mandarin getting enough food?

[rgentry123]

how can i tell if my mandarin is getting enough food? i constantly see him picking on the live rock and in the sand bed but i dont know if he's getting anything. i know the pods are in there but i think he looks a little skinnier than when i bought him, my girlfriend says i'm just being paranoid and i may be but i want to know if theres anything i can do or keep an eye out for to tell if he's getting enough to eat.

 

[BangkokMatt]

If the fish is getting thinner then it is 1)not getting enough food 2)has an internal problem.
Do you have a reasonably sized fuge (ie 15g min). If not, then setting one up would ensure your mandarin has enough pods.

 

[rgentry123]

no fuge is setup. i was hoping to go without one as there isnt a lot of room under my tank to work with. is a fuge the only way to go? i'm trying to get it to eat preparedfoods but no luck yet. i just put an olive jar filled with mysis (melev's mandarin diner) in the tank to see if could get it to eat that way. any other thoughts on getting one to eat prepared foods or is just luck?

 

[mhills16]

if you have no fuge and he is getting skinnier unfortunately he is slowly going to starve to death....... especially if you see he isnt eating prepared foods. And even worse, there is no advice any of us can give you, other than to get a fuge and hope for a good pod population.

 

[mhills16]

they make nice HOB fuges and in tank models, this would be your best bet! i would get one for sure if i were you anyways. Also, even if you get them to eat prepared foods they need a good pod population to be 100% healthy!

 

[rgentry123]

what are signs of a good pod population? i know i see about 3o of the little buggers under my mag float everytime i take it apart.

 

[BangkokMatt]

This is the problem. You can't really see, or know how many pods a mandarin eats every day. Through the experience of mandarin keepers before now it's clear that a fuge of an appropriate size will sustain their intake.
It works and thats why you need a fuge long term

 

[SeeDemTails]

You need to train it to be fed. It will die otherwise.

Dont say it cant be done because I havent found a fish yet that I couldnt train. I work at a LFS and have helped train dozens. I also own a fat and healthy spotted mandarin.

A fuge wont make a difference. If not done correctly it becomes a detritus trap and cause nitrates. Also, pods have PLENTY of places to hide and reproduce in the system where a mandarin cant get to them, like in holes of the rock. You dont need a fuge to have a huge pod population with a mandarin.

You need to first buy a piece of clear rigid air hose and a syringe.

Start with live brine, the fish will eat it for sure and learn the tube means food. It may take a few days but it will learn.

Then, start mixing mysis and brine together. Eventually after it starts taking mysis, switch to all mysis.

This is mine being fed

IMO no tank, even a really large one, can sustain a mandarin correctly without feeding. It just makes such a huge difference.

 

[rgentry123]

ok, so would i just stick the hose in front of him when he's at the bottom of the tank or do i need to be doing all of this in a totally seperate tank so that it can be controlled easier?

 

[SeeDemTails]

Nah, just turn your pumps off and squirt brine in front of him until he recognizes it comes from the tube. It shouldnt take more than a week.

 

[BangkokMatt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13269033#post13269033 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SeeDemTails
You need to train it to be fed. It will die otherwise.

Dont say it cant be done because I havent found a fish yet that I couldnt train. I work at a LFS and have helped train dozens. I also own a fat and healthy spotted mandarin.

A fuge wont make a difference. If not done correctly it becomes a detritus trap and cause nitrates. Also, pods have PLENTY of places to hide and reproduce in the system where a mandarin cant get to them, like in holes of the rock. You dont need a fuge to have a huge pod population with a mandarin.


IMO no tank, even a really large one, can sustain a mandarin correctly without feeding. It just makes such a huge difference.

There are a number of inaccuracies with this post.
Firstly, a refugium makes a considerable difference to a tanks pod population.
Secondly, large tanks can easily have a big enough pod population for a mandarin to be healthy.
Thirdly, you DO need a fuge to have a huge pod population with a Mandarin, unless the tank is large enough to house pods which aren't consumed by the fish.

Although target feeding is an advantage Mandarins must have a large pod population as well. They hunt and graze 24/7. One or two target feedings a day will not sustain the mandarin long term

 

[rgentry123]

well, i have a 110w/about 80-90 lbs or lr in it and it has been going about 9 months now. would it be safe to say that it would have a large enough pod population for the mandarin?

 

[BangkokMatt]

If the mandarin is the only pod eater in your tank then you may be ok. What is your other stock

 

[Zaita]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13271527#post13271527 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BangkokMatt
There are a number of inaccuracies with this post.
Firstly, a refugium makes a considerable difference to a tanks pod population.
Secondly, large tanks can easily have a big enough pod population for a mandarin to be healthy.
Thirdly, you DO need a fuge to have a huge pod population with a Mandarin, unless the tank is large enough to house pods which aren't consumed by the fish.

Although target feeding is an advantage Mandarins must have a large pod population as well. They hunt and graze 24/7. One or two target feedings a day will not sustain the mandarin long term

Agreed.

 

[nikon187]

what arre your other fish?

 

[Mikigo]

my madarin is with me for about 5 years. it went from 75 to 125 to 240 and now in a 700 gallon without a fuge. as long as you have a mature and large amount of rocks, he should thrive without problem.

 

[SeeDemTails]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13271527#post13271527 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BangkokMatt
There are a number of inaccuracies with this post.
Firstly, a refugium makes a considerable difference to a tanks pod population.
Secondly, large tanks can easily have a big enough pod population for a mandarin to be healthy.
Thirdly, you DO need a fuge to have a huge pod population with a Mandarin, unless the tank is large enough to house pods which aren't consumed by the fish.

Although target feeding is an advantage Mandarins must have a large pod population as well. They hunt and graze 24/7. One or two target feedings a day will not sustain the mandarin long term

No, it doesnt. A refugium make no difference in the pop population unless you are keeping other more aggressive pod hunting fish like wrasse and dottybacks, which you shouldnt be keeping with a dragonette anyway. Pods have plenty of room to reproduce within the live rock well out of the reach of predators. Your kidding yourself if you think not. The only thing a refugium lets you do it have a place to grow a controlled amount of macro algae and export nutrients, and may add a little volume to the tank if the fuge is big enough. Sure fuges are cool, but you dont have to have one to keep a mandarin and while pods do reproduce in the fuge, the do so just as much within the live rock.

There are many places within any tank that can house pods that the mandarin cannot get to. They cannot eat pods that hide in the rock, and they do not hunt at night. Do you really think a mandarin can devastate a pod population? Give me a break, you haven't kept one long enough if you believe that. These fish are not like wrasses.

I keep my fish in a 2 year old 37g tank with roughly 60 lbs of LR, no sump or fuge, and I have not noticed in almost a year any kind of difference in the amount of pods in my tank. Any given rock has 20 or 30 big amphipods crawling on it any given night, and there are copepods all over the glass and in any nook or cranny. I do not keep any fish that will compete with the mandarin either.

1 or 2 target feedings a day will easily sustain a mandarin as long as your tank has a good amount of pods in it, and any tank with any kind of age to it does. My fish has noticeably grown in the time I have had him. IMO you should be feeding the fish no matter what size tank you keep it in. This will also get the fish less people shy if it is at all, build its trust of you, and you get to spend really cool time with your Mandarin.

 

[block head]

calories, a fish has to take in more than it uses. lots of tiny pods works, so does several bigger meals. the how isn't as important as the amount the fish eats.

 

[rgentry123]

sorry about the delay in response. my current fish are a tomato clown, flaame hawkfish, cb angel, eibli hybrid angel, yellow tang, and a tomini tang. nothing that directly competes for the pods like a wrasse would. think the little guy is gonna be ok with 80-90 lbs of lr and about 40 lbs of ls?

 

[BangkokMatt]

Clearly you have nothing to learn about mandarin dragonettes, fuges or anything else for that matter.
Thousands of these fish are purchased every year and most perish at the hands of people who do not understand their needs and requirements.

I am glad yours is doing well and I hope it continues to do so.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13274809#post13274809 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SeeDemTails
No, it doesnt. A refugium make no difference in the pop population unless you are keeping other more aggressive pod hunting fish like wrasse and dottybacks, which you shouldnt be keeping with a dragonette anyway. Pods have plenty of room to reproduce within the live rock well out of the reach of predators. Your kidding yourself if you think not. The only thing a refugium lets you do it have a place to grow a controlled amount of macro algae and export nutrients, and may add a little volume to the tank if the fuge is big enough. Sure fuges are cool, but you dont have to have one to keep a mandarin and while pods do reproduce in the fuge, the do so just as much within the live rock.

There are many places within any tank that can house pods that the mandarin cannot get to. They cannot eat pods that hide in the rock, and they do not hunt at night. Do you really think a mandarin can devastate a pod population? Give me a break, you haven't kept one long enough if you believe that. These fish are not like wrasses.