ORA Blue Mandarin

[eweston]

I just received my ORA blue mandarin fish from Coral Reef Aquarium is Seekonk yesterday. I've waited a long while to get one of these! He's been eating Nutramar Ova.

 

[eweston]

I just love this fish!

I'll get some better pics later.

 

[JayM]

it's a beauty. The reefs thank you for choosing to buy one from a sustainable resource

 

[thassen]

I picked up one over the weekend as well. I couldn't be happier with him. I saw him eating frozen mysis and brine so far. It seems as long as it sinks and doesn't drift too much he will pick at it when he floats over it.

 

[Sapooloo]

<----- is EXTREMELY jealous

 

[jamesdong009]

Definitely cool. Good luck with him.

 

[MPevine11]

i love ORA

do they have the ORA green Mandarin avaible yet?




also do the ora Mandarin's still eat pods? i love how the Mandarin's pick at the rocks all day

 

[eweston]

I'm really not sure if the blue or green Mandarin are different fish. I think it depends if the fish has more green in it, I could be wrong though. Mine seems to be both blue and green.

I hope that it doesn't still require pods because my tank isn't large enough to sustain enough pods for a Mandarin. At the store he was eating Nutramar Ova but I haven't seen him eat any since I've added him to my tank. He seems quite shy at the moment hiding behind the powerheads but I do see him out and around after the lights go out. I'm keeping a close eye on him to make sure he is well cared for.

 

[MPevine11]

does he/she swim around and pick at the rocks? i love watching them do that

 

[mikel]

Hay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So glad some other folks are getting these precious fish!!!! I have had my Spotted ORA mandarin and the blue ORA (also from the same place) for more than 3 months now. They are both doing very well, and my two fish eat both the Ova and the Cyclopeeze. They are fed three times a day with the filters off, and they are fat in my 20 L dedicated tank. My blue is the same size as your, but my spotted have grown huge! In any case, what's wierd is that both of my mandarins are males, and they live peacefully and eat together (even shares the same baby food jar at night sometimes). No fights (finger crossed). Maybe thesetank bred fish are less aggressive and territorial? That means one thing......MORE MANDARINS IN ONE TANK!!!!))mike

 

[eweston]

Mine is still quite shy but I am seeing him out and around. This morning I saw him buried in the sand next to my clowns. He has been picking at the rock but I haven't seen him feed yet when I add the Ova to the tank. I just started turning off the pump when I feed the tank so sooner or later that should trigger feeding time for the mandarin.

I need to setup a dinner for him to feed from, a baby jar sound perfect.

 

[thassen]

My aquascaping setup might be part of the success i have had with my guy eating whatever i put in the tank.
I have a rock formation that seems to act like the the baby jar diner.I have a few rocks setup that create a nice tunnel.There is a small entrance in the front and back of my tank that is low to the ground so none of my other fish enter on a regular basis. Of course the minute i put the mandarin in the tank he went right to that spot and hid while he got used to the tank. Now he goes in there on a frequent basis. When i do my nightly feedings i take a turkey baster and shoot a good size shot of my frozen meal into the hole. Seems like it does the trick to get him to eat on his terms and not compete with the others for food.

 

[mikel]

yeah...

That's exactly it with my two mandarins. I also have a natural rock formation that acts like a tunnel, except that I pushed all the gravel away so it's a clear glass bottom (so I can see clearly if the mandarins are picking real pieces of the cycloeeze and Ova off the glass floor). It's a tunnel with aglass bottom, and both my fish go in there and sit and wait when they are hungry. When I come home at noon, they hear my door shut and they both dash to the spot by the glass bottom and wait for my syringe shot of the Ova/cycloppze mix falling all over them....they then start picking and picking. No wonder they are so fat now. mike

 

[gweston]

I'd love to have a male/female pair someday, but not for the current tank.

Do you think a pair of mandarins would do well in a 40B plumbed into a 125g long and 55g-sump system? Lots of liverock, a pair of ocellaris clowns and anemones.

 

[eweston]

My current setup is only 30g. The reason I went with the ORA Mandarin is due to the fact that they will eat prepared foods and they should need to rely on pods being in the tank.

 

[Sapooloo]

did u have to go on a waiting list to em?

 

[mikel]

I have my two mandarins in a 20 gallon long with plenty of live rock, established for 2 years, and given a cyclopeeze/ova shot two to three times a day. i change 10 % water two times a week because of the feeding routine.

So you can definitely have a pair in a 30g or 40. You just have to make sure they are eating, and that you feed them plenty of food that they eat, and you do lots of water changes. These fish need t a lot of work to keep well. mike

 

[eweston]

Yes, I had been on a waiting list since October.

 

[eweston]

I tried setting up a small diner for my mandarin but my hermit crabs quickly moved in and devoured the ova.

 

[eweston]

I've had my little blue mandarin for just about a month now and he's doing great. He seems very shy and elusive but he knows when it's time to eat. It took a little while for him to take the ova when I fed him but now he knows it's time to eat when I turn off the pumps. He quick appears in the same spot where I place the ova.

I haven't been able to good pictures of him since he is rarely seen wandering around.