milton859
Member
Does anyone know of a good ONLINE store where I could possible buy an ORA green mandarin goby? None of the local shops seem to be able to order me one. 
Online ORA green mandarin goby?
- Thread starter milton859
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Cuttlefish
Member
Sorry but ORA is out of them. In between batches. Probably be another few months before they are available again.
barrierreefcf
Sponsor
Yep. As soon as they have them back in we will have them in-stock.
aja19919
Well-known member
Are these captive hatched and reared or all wild caught?
NanaReefer
Well-known member
Speaking from experience here. I bought 2 ORA Target Mandarin *Dragonets* from Saltwaterfish.com Who pick the fish up from ORA farms the day of shipping.
First fish arrived so emaciated I wanted to cry. I sent pictures the day of arrival and was told, " that fish should never have been chosen for resale" and I was promptly told when it dies they'll send another. Sadly it did 48hrs later.
Another was shipped out to me 2 weeks later.
This fish although a tad bit thicker, still had the concave underside.
I decided to do some research on how these fish are reared.
Born in a bare bottom tank with nothing but like fish. Never felt substrate, never seen a coral, never swam with inverts. Fed nothing but NutraMar Ova and NLS .05 pellets. These fish that in the wild eat nothing but live food had never before hunted Copepods! You would think it comes natural? Well it doesn't in these fishes case.
My poor Mandarin had no idea what to do in a living reef tank!! It was horrible to watch! I tried feeding it using the jelly jar method. 3-4x a day every day!! For 2 months I watched my fish slowly starve to death no matter what I did. Copepods everywhere but the fish didn't touch them. I spent so much $$ on foods it was crazy.
Never again will I buy an ORA Target Mandarin.
I've not read anywhere where anyone has kept them successfully for any length of time
Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.
First fish arrived so emaciated I wanted to cry. I sent pictures the day of arrival and was told, " that fish should never have been chosen for resale" and I was promptly told when it dies they'll send another. Sadly it did 48hrs later.
Another was shipped out to me 2 weeks later.
This fish although a tad bit thicker, still had the concave underside.
I decided to do some research on how these fish are reared.
Born in a bare bottom tank with nothing but like fish. Never felt substrate, never seen a coral, never swam with inverts. Fed nothing but NutraMar Ova and NLS .05 pellets. These fish that in the wild eat nothing but live food had never before hunted Copepods! You would think it comes natural? Well it doesn't in these fishes case.
My poor Mandarin had no idea what to do in a living reef tank!! It was horrible to watch! I tried feeding it using the jelly jar method. 3-4x a day every day!! For 2 months I watched my fish slowly starve to death no matter what I did. Copepods everywhere but the fish didn't touch them. I spent so much $$ on foods it was crazy.
Never again will I buy an ORA Target Mandarin.
I've not read anywhere where anyone has kept them successfully for any length of time
Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.
Last edited:
barrierreefcf
Sponsor
Speaking from experience here. I bought 2 ORA Target Mandarin *Dragonets* from Saltwaterfish.com Who pick the fish up from ORA farms the day of shipping.
First fish arrived so emaciated I wanted to cry. I sent pictures the day of arrival and was told, " that fish should never have been chosen for resale" and I was promptly told when it dies they'll send another. Sadly it did 48hrs later.
Another was shipped out to me 2 weeks later.
This fish although a tad bit thicker, still had the concave underside.
I decided to do some research on how these fish are reared.
Born in a bare bottom tank with nothing but like fish. Never felt substrate, never seen a coral, never swam with inverts. Fed nothing but NutraMar Ova and NLS .05 pellets. These fish that in the wild eat nothing but live food had never before hunted Copepods! You would think it comes natural? Well it doesn't in these fishes case.
My poor Mandarin had no idea what to do in a living reef tank!! It was horrible to watch! I tried feeding it using the jelly jar method. 3-4x a day every day!! For 2 months I watched my fish slowly starve to death no matter what I did. Copepods everywhere but the fish didn't touch them. I spent so much $$ on foods it was crazy.
Never again will I buy an ORA Target Mandarin.
I've not read anywhere where anyone has kept them successfully for any length of time
Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.
Pretty much our experience with the Target variety also. The Blue/Greens usually eat really well and thrive.
NanaReefer
Well-known member
Why do you think the Targets would be any different? Very curious
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barrierreefcf
Sponsor
I really couldn't say. It's weird. Maybe subtle natural diet differences? I don't know. Probably a question they should ask themselves though. If they could figure it out and solve the issues with the Targets it would be nice.
NanaReefer
Well-known member
I really didn't know this. I wouldn't have posted my experience otherwise. Don't want to discourage the OP, I apologize
Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.
Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.
milton859
Member
Thanks for the info everyone!
barrierreefcf
Sponsor
I really didn't know this. I wouldn't have posted my experience otherwise. Don't want to discourage the OP, I apologize
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I think its great you posted your experience and what you found online. Its all true. We are in a tough position because we have a great relationship with ORA and people want the Targets all the time. We have to discourage them without speaking poorly of our great supplier. For all we know someone we discourage might call/email ORA and paint our advice in a way that would upset ORA. If they could just figure out why the Targets don't do well after they leave the breeder it would be such a great addition to the hobby.
NanaReefer
Well-known member
Well my first suggestion to ORA would be...do not allow the fish to leave the facility in those conditions in the first place. I mean they had to have noticed that their stomachs were totally concave Both of my fish looked emaciated!
ORA also suggest feeding Blood Worms which to me is a big NO NO!
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Both of my fish looked emaciated! ORA also suggest feeding Blood Worms which to me is a big NO NO!
Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.
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NanaReefer
Well-known member
No nutritional value to them at all. Not found in the fishes natural environment. They are NOT a marine based fish food. Marine fish process fatty foods differently from FW fish. Therefore these foods could do more harm then good.
Only reason they are fed to the fish is because they'll eat them, period.
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Only reason they are fed to the fish is because they'll eat them, period.
Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.
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ReefGeeker
Well-known member
I disagree with above statement, bloodworms have protein and calories and are often gut loaded with vitamins and fatty acids. The reason they feed them to mandarins is because in the wild mandarins eat black worms which are similar in size and shape and it is better than eating nothing while you try and acclimate them to tank life/food and while not a long term solution they definitely do more good than harm in the meanwhile. I have never seen a fish caused harm by eating bloodworms, while I do not feed them to my tank now I have from time to time with no negative effects, your statement is misleading and non-factual. And I'm out. :bolt:
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NanaReefer
Well-known member
Has absolutely nothing to do with my personal experience with loosing 2 Target Mandarins. I didn't lose them because of Blood Worms.
My *fact based* post on feeding Marine Fish blood Worms stems from personal research and the information I've taken from it. Not a personal opinion. It is based on fresh water food versus marine food. There is a difference between the two.
There is also a big difference between Black Worms & Blood Worms. Blood Worms being larval of insects while Black Worms being related to the earth worm. Bad comparison
Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.
My *fact based* post on feeding Marine Fish blood Worms stems from personal research and the information I've taken from it. Not a personal opinion. It is based on fresh water food versus marine food. There is a difference between the two.
There is also a big difference between Black Worms & Blood Worms. Blood Worms being larval of insects while Black Worms being related to the earth worm. Bad comparison
Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.
Last edited:
Gryphon
Well-known member
Only feeding bloodworms could potentially cause problems down the road, but the occasional feeding shouldn't hurt.
