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acharpenter said:
Past tense but - did you throw a thread out looking for Mandarins?

What I have found is that anytime you are looking for something specific - more often than not someone has it and is thinking of, or willing to sell but hasn't taken the time to post a FS thread. Everyone waits for a FS thread for what they are looking for - but if you throw a WTB thread out - I am always surprised by how many people reply
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No, I did not post a WTB thread. If these guys don't make it I'll give that a shot, but am skeptical that anyone has a pair of red mandarins they want to get rid of.

But I did ask a few LFS to order some for me. I really don't understand why local stores could not bring in a fish that was in-stock the entire time at the online places that just have your order drop-shipped from a LAX wholesaler. Sorry sponsors, I wanted to support you. When I asked you to get in the fish, 5 months later I was still waiting. I ordered the fish online and had them at my door 2 days later. When the online stores have better prices, better warranties, and better customer service, it is really hard to shop local.
 
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cypho said:
Yes it is 75-ish gallons. 36.5x24x20

I think expecting / relying on mandarins accepting prepared food is a recipe for failure. The last 11 months was the mean time. They are in there - hopefully feasting on the overpopulated mysis colony.
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Well, William, you are right there. 95% of the time, from personal experience, you can't rely on that happening. I firmly believe though that its a mixture of the two diets that prove to be successful. If you have the mentality "they'll live off the reef," they will at some point start to decline. Our systems just can't support the volume at which mandarins eat. (Obviously their is always the exception. Exp : dedicated large tanks) Also, their bodies are not designed to eat 3 square meals a day, its not how their metabolism works. The goal should be to have a steady pod population and supplement with frozen offerings. If this can be achieved, you get happy, fat, little sausages of dragonets. Sadly, the majority you see, even in reef tanks, are under weight, not thriving fish.
 
You got me thinking about the mandarins in my last tank. A red male and a blue female. I dug up some photos. I forgot how friendly they were. I hope these new ones do as well. They were in a standard 75 with some clowns, dottybacks and angels. They never made a dent in the mysis population.

mandarin-pair.jpg
male-red-mandarin.jpg
mandarin-female.jpg
mandarin-larvae.jpg
 
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