Coolest Fish in House

After a 14-year hiatus of keeping mandarins, I must admit, they are slowly creeping up on my list of favorite fish.

My motivation is being driven partly by photography; I have a vision. You know the images of dozens of Tridacna clams in different colors and sizes, squished together with their mantles touching? Yep, I want a picture of mandarins; Greens and Spotteds, all captive-raised and squished together to form a puzzle your grandfather couldn’t figure out. A picture that says “Wow”.

Coolest Fish in the House

But, as always, a vision is far from the final product, so I thought I would share a bit of my struggle to get the image. It hasn’t happened yet, but I am hopeful and continue to snap some shots along the way.

Though somewhat similar to the Greens, Spotteds offer something entirely different. At first, it is the color and psychedelic pattern of this fish that commands attention. Mint green with orange bullseyes, a striking fish for sure. But, after a time, it is their personality that shines through and earns them a spot on the list of family favorites. Both species of mandarins are undeniably popular in the aquarium trade, but recently, my Spotteds hold the rank of coolest fish in the house.

The spotted mandarins sleep together, perched in the same rock, every night. They forage the tank side by side and are quite active in hunting frozen foods from the water column. Spotteds seem a bit easier to train to frozen fare and often take frozen mysids straight out of the pet shop.

Sure, weaning is sometimes necessary and the "Matt Pedersen, Put Them in a Breeder Box and Feed Them Live ''Artemia'' Until They Take Frozen Trick" works wonders. (See: Breeding the Green Mandarin.)
http://microcosmaqx.typepad.com/matt_wittenrich/aquariums/.

When do Spotted Mandarins Get Their Spots?

Over the past several months I have learned a great deal about the behaviors and breeding of mandarinfishes (Synchiropus spp.), also known as dragonets. Mostly, I have learned that I want to know more.

Each new day brings a new challenge, a new question and more insight into the secret world of these fascinating fishes.


My first spawn of Spotted Mandarins (Synchiropus picturatus) are now around 40 days old and growing quite nicely. From afar they seem similar to the Green Mandarins at the same age. They are mostly a mottled tan color with an intricate pattern of dark browns and blacks. When the light hits their eyes just right they glow fluorescent green, giving the somber background color a bit more flair.

The head of juvenile Spotted Mandarins are more pointed and streamlined than the round and blunt heads of greens and when you look closely they just look mad. In fact, when you stare at the bottom of the tank long enough, juvenile spotteds are a handful and can be very rowdy fishes. They are constantly chasing each other around and perform combat circles quite frequently. No harm ever comes from these squabbles, but it goes to show that these little ones certainly take their feeding territory seriously.

When I first stocked the eggs into the rearing tank I counted the eggs volumetrically and estimated I started with roughly 80 eggs. Once again, similar to the Green Mandarins, I ended up with a surplus. A few days ago I counted 128 Spotted Mandarin juveniles hopping on the bottom of the rearing tank. I am very excited about this batch of captive mandarins and am crossing my fingers that they turn mint green with bright orange bullseyes soon. I haven’t attempted to wean this batch to prepared foods yet as I am hoping they will color up faster with copepods and enriched Artemia. My goal of creating an intricate collage of captive-breds of both species is ever closer.

Spotted Mandarins Graduate to Nano-Reef

Spotted Mandarins Graduate to Nano-Reef

It has been a little over three months since I stocked my first spawn of Spotted Mandarin (Synchiropus picturatus) eggs into a barren rearing tank.

Forty days after hatching they looked like mandarins, but were still far from revealing the adult colors so appealing of the species.



I brought a handful of the juveniles to show off at MACNA (the Marine Aquarium Conference of North America in Atlanta) since they were starting to reveal some intricate patterns and bold colors, but they were a bit too small for most observers to find and appreciate.

When I got back to my lab, I grabbed a small net full of the mint-green juveniles and snapped a few photos. Instead of putting them back into the rearing tank, however, I decided to take them home to a nano tank and see if I could coax them into eating prepared foods. The nano tank is home to a few juvenile green mandarins fully trained to accept a 'mush' of prepared foods.

Within minutes, the little spotteds became active explorers and began pecking at the substrate. Over the next few days the juveniles began accepting prepared foods with vigor. My growing tank of captive-bred mandarins remains peaceful, easily fed, and becomes more colorful each day. It's quite amazing, considering that just a few months ago I was firmly convinced that mandarinfishes were poor candidates for the aquarium life, let alone captive breeding.http://microcosmaqx.typepad.com/matt_wittenrich/aquariums/.