ORA mandarines.

So whats the scoop on these?  There was so much hype about them and then after they were released nothing.  Anyone get one and have a any input?  are they still available or did the program end?

 

Still available and I've heard they are selling well.

 

thats good to know, I plan on getting one but havent heard anything about em since they were released.

 

I'm hoping Craig has them by the tank full...hint hint.

 

Im hoping craig will ship.

 

I have asked a few people and my understanding is that they are pretty hit or miss still. They are still not guaranteed to be good eaters of pellets even if they are ORA. The biggest benefit is that they are tank raised. My understanding about tank raised is that they are collected in early stages of life (maybe fry). They aren't actually tank bred, but at least they are collected in a stage where most would die in the wild anyway.

 

They have these in Des Moines at Adams but the price is way out of line, plus most of the time they never eat when they feed them, so I haven't felt comfortable spending 90$ on one of them.

 

From when I worked at Petland (which I guess its news to everyone here that I'm not at Petland anymore) it was pretty difficult to get them. Each fish is about $20 or so and you have to have a $600 minimum order from ORA to get anything. That means a LOT of pre ordered fish or corals.

 

what was petland getting for them kylie? and sorry to hear your no longer there, i know you were pretty excited about being a fish guru.

 

They are captive bred and raised.
ORA Announces Captive Bred ORA Mandarins

For many years marine aquarium hobbyists have been captivated by the exquisite beauty of Mandarin Gobies (actually Dragonettes). Their popularity, however, is tempered by the fact that they are difficult to feed in captivity and are subject to questionable collection practices in the wild. Unfortunately, most Mandarins succumb to starvation in home aquariums, even with the best intentions and attempts at feeding. Thankfully, all of that is about to change.
ORA biologists have succeeded in developing the methods needed to breed and raise commercial numbers of the two species of Mandarins, the Blue Mandarin (Synchiropus splendidus) and the Spotted Mandarin (Synchiropus picturatus). Building on the early success of breeders such as Julian Sprung, Wolfgang Mai, and more recently Matt Wittenrich, ORA is now poised to have commercially bred Mandarins available to everyone. The significance of this cannot be understated as it is a major advance in marine aquaculture and solves many of the problems associated with keeping these species.

Just as the first captive bred Seahorses were trained to eat frozen foods, ORA has already trained our baby Mandarins to eat commercially available frozen diets. This fact alone makes them easy to feed and care for, and the average aquarist will delight in not having to worry about sources of live food for their finicky eaters. Our goal is to have them soon weaned onto a pellet diet. We expect to have these fish eating pelletized foods before being released for sale.

ORA is the leader in bringing the marine aquarium industry new and exciting aquacultured species. With the addition of Mandarins to our ever-growing list, a major milestone in aquaculture has been achieved. We are sure that our retail customers and hobbyists alike will be elated that captive raised Mandarins are finally available and that a page has been turned in the tragic history of this beloved aquarium fish.

We expect to have significant numbers of Spotted Mandarins available this summer. Blue and Red Mandarins will be available in more limited quantities around the same time.

 

Thanks mthomp. I do miss being a fish geek a lot but I got a job at an emergency veterinary clinic in town and seeing as I'm a veterinary medicine major, this will help me out a lot with some really good experience.

 

Hey thats great news then