to restock with pods and livestock now that the tank is doing better.
I also had a bad experience with an ORA green mandarin. The ORA blues might be a bit better. I think these fish are too young and not as accepting of prepared food as ORA claims. They are raised in barren steal tanks making me think they may have a hard time acclimating to a reef tank with other fish and inverts. Mine was the size of a large hermit crab.
- Location
- Union Square, NY
OG2 usually has them.
- Location
- Midtown East, Manhattan
Far from being a dragonette behavioral scientist but my wild blue one had to be retrained to eat frozen each time I changed tanks/environment. Looks like his conditioning reverted back to instinct each time he got stressed.
- Location
- Staten Island, NY
I think my ora spotted mandarin never learned how to eat! I take live copepods into a squirter thingy and i shoot it at its face and it the copepod hits its face and walks away. However, he's still alive so im going to assume he's eating
- Location
- Hudson Yards
I got mine at House of Fins.
- Location
- Midtown East, Manhattan
Don't want to hijack this thread but in a nutshell this is what I did. Made an acrylic feeding station for $2 with parts from Canal Plastics as seen below. Just drill a hole and make sure it's a tight fit, otherwise get some acrylic epoxy or bond, whatever. Asked lfs to throw some live brine in the mandarin tank and chose the first one that went for it. He was very skinny and emaciated so I figured he'd have a better chance with me than with lfs or even worse, a casual fish buyer.
Got home and gut fed a cup of live brine with selcon and squeezed some down the station every day for a week.
After a week, every time I'd come near the tank he'd zoom right into the station and hang out there.
Started mixing one or two pieces of frozen brine until he accidentally ate a piece and realized it was food. This was the longest step. Took a while. Then gradually put more and more frozen brine and less and less live brine.
Once you totally wean him off live brine, DO NOT give him live brine again, even if it's just a treat. It will take him longer to totally accept frozen. Then, after he's only on frozen brine, do the same with mysis.
This is what worked for me. Also, if you have other fish that will eat everything before the mandarin does, stick the feeder in a corner surrounded by rocks. Mandarins swim on the floor, upside down, and go places most other fish can't get to.
Hope this helps,
Art
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cool!!Don't want to hijack this thread but in a nutshell this is what I did. Made an acrylic feeding station for $2 with parts from Canal Plastics as seen below. Just drill a hole and make sure it's a tight fit, otherwise get some acrylic epoxy or bond, whatever. Asked lfs to throw some live brine in the mandarin tank and chose the first one that went for it. He was very skinny and emaciated so I figured he'd have a better chance with me than with lfs or even worse, a casual fish buyer.
Got home and gut fed a cup of live brine with selcon and squeezed some down the station every day for a week.
After a week, every time I'd come near the tank he'd zoom right into the station and hang out there.
Started mixing one or two pieces of frozen brine until he accidentally ate a piece and realized it was food. This was the longest step. Took a while. Then gradually put more and more frozen brine and less and less live brine.
Once you totally wean him off live brine, DO NOT give him live brine again, even if it's just a treat. It will take him longer to totally accept frozen. Then, after he's only on frozen brine, do the same with mysis.
This is what worked for me. Also, if you have other fish that will eat everything before the mandarin does, stick the feeder in a corner surrounded by rocks. Mandarins swim on the floor, upside down, and go places most other fish can't get to.
Hope this helps,
Art
- Location
- Long Island
Well, I now have a spotted mandarin baby eating prepared food. I went to Tropical Island Aquarium in Deer Park just to see what they had. They had a bunch of beautiful stuff and a lot of ORA libestock. No ORA mandarins though. But the owner said that the mandarin in one of the tanks I was lookign at was eating prepared food. I was skeptical but he willingly fed the mandarin in front of me. The mandarin went crazy over the frozen food. : ) I bought it.
- Location
- Long Island
That's a very nice feeding station or "mandarin diner" that you built
- Location
- Midtown East, Manhattan
- Location
- Long Island
No, I just started acclimating him right before I posted that. So, In about two hours I will post a picture : ) I also bought a nice midas blenny.
- Location
- Queens, New York
That is awesome Art!
Thanks for sharing... looks very uselful for when I get my Psychedelic Mandarin! :smile:
Thanks for sharing... looks very uselful for when I get my Psychedelic Mandarin! :smile:
- Location
- Hudson Yards
That's really neat Art! I've been using a small glass spice jar but - depending on the food - it can float out before the mandarin goes in. I'm going to try your technique.
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