• How to feed Synchiropus splendidus (Mandarin fish)

  • Linda

I know that a mandarin fish needs a large aquarium with plenty of rocks for its normal existence, as it feeds almost exclusively on what it finds on them and in the sand. However, I couldn't resist; it's such a beautiful fish, and I bought it. I understand that my aquarium is very small for it, and I plan to move from a 30-liter tank to a 108-liter one before the New Year. Therefore, I have a question: does anyone have experience in how to train a mandarin fish to accept additional feeding, and what food can I try offering so that I don't have to sell it?

Christopher4125

I fed two mandarins, starting with liman maggots, throwing a lot into the main gathering spot of the mandarins. Now they are eating maggots, tubifex, and frozen artemia. Not just any artemia; I take 40 grams per kilogram from a specific supplier in the first row. They didn't eat factory-produced ones from various brands.

Jacqueline5976

Thank you! It will be quite difficult for me to find Daphnia and little worms... Thank you for the advice! Did you take the lagoon moth live or frozen?

Martin3206

The moth is alive, it definitely stays alive in the sea for a day. The pipefish is also alive.

Wendy2244

Live moth. But you can't overfeed it! The tube worm will give you an aquarium. 30 liters for the tube worm... You can only use live food and a couple of worms. Artemia will also work just fine. Just turn off the current before feeding. The last resort is nauplii of artemia. Last resort because it's a hassle. Right now, there are 2 mandarins (a pair) that eat artemia.

Amber1273

I don't want to disappoint you, but a mandarin fish won't survive in such a volume... Even if it starts eating brine shrimp, it will need to be fed 5-6 times a day. Such feeding in a 30-liter tank will lead to disaster! And moving to a 100-liter tank won't help either! This fish needs a mature aquarium.

Amber1273

I regularly feed nauplii (some gorgonians), but I can't say that they interest the mandarin in the same tank very much. The fish has its own mind, never swims to the food, and sometimes I see it pick up 1-2 nauplii but then it ignores them and continues to peck at something invisible on the rocks. So this option is also questionable.

Theresa5149

There was a related species, Synchiropus morrisoni. While there was food in the rocks, it ate. When it ran out, it started to lose weight. An attempt to feed it brine shrimp and worms was successful. It devoured them, but... it couldn't digest them and eventually expelled them, continuing to lose weight. I fed it 3-4 times a day. In the end, I had to give it away. In my opinion, a small volume is not suitable for mandarins.

Travis572

I have a couple of mandarins living with me for a year now. I don't feed them anything specifically; they find something on the rocks, filter it through their mouths, and release a cloud of detritus through their gills. By the way, before the mandarins, there were planarians in huge numbers, and with the appearance of the mandarins, the planarians disappeared. The mandarins are very well-fed, and I occasionally see them mating in the water column. I consider feeding them with bloodworms and tubifex to be impractical; I had an experience with fattening tubastrea and dendrophilia, where the feeding caused a spike in nitrates, and I had to sell them. Here, you have to choose: either you try to fatten someone up or you maintain the reef.