After reading all your responses and doing research all night I'm thinking of just growing my own pods in a spare 5 gallon and finding a mandarin also that is already on frozen. Any one have some great/easy way that THEY grow pods, not just a copy and paste from a website lol?!?
Planning for Mandarin
- Thread starter Ryand63
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Exactly. Thats my point. Unless you know what your getting into, dont do it. Mandarin require attention or well though out planning. I was a victim of the ORA claims. And just cause they are eating at ORA's facilties, doesnt mean they will start eating prepared foods once a hobbyisy gets it home. I can speak on this. So if they have the same requirements, why rely on prepared foods?
Why put them in a 29 gallon tank when you can have much more of a success rate in a 75 gallon?
Yes, we all want one. But not everyone can support their diet requirements. Whether it be natural food, dosing the tank continuously with pods or getting them to eat prepared foods.
There is a mixed results from the ORA mandarins, which i can attest to and provide my research.
Mr. Demeanor
New member
My LFS sells Mandarins that are tank raised and eat pellet food. More money but worth every penny IMO.
This doesnt mean they will eat it when they go to a hobbyists home. Dont beleive me? Ask me how I know
username in use
Sciencing Daily
Part of the acclimation to a new tank is either quarantining them in a small tank, or hanging them in a breeder box/net in the tank where they can be targeted for weeks or months if its required. They aren't easy, but they are doable.
username in use
Sciencing Daily
Realistically you aren't going to "grow" pods in the amount you need without a serious setup where you're culturing phyto to feed to copepod cultures and constantly breeding multiple batches of each.
If you are serious you need to start searching for articles written by Matt Pedersen and Mathew Wittenrich and read everything they have done. It is time consuming and you need to be dedicated to it, but it is possible.
If you are serious you need to start searching for articles written by Matt Pedersen and Mathew Wittenrich and read everything they have done. It is time consuming and you need to be dedicated to it, but it is possible.
You can wean your mandarins to eat other types of food, and then target feed them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C2Ys-E4gng
My pair of mandarins in my 125g tank spawned every night (unfortunately this male in the video committed suicide some time ago).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C2Ys-E4gng
My pair of mandarins in my 125g tank spawned every night (unfortunately this male in the video committed suicide some time ago).
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I grow pods in 5g buckets outside. The trick seems to be to put the cultures outside. I don't know what it is about natural sunlight, but there is no comparison between my indoor cultures and my outdoor cultures. Granted it has been spring and summer has not started...
FWIW, my TIG cultures are contaminated with rotifers and who knows what else. I think that provides extra food for the pods.
FWIW, my TIG cultures are contaminated with rotifers and who knows what else. I think that provides extra food for the pods.
username in use
Sciencing Daily
It could be that outside you are promoting a good growth of phyto to enrich the water.
Surprisingly, it's the opposite. For the most part, I ignore the cultures outside and the water stays almost crystal clear, while the indoor cultures get a small fresh phyto infusion almost every morning.
I think the reason is more complex. As in these organisms evolved to live in small outdoor pools of water. There are likely many biological and chemical interactions that take place in the outdoor cultures, which are beneficial to these organisms.
Like maybe it's just the sun breaking down organics and keeping the water quality high. Maybe it's micro organisms taking up the excess nutrients and serving as food for the copepod nauplii and rotifers. Maybe it's all the rain and crap that falls into the cultures and slowly breaks down.
Or maybe it's the V8 juice I added to the cultures when I was running low on phyto! :lol:
Good luck with the mandarins!
I think the reason is more complex. As in these organisms evolved to live in small outdoor pools of water. There are likely many biological and chemical interactions that take place in the outdoor cultures, which are beneficial to these organisms.
Like maybe it's just the sun breaking down organics and keeping the water quality high. Maybe it's micro organisms taking up the excess nutrients and serving as food for the copepod nauplii and rotifers. Maybe it's all the rain and crap that falls into the cultures and slowly breaks down.
Or maybe it's the V8 juice I added to the cultures when I was running low on phyto! :lol:
Good luck with the mandarins!
