Chaeto and Copepods

[bhamzookeeper]

Hey folks,

I see very few copepods in my 20g. I'd like to get them well established before I introduce a Mandarin fish.

Also, I am looking for some chaeto.

If anyone has extra and is willing to sell or give away, just PM me.

Thanks,

Billy

 

[Canarygirl]

You aren't going to be able to keep a mandarin in a 20 gallon for very long. He will eat the entire population of copepods before they have a chance to reproduce. Your mandarin will starve to death.

 

[stolaas]

From experience, you should wait at least a half a year before introducing a Mandarin. The copepods have to be plentyful and have to continue producing before they all get eaten if you have too less. Someone here should give you some chaeto, it glows pretty fast. If you come to the next meeting I'm your can get some.

 

[8BALL_99]

A 20 is Way to small for a Mandarin. Even a 40 would be to small inless you have a refuge or atleast a mature tank. Mandarins can clean out a small tank pods in no time.. Plus its not a great fish for a newbie anyway. Most everyone recomends your tank be very mature.. Atleast a few months. Some have kept them in smaller tanks by getting them to eat Mysis shrimp, But you take a chance that yours wont eat frozen. When I bought mine eat did eat frozen, but after a few weeks it would only eat pods again.. To me that kinda of tells you they rather eat pods..

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Talking about copepods, I am raising Tigger Pods (tigriopus californicus) successfully with live nanochloropsis (common green phytoplankton.) They grow very well and multiply really fast in its own culture tank. I have raised them successfully in the past feeding them with Phyto-Feast as well.

Tomoko

 

[prncalbrt]

I have a 90g that has been up for over a year now and I am still weary about intrducing one in my tank. It breaks my heart when something turns up floating.

 

[cichlid nutz]

I read in here somewhere that best case is "75 pounds of mature live rock per dragonette" in order to produce enough food for its survival. Sounds pretty accurate to me.

 

[prncalbrt]

yeah i think thats what i have read also

 

[outlawj]

i had a spotted mandrain in a 20 gal but i had a 55 with a 20 gal fuge and just rotated some cheato about every month. it was well established in coppods as long as you know you can feed him it will b alright but know that you can keep enough copps and he also would eat cyclopees.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I used to have a tiny one in my 15 for a year until my cat caused him to jump out. It also was a very well establish tank with a 5 gallon planted fuge with copepods, amphipods and mysis always breeding in it. The cute little guy was always fat and happy. In my 120 I have a male and a female mandarin living and spawning for two years. I don't think I have quite as much as 150 lbs of rocks (75 lbs x 2), but I have a planted refugium there as well. None of my mandarin eat any frozen food. I add some live pods from time to time just in case. Now I add a bunch of home cultured tiggerpods twice a week.

Tomoko

 

[prncalbrt]

so have you raised any baby mandarin? are they green or spotted?

 

[Canarygirl]

I met a guy yesterday who said his mandarin stays fat and happy because the 2 cleaner shrimp in his tank are always breeding and the mandarin eats the baby shrimp.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Although my Mandarins spawn often, I never see any larvae in my tank. When they spawn, I sometimes see a cloud of eggs. Their larvae are planktonic and it's pretty difficult to feed and raise. Some people of course succeeded in raising them, but it's really too much work for me.

My Mandarin are psychedelic type (my male has blue fins and my female has red fins.)

Tomoko

 

[timrandlerv10]

what's the best way to increase pod growth in a tank?

and what do you mean by planted refugium?

 

[TOYTEK]

Tomoko, have you got a pic of your refugium? I'm thinking of doing a display refugium as my next project.

(edit) Not trying to hijack your thread here Bhamzookeeper, I can post the question in a new thread if you would rather. I just figured since Tomoko's ref. came up in discussion I would ask.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

None of my refugium is a display type refugium. They are just wild jungles in plastic boxes. I used to enjoy looking at critters in my fuge at night. However, I got lazy and stopped cleaning the fuge walls which are now covered with thick coralline algae.

I can't keep my fuge looking as nice as my fresh water planted aquarium. The growth habit of SW plants and algae are a lot more unruly than their fresh water cousins.

Tim -

Planted refugium is a refugium with macroalgae. One of my fuge was initially planted with various macroalgae like Amano's planted tanks. I had pretty red Botryacladia, dark red Gracilaria, red ulva and yellow dictyota along with green turtle grass, halimeda, caulerpa, etc. Caulerpa racemosa soon took over the tank and shaded others. Caulerpa is quite rampant and soon proved to be difficult to keep them in nice shape by pruning.

You can increase your pod population by importing some pods into it and feeding them with phytoplankton. Amphipods seem to graze on macroalgae and females also make nests out of macroalgae for raising babies.

Tomoko

 

[ChrisB]

I have to second the phyto recommendation. Phyto will cause your pod population to EXPLODE. You might want to turn off your skimmer for brief period when you put the phyto in though to keep from wasting it.

 

[bhamzookeeper]

Danny....keep it going. I don't mind one bit, for it being on this thread.

Can one just set up a tank, totally separated from the display tank, as a refugium? My tank is sitting on my bar, in my dining room. I'd like to keep the mechanics hidden. Also, this is a house that I will be selling within the next 8 months....and I do not want to fit the cabinetry to the tank....as its already custom-made for the room. Just a small 10g, with filter and flow? Just take out the needed macroalgae and pods.

Billy

 

[bhamzookeeper]

left out lighting on the 10g.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Yes, you can set it up off line, but I suppose that it is called a culture container instead. You just have to manually transfer pods and what have you into your display tank. You can also set up a hung-on-the-tank refugium. There are commercial ones available, but you can also use a AquaClear 300 or 500 (a power filter) for it. You just take out the sponge and use the body for growing macroalgae and pods. You need to put a small light like the Gallaxy light (13W). You may need to reduce the flow from the power filter somehow or you can lift water up into the power filter (without using its own pump) by air using an airline in the intake tube (and an air pump) - same lift mechanism as an old Tetra sponge filter.

Tomoko