Mandarin

[bg3489]

Hey I just picked up a Green Mandarin and im concered i dont have any copepods for him to feed on. It's a relatively new tank and I'm looking into just putting them in for him. If I want to add them to the tank should I get live ones or some frozen ones they have? Also how much of them should I add to sustain my mandarin and how do I store my extras untl he needs another feeding? Any help would be appreciated... Thanks!

 

[tangerine]

how big is yr tank , how much liverocks have u got in it and how long has the tank being set up? mandarins do need a lot of pods as they are practically scouting for food thru'out the day.

adding live copepods wud be better.

take a read on this link.

http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=&name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=3

 

[kelly630]

I would suggest live pods. Also, store extras in a refugium so that they can reproduce and populate so that they can sustain the mandarin without you worrying about it! Some pods will "leak through" the pipes back up into your main tank and keep a constant supply of food for your mandarin.

In your refugium, keep some macro algae for the pods to feed on!

 

[bg3489]

It's a 115 gallon tank and I have a lot of live rock actually. Im not sure how many pounds but its definetly stocked very well. The tank itself has been setup up in and around 2 and a half months but all the live rock and sand was from a previous tank that was probably a good year if not more old.

 

[tangerine]

bg3489,for yr tank size and the amount of liverocks,eventually it wud be able to generate enough pods to sustain yr mandarin. meanwhile,supplement with live pods.

 

[bg3489]

Alright sounds good thanks a lot I appreciate it.

 

[tangerine]

forgot to add,got one cavaet. ensure u dun have other pods eating fishes in the tank too. the mandarin can consume a lot of pods and are also a very slow eater.

 

[bg3489]

Clown fish and juv. emperor which I do not believe either are pod eaters.... My emperor however is a little shy and dosnt really understand the concept of me feeding him yet. He picks on the live rock all day and kinda hides out behind my live rock. Is he getting enough nutrition from the algae and do you have any suggestions on how I can entice him into eating? I'm feeding formula 2 flakes btw

 

[tangerine]

not sure on the diet of the Emperor. as for the pecking on the liverocks,should be the microfauna there. my Flame does the same thing while acclimatizing.

try enticing it with mysis shrimp and when u get it feeding,i heard feeding Spectrum pellets is good for them as it contains sponges which is part of the angels diet. not to sure on this,hopefully some large angel keepers can chip in.