What is the most difficult fish to keep alive?

[tlindsey]

What did you try to feed them?....it's been my experience that they will only eat small live foods.

They do best in reef setups where they have small live foods like you stated. Coepods are what they need to feed on but I had them weaned on mysis shrimp as well.

 

[krichardson]

They do best in reef setups where they have small live foods like you stated. Coepods are what they need to feed on but I had them weaned on mysis shrimp as well.

Yep,I spent lots of time observing them in the reef display in the shop that I worked in.

 

[jeaninel]

When I had a SW tank, I tried twice with a green mandarin, never got either of them to eat, both died eventually

Such a beautiful fish. Truly one of nature's greatest works of art.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

When I had a SW tank, I tried twice with a green mandarin, never got either of them to eat, both died eventually

This species should be left alone in the ocean (unless you can get captive breed one that ready to eat captive dead food). This species need special food and a right system that left for expert marine keeping only other than that anyone bough this species it won't last longer than 3 weeks.

 

[ehh]

Ime from the petstore...

Dojo loaches aren't the easiest to keep alive. Dwarf gourami aren't the easiet to keep alive.
And very young clown clown loaches.

People would bring back bodies of these fish all the time.

 

[knobhill]

elephant nose or freshwater dolphin fish, got a couple of it before, haven't had any luck, I guess they are very sensitive against changes on water parameter.

Baby dolphin fish for me. i have had terrible luck and havent had a long term keeper over the 3 month mark. However, wish me luck and knock on wood, I have had one for over 6 months!

 

[mulgogijari]

discus

 

[knifegill]

Why did you find Gt's so difficult?

They eat but don't grow, I even had one shrink!

 

[Frank Castle]

They eat but don't grow, I even had one shrink!

that sounds like hexamita....filthy parasites eat the poor fish from the inside out basically. They eat all the food the fish consumes and the fish gets little to no nutrients from it, like any good parasitic organism but hex apparently is phenomenally hard to kill and time is of essence

 

[Addicted to Cichlids]

Keeping a Mandarin breeding pair is definitely on my bucket list. From what I read 1 needs a 55 tank plus a 20 refugium both filled with live rock and live copepods to keep them long term. Someone even said you need to wait a year so that you have a stable population.

Some people have got them on froze but they need to eat constantly or they slowly wither away.

Then you can have any other fish that will snack on the copepods, or anything that will snack on the Mandarins either.

110 gal + a 40 gal ref for 2 tiny fish. though for being one of the most beautiful things in nature I think its worth it.