Do NOT get a mandarin goby or scooter blenny...until...

Good feedback. I did a 40 gallon WC and running carbon wide open. He is still with me but he just isn't moving much and when he does it's slow and deliberate. The last few weeks my little buddy has been all over the place.

Thanks again and thanks for the link, congrats on your Mandy.
 
Have to disagree with the scooter blenys. After cycling my tank I put three red devil scooters. Still kicking close to a year. I do not have pods or a fuge.
 
My scooter looks a lot better today. Not quite back to normal but fairly active. The large wc and firing up the carbon reactor may have paid off. I am cautiously optimistic but very happy to see him eating after 3 days of just sitting in the the same spot.
 
I have a pair of spawning mandarins, a pair of ruby red dragonettes, a spawning pair of blue stripe pipefish and a lone red scooter dragonette, they all eat pods but I made a feeder that supplies them with new born brine shrimp throughout the day.


Video
 
Auston said:
If he is crawling all over the rocks and appears to be catching pods would that mean he is doing ok. Kind of asking if he just nips at anything that looks like a pod or just when he actually finds one?. I seeding my tank in the beginning with a ton of pods and I seem to have a population. I have a one inch high band of algae around the base of my tank and have about 6 pods per inch living on it. Also what is a pod cave and how is it built?. And one last thing, what are the signs to look out for when they are starving?
Click to expand...

My dragonet is my favorite fish in my tank. I spend hours just watching him glide all over the tank. His personality is amazing. Bc I watch him so much I can tell you that at least when he's against the glass he doesn't miss a pod. Every time he goes for it he hits pay dirt. Incredible accurate this tiny thing is. It amazes me every time. Nature at its best. That's the one fish that none can mess with in my tank or they get evicted. Lol.
 
Mine's like a tiny hummingbird, he's definitely my favorite. I know I'm pushing the boundaries with a 40b, but it helps having a 20l sump and 50-60 lbs of live rock. I can't grow chaeto for anything though, but there's still pods all over the glass. He sleeps in the same spot every night, so I'm always checking on him and making sure he's nice and fat.

Like the post above, if anyone messes with Mandy, that's grounds for dismissal from my tank!
 
I agree with you!

Bought a blenny by mistake.. gave it away..

Saw a mandarin starving, and i took it in and trained it to eat pellets and brine.. Even then its an uphill battle..
 
I wish I had this advice when I got my first Mandarin! I would add that if anyone thinks they can supplement a low pod population by adding pods to the tank regularly, live pods are about $30 a bottle where I get them, and that's only about 500-1000 pods. I am now keeping a moyers dragonette, diamond watchman and a couple wrasses successfully because I started growing my own pods and am able to add more daily!
 
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if your glass looks like this you cant go wrong. for some reason my pod population is nuts and ive got two scooters, and even though they eat frozen they still hunt for these little suckers all day. between watching them eat and watching the male try to court the female, theyre just the most interesting fish.
 
SK8R Thank You for this information. So many people tell you not to get one till after a year and they eat like crazy blah blah blah, but you put the info right out there and figured it out and man that's a bunch of pods a day. Puts it all into perspective and that's what I needed. I will own one eventually. I like the idea of providing my own food, so off I go to research growing pods and learn all about those little buggers.
 
I've found firefish gobies will eat copes as their main food source, if they have no competition. Decided to introduce 3 to my 3 most copepod-laden nanos, at work, and they gobble them up!

Scooters at the store were constantly nibbling, as well; cool to learn just how often they really eat! They did learn to take bits of thawed shrimp and bloodworms, and even the occasional pellet or flake bit, but these were more treats, in my eyes. Supplemental nutrition, at best.

Chubby scooters are *adorable*.

(Talking in past tense because they sold, this weekend)

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 
Mandarin gobies aren't gobies and scooter blennies aren't blennies: they were misidentified early on. They're both dragonets, and eat copepods for a living. They're for large mature tanks.
 
How much pod would a wrasse eat? I'm planning a 100+30 sump + 5g dedicated pod hotel and would like to get a red mandarin at some point and may be flasher wrasse.
 
Any advice on cultivating pods in your tank/fuge?

I have a 110 gallon tank and 40 gallon sump/fuge. All told, I probably have about 160 lbs of live rock between the tank and the fuge.

I've purchased a couple of bags of pods and some chaeto and have tried seeding both the fuge and the display tank but so far I haven't seen any pods on my glass.
 
Guys:
when is it that a compartment of a sump is viewed as a refugium? is it the macroalgea growth or the presence of live rock?
 
I also cant see any pods. However, the Bangay cardinal seems to be capturing them from water or walls.
I am also looking for a way to bring more pods to my system.
What brand of Pods you purchased?
 
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