Looking to keep a mandarin

[Aaronsquires]

I have just started to setup my 126gallon tank and i am wanting to buy a mandarin. I have a 23"x12"x18" refugium but i heard that i need to harvest copepods to feed the mandarin. How do i do this? is there a product i place in the refuge that maintains a copepod food source?

Help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance

 

[Bent]

I have a 55g with a 50sump and a 30 fuge with a 10g tank and chaeto ball. So far my rescue Mandy seems to be gaining weight. My pods in the DT are not as large as the ones in the refugium, but no ill effects so far.

 

[jayball]

I have just started to setup

Give it some time. Your tank is big enough to support it but you should wait until you have a more mature setup, even if you seed the fuge with pods the tank needs time to be able to support a good population.

The fuge works by giving the pods a safe place to reproduce. You do not need to harvest directly from there as they will travel the plumbing to keep the DT fed.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Yes, waiting a year is generally recommended before adding a mandarin. That gives the tank the time it needs to become fully mature.

 

[Aaronsquires]

thanks for the advice, i will hold off getting a mandarin for awhile then and let my tank mature.

 

[snorvich]

thanks for the advice, i will hold off getting a mandarin for awhile then and let my tank mature.

Good decision. The tank is large enough once mature, the advice to wait is excellent.

 

[Shawn O]

Be sure to choose your other fish wisely. Try not to have too many other fish that normally hunt pods or they may out-compete the Mandarin for the available food.

 

[Blue spot]

Hi Aaron , you can buy pods in at your lfs, they are like £1 a bag. I put a bag in my tank every other day and have 2 mandarin , 3 red scooters and 5 pipefish, all fat and healthy for a year now. I started my sump with 5 bags .

 

[CStrickland]

Here's a good thread about mandarins to help you set up a nice home for him/her
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2495138

 

[e048]

Get a spotted or target mandarin they seem to switch to frozen food easier than most

If you want an easy scooter why not go with a red scooter they also seem to switch to frozen mysis easier than the other dragonets

 

[MondoBongo]

I have just started to setup my 126gallon tank and i am wanting to buy a mandarin. I have a 23"x12"x18" refugium but i heard that i need to harvest copepods to feed the mandarin. How do i do this? is there a product i place in the refuge that maintains a copepod food source?

Help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance

the copepods we went in our tanks typically feed off a mix of bacteria and phytoplankton.

http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/27117.pdf
http://www.mbl.edu/microbialdiversity/files/2012/08/1983_decho.pdf

in your typical tank you shouldn't need to supplement their food source if you're using a refugium. there should be plenty of micro algae and other little flora and fauna for them to eat.

your mileage may very if you're running an ultra low nutrient system or some variation of.

however, if you do wish to supplement, people will commonly use cultured phytoplankton (sometimes called green water). you can buy it from most fish stores, but it's usually in fairly low concentrations and rather expensive. luckily it's very easy to culture.

http://www.melevsreef.com/node/1614

they way i've typically promoted pod populations in my tanks is very simple: feed appropriately.

not overfeeding, mind you, but make sure you're giving an appropriate amount of food for your tank. the entire food chain will appreciate it.

 

[Sk8r]

They will multiply on their own in the fuge: keeping a rubble pile with the cheato moss helps. And they will get through the pump alive to get to the top tank, as well as breeding in that tank, too. Good healthy water, healthy cheato, and you'll have pods.

 

[AUFishGuy]

Hi Aaron , you can buy pods in at your lfs, they are like £1 a bag. I put a bag in my tank every other day and have 2 mandarin , 3 red scooters and 5 pipefish, all fat and healthy for a year now. I started my sump with 5 bags .

Those are some cheap pods. They are $25 a bottle at the one closest to me

 

[Blue spot]

See au. This is England , home of the copepod. Walk down the street turn around, pods everywhere, it's from all the rain we have. lol.

 

[BlueRoofTang]

The best thing is a HUGE copepod and amphipod population that sustains itself. To have this, you will have to have a lot of live rock and/or a good sump where they can live withut being eaten. In other words, if they can live and multiply in a sump, they will slowly get into the display tank. The sump will offer a place that guarantees they will not all get eaten.