My new ORA Blue Mandarin (Blue, Green, Psychadelic, whatever slang you wanna use)

[STiTCH87]

After nearly half a year of waiting (maybe longer, I don't even remember) I finally got a call today at work that Greg over at Underwater World got in a shipment of 2 ORA Blue Mandarin today. Retails for $65 which is pricey for a fish to some, but hey, a mandarin that eats prepared foods and can live in a 29g and wasn't caught in the wild by someone with a mini spear on a string makes it all priceless to me.

So ofcourse, I immediately went home, cleaned up my tank real nice, did a waterchange, broke my skimmer (thats what happens when you rush I guess), and then went there to get the dragonet.

Now for a new shipment, I must say and Greg agreed, these guys were very large compared to the ORA mandarin you typically see in a new shipment.

Very happy with him (it's a him btw.) Granted he is extremely shy and barely moves at all. He has been sitting in one spot for 20 mins, then moves a little, then repeats and has been doing so for roughly 2 hours, but he is slowly seeming to become inquisitive of his surroundings. Haven't tried feeding him yet as I feel its too soon, but ill keep everyone updated on that later. Hopefully he doesn't just sit around all the time or get sick.

I've been a skeptic of frozen-fed mandarin since day one so i'm taking a chance here just to see if its all true that they dont need pods. Only time will tell.

For now anyways, here are some pictures:

 

[clowninout456]

beautiful fish....just curious as to what makes the ORA Mandarin different from a regular Mandarin?? is it because they eat frozen foods? I was looking into getting one but cant tell the difference. Thanks

 

[stanski13]

nice fish i want one of those when my tank is done cycling

 

[Mechanic2770]

Congrats. Beautiful fish!

 

[jackd625]

Looks awesome!! What else do you have in there? Have you fed him yet?

 

[STiTCH87]

ORA Mandarin are trained to accept prepared foods such as brine shrimp, pellet, prawn eggs, etc and do not need to rely soley on pods as other non-ORA mandarin do.

Also, they are captive-bred as opposed to being caught in the wild with a sewing needle and an elastic.

Have not fed him yet as he is far too shy to accept food so soon. That and he has been hiding in an unknown location of my tank for the past hour or two.

I have two ORA true percula clowns, a yellow clown goby, an orange spotted goby, a court jester goby, and an ORA blue mandarin. 2 peppermint shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, 2 nassarius snails, a mexican turbo snail, an array of various hermits and a buttload of baby snails.

 

[clowninout456]

thanks for the info...awesome fish. gonna have to grab myself one.

 

[Turbosnail]

Great looking fish!

 

[RadReefer]

The ORA mandarins are tank bred but there is still no guarantee that it will eat prepared foods in your tank.

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

He's beautiful. Good luck.

 

[jackd625]

I have two ORA true percula clowns, a yellow clown goby, an orange spotted goby, a court jester goby, and an ORA blue mandarin. 2 peppermint shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, 2 nassarius snails, a mexican turbo snail, an array of various hermits and a buttload of baby snails.

Thanks! Let us know when it eats, and what it eats!

BTW, what does ORA stand for??

 

[frank180reef]

beautiful fish, congrats

 

[mikel]

hay!!!!

I was the other guy who was on the list for a blue mandarin from ORA with Underwater World. He called yesterday in the AM and I told him that I already purchased one from another store a while ago. So he went down the list to you. Best of luck with this great fish.

I have had my ORA green spotted and ORA blue mandarin for over a year now. They are both in a 20 L together, and they are both males. Strangely, they are perfectly happy with each other.

My two ORA mandarins love their Ova and cyclopeeze mix. I have a little cleared spot under two big overhang rocks for them, and that's where they come wnenever I show up in front of their tank. It takes some patience and lots of persistence at first to make sure they eat, but now they are both very very fat and nice sized. Make sure you keep up with the water change and feed at least twice a day. Best of luck with your new mandarin. mike

 

[Mr.Rodrigo502]

Thanks! Let us know when it eats, and what it eats!

BTW, what does ORA stand for??

ORA=Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums..............Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums (ORA®) produces aquacultured saltwater fish, invertebrates, and live aquarium foods for the marine aquarium hobby. The ORA hatchery complex is located at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Campus in Ft. Pierce, Florida. ORA is the largest marine ornamental hatchery in North America and we are constantly developing new techniques to bring the finest captive bred specimens to environmentally conscientious aquarists throughout the world. Aquacultured marine life is the only alternative to wild caught fish and invertebrates for aquariums.

 

[STiTCH87]

Do you spot feed with an eye dropper? That's what I plan to do. Once in the morning and once at night hopefully. Or atleast maybe at 4PM and 10PM if I cant make morning meals. How do you personally feed yours mikel?

Saw mine this morning peeking out of a cave he seems to like. Wasn't really moving at all but his mouth was so I know he's still good. =]

 

[mikel]

some info

In my 20 L, I have a green spotted and a blue mandarin. I have both Ova Nutrimar and Cyclopeeze. I chop a small cube of each and thaw in a small glass each morning. Once thawed, I use a big turkey baster that I got from a supermarket and I suck a portion of it in. I then dip the baster to the spot in the cave that I have cleared the bottom gravel so it's a barebottom spot...I slowly squirt the content of the baster onto this spot...both fish know that food is here, and they are usually already there waiting for me to "shower" them with their Ova/clclopeeze food mix. They both pick and eat continuously until the whole mess is eaten/finished. I do this three times a day because I can come home for lunch (I work only 7 minutes by car away from my house...I come home to let my dogs out, and feed my mandarins and discus fish). I think 2 times is fine so long as you give enough food and enough no-water current time each morning and night. YOU MUST SHUT OFF ALL WATER CURRENT BEFORE YOU FEED> I have found that mandarins DO NOT chase after their food. They pick slowly and deliberately...so no competition for food and no floating food. I also have no other fish in this tank except the two mandarins. I keep the water temp at 75 F, I do a 10% wc every wednesday and every saturday.

I got my spotted mandarin from Underwater World more than a year ago...it was so TINY when I first got it. I tried the tiny pellets at first, but it wont touch it. I then found Ova after speaking with Laura (?) at ORA who suggested that I use the Nutrimar Ova. Sure enough, my spotted love the eggs and later I mixed the cyclopeeze in with the OVA. Then two months later, I got my ORA blue from Coral Reef...he was also so TINY!!!! In any case, I didnt know if they would fight in the same tank but I took a chance. At first they just ignore each other...but over time, the spotted "demonstrated" to the blue what was good to eat, and now they eat together. The spotted sleeps in his baby food glass jar every night (I used to squirt food in the jar too for him, but no need now...nice clean place to sleep, so no more eating in the bedroom). The blue mandarin sleeps in his 1/2 split terra cotta pot on its side right next to the glass jar (I also used to squirt food there in the morning, but no more.... food appears in only one place, and they know where it is) They are really fun to watch as they forage together...they sometimes display to one another and both have very strong and prominent dorsel fins, so I think both are males. Yetthey dont fight at all. HTH good luck with your new fish mike

 

[STiTCH87]

Thats for that write-up Mike. That should help me out a lot. I plan to do the baby food jar method since my spotted goby fights for food usually and also my cleaner shrimp does the same but I should be able to distract them both with my hand while the mandarin feeds as both the others like to play with my fingers. Lol. Where did you find the Ova? i'm having trouble locating some.

 

[mikel]

I only live 7 miles from Boston, so Skiptons for me. I think other places may carry them too. I think Coral Reef has them, maybe Jays. Unfortunately Underworld did not when I last checked a year ago...maybe they do now. They would be closest to you. Your tank is a 29 gal...so hopefully when you are distracting the others, your blue isnt also getting spooked. I know that these guys can be very timid feeders until they get to know you. Hope you do well with the little fish...it looks great (maybe it's the close up but it looks a heck of a lot bigger than mine when I got it!). mike

 

[STiTCH87]

Mines already friendly. I can touch his face with an eyedropper (almost) and he just sits and waits for food. And nope not just the close up, this guy is pretty damn big.

 

[mikel]

If the pic is not a close up, then that's awesome. This means ORA has gotten better at growing out the blues. I know at the beginning, they had a lot more success with the spotted than the blues. I guess with yours being a good size this most likely means that ORA has perfected the tank-raising aspects of the captive bred blues. That's great for everyone! I personally think the blues are so striking in the looks department...though the spotted has a bit more personality.

If yours is already friendly in the not-skittish sense, then your fish is also far more advanced than my blue a year ago. When I first got him, he was, like I said, tiny and very timid. He would hide behind the rocks, and I was lucky that my spotted mandarin was already quite acclimated...and was able to lead him by example. Otherwise, I think my blue would not have made it. Best with your fish; they are a bit of work but well worth it. mike