Adding Copepods

Staaan

Staaan

The Maaan
So one of my favorite reef aquarium fish is - The Mandarin, A.K.A. - Dragonet Fish.

Specifically the Green Mandarin.

goby-mandarin.jpg


ANYWAY..

I know, I know and I know.

They need Copepods.. anywhere on the range of 200-400/day. I don't know exactly how true it is but alright.

Of course the ideal situation - find a Mandarin that eats frozen mysis (one of our own club members George has 2 mandarins which both eat mysis, and are looking extremely fat and healthy, absolutely magnificent coloration).

Now in the event that I can't find a Mandarin that does not eat prepared foods or just gets so stressed that he/she doesn't want to eat prepared foods.

Is this a viable choice - http://www.livecopepods.com/

LMK opinions, experience, advice - etc. please.


Thanks.

-Stan
 
Well... I actually have a CRAP ton in my 6g Nano.

They don't have any predators... I got all different types. Tiny small copepods, nice big and fat amphipods, etc.

But I wasn't really going to breakdown the tank (probably gonna make it a little clowfish/anemone symbiote tank.).. so I DK.

I figured just to jump start the copepod factory in the middle of my sump.

But even with the copepods in the fuge.

How can I be sure that I will be getting the pods sucked up via the return pump? lol
 
Staaan said:
But even with the copepods in the fuge.

How can I be sure that I will be getting the pods sucked up via the return pump? lol
Click to expand...

i have been thinking about this a lot....not sure how u can know but they manage to get around. i was thinking of blasting the fuge every week or so to be sure adults get swept up into the sump and onto the return...over all id just be patient all in good time no? just be sure u dont add any competing animals before the mandarin or until after its trained this way ur chances of success will be higher. also speak to guarda he trained his to eat frozen.
 
Ok i'm back on RC and have it bookmarked this time. 6 or 7 people asked if I could train a mandarin for them so if anyone can get me wholesale pricing on about a dozen or so I'd be more than happy to try it out.
 
i spoke to alen (reef creation) and he said he can get them cheap. talk to him. :D and then lmk cause i would love one...once i can catch this crab smh
 
Thanks for the offer Arthur.

But I wanna train the Mandarin myself...


Any links/techniques you used would be greatly appreciated by me, and I'm sure anyone else interesting in keeping this beautiful fish.

At NERAC I purchased a frozen concentrate of some type of pod from Reef Nutrition called Arcti-Pods.

The vendor suggested putting the mandarin in a separate container/tank/ and attempting to feed the arcti-pods, supposedly there is a very high success rate.
 
I posted instructions on how I trained mine on a few forums but sure, I can write it again. Made a feeding station so he'd associate the location with feeding time. Always fed on a strict schedule, close to lights on. First started with live brine gut loaded with selcon and garlic. Then mixed a little frozen brine (also mixed with selcon and garlic). After about a week and watching him accidentally eat frozen brine and realizing it was food, I slowly used more and more frozen and less and less live. After about two weeks he was totally weaned off the live. Repeat last step but with mysis.
 
I had a Mandarin that ate pellets. I had two MP10s in my 40 breeder and the pellets were constantly moving and he was constantly chasing after it :) Too bad though, had to get rid of him last year cuz I was broke and was desperate need of money for textbooks -_-.
 
ryunbaik said:
I had a Mandarin that ate pellets. I had two MP10s in my 40 breeder and the pellets were constantly moving and he was constantly chasing after it :) Too bad though, had to get rid of him last year cuz I was broke and was desperate need of money for textbooks -_-.
Click to expand...

story of my life...
 
Reef Nutrition bottle of Tigger Pods will suffice when half is poured into the sump and half into the DT. Do this every 3 months to replenish your stock if your feeding a mandarin. That is what I do. JLYK.
 
OzoneParkGuy said:
Reef Nutrition bottle of Tigger Pods will suffice when half is poured into the sump and half into the DT. Do this every 3 months to replenish your stock if your feeding a mandarin. That is what I do. JLYK.
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting that. I've been planning to get a mandarin too and wondered what success others were having with Tigger Pods.
 
I thought I read somewhere that those tigger pods live in colder water and won't survive long in reef tanks? Thanks for the info OPG
 
I think you are right, I bought tigger pods, poured them in my fuge, they lasted a few days but most died, little red dots on the sand. Later when I added a ball of cheato I got the real pods, they are whitish and are in all forms, dots, worms, little shrimp things. If you read the label on tigger pods it says sub-tropical copepod, there are other bottled sources of tropical pods online, check marine depot.

My question, sorry to hitchhike, is how do you know if the pod pop is big enough to support a mandarin? In my 46 they are everywhere, in the fuge, on every glass surface in the DT, even inside my overflow. Id love to get a mandarin, but dint want it to starve, right now I have 2 small clowns and a purple firefish.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Missy blaze
gravid or bloated
Replies
2
Views
211
Missy blaze
Missy blaze
C
Biota Group Captive Bred Mandarin Dragonet - 4 Month Update
Replies
5
Views
561
OTTOMATIC
O
Ab129
Baffled?
Replies
2
Views
324
Ab129
Ab129
M
Any tricks to getting a fish to eat frozen or dry food? My Banggai Cardinal refuses anything but live food!
Replies
5
Views
426
Mxx
M
NancyT3
Feeding regimen/ feedback
Replies
8
Views
344
NancyT3
NancyT3
Back
Top