Your mandarin training secrets

[Hyperion1337]

I trained mine to jump through a flaming hoop, ya bunch o' noobs.

loooool nice.

Jane,
My mandarin was recently transferred from a breeding container to net breeder and he would not touch anything including live brine, he would continue to swim against the current. I have masago on hand and my mandarin takes bloodworms quite well, but how did you teach your mandarin to take cyclopeeze? Mine still ignores it as it swims around him.

 

[sponger0]

I trained mine to jump through a flaming hoop, ya bunch o' noobs.

Tying a dead fish to a string doesnt count

 

[JaneG]

loooool nice.

Jane,
My mandarin was recently transferred from a breeding container to net breeder and he would not touch anything including live brine, he would continue to swim against the current. I have masago on hand and my mandarin takes bloodworms quite well, but how did you teach your mandarin to take cyclopeeze? Mine still ignores it as it swims around him.

What I personally did was just use a mandarin diner for introducing new foods in general. It still took a while for them to get the hang of it, but I put in a jar, filled it with food in the morning, and that's the only way I fed them. I started with just Ova but then started putting in more cyclopeeze - they look somewhat similar though so that might be a plus in my case. You could also perhaps try soaking both foods in garlic so they taste similar? I don't know if that would help though.

 

[Rybren]

JaneG

All of the massago that I've managed to find has been treated with food colouring, sugar, and preservatives. Is the stuff that you're using similarly treated? If so, do you just rinse the heck out of it?

 

[Hyperion1337]

I was thinking about the same thing regarding the masago. i dont know why either, but my fish ignore every piece of food soaked in garlic.... I guess that I'll keep the mandarin in the breeder net b/c of its super aggressive tank mates.

 

[JaneG]

JaneG

All of the massago that I've managed to find has been treated with food colouring, sugar, and preservatives. Is the stuff that you're using similarly treated? If so, do you just rinse the heck out of it?

I had the same concern myself - to be honest, I don't know. :hmm2: I don't feed it that often - the brand I use only has red dye in it and high fructose corn syrup, which I would think are ok in small quantities but I'm not sure. You can read an article about masago and mandarins here:
http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/articles/nano-mandarin-full-article.htm
But I think it's NOT a good idea as a staple (even though, if I remember correctly, the author had a mandarin for a long time on it as a sole source of food - I think). Mine won't eat it if the dye is gone for some reason, and unfortunately I've heard the same with other people.

 

[Rybren]

Thank for the link and article JaneG. I'll give it a read.

 

[Hyperion1337]

JaneG thanks for the article, its very informative. Mine indulges on hikari frozen bloodworms until it's stomach is no longer concave. I think I'll wean him thru the bloodworms, I have yet to see mine try ova (i still havent gotten it) but wats the difference between masago and nutramar ova? I mean they are both eggs, its just that one is for fish consumption and the other is for human consumption.

 

[JaneG]

JaneG thanks for the article, its very informative. Mine indulges on hikari frozen bloodworms until it's stomach is no longer concave. I think I'll wean him thru the bloodworms, I have yet to see mine try ova (i still havent gotten it) but wats the difference between masago and nutramar ova? I mean they are both eggs, its just that one is for fish consumption and the other is for human consumption.

I think Nutramar Ova is shrimp eggs. I also forgot to mention that you can use Reef Caviar instead of capeline roe as I believe it's made of capeline roe as well.

 

[sponger0]

I think Nutramar Ova is shrimp eggs. I also forgot to mention that you can use Reef Caviar instead of capeline roe as I believe it's made of capeline roe as well.

Nutramar OVA is prawn eggs.

 

[Hyperion1337]

I was just wondering, do you think that frozen reef/ocean plankton would be a good candidate as food for a mandarin?

 

[Hyperion1337]

Bump.

 

[JaneG]

I was just wondering, do you think that frozen reef/ocean plankton would be a good candidate as food for a mandarin?

I'm not sure, but I don't know where you would get a source for it. Mandarins seem to need their food to "move" like it's living, so my guess is not - but who knows! It's worth a try if you have it.

 

[snorvich]

JaneG

All of the massago that I've managed to find has been treated with food colouring, sugar, and preservatives. Is the stuff that you're using similarly treated? If so, do you just rinse the heck out of it?

Reef Caviar is capelin fish roe with no preservatives or coloration.

 

[Rybren]

Reef Caviar is capelin fish roe with no preservatives or coloration.

Thanks Steve. The trouble is, none of the LFS in my neck of the woods carry Reef Caviar or Ova.

 

[JaneG]

Thanks Steve. The trouble is, none of the LFS in my neck of the woods carry Reef Caviar or Ova.

They can usually be special ordered...other fish love Ova in particular in my experience if it helps.

 

[Rybren]

I've been trying to get someone to order in Ova for me for a year. From what I've been told, it's been really tough to import pet food ever since we had contaminated cat food come in from China. I'm still hoping that someone will eventually be able to bring some in.

 

[Katie G]

I have a question this guy at my LFS said bigger Mandrin Dragonets are more easy to train to eat prepared foods then smaller Mandrins, is this true?

 

[Hyperion1337]

i find that saying to be like flipping a coin. sometimes they are easier sometimes they are impossible. I've had 4 mandarins in the past and have had mixed results in their size, however ive seen that spotted will take frozen much easier.

 

[RN.......]

I have a spotted mandarin and a scooter blenny in my 60 gallon. Both are eating frozen brine, soaked in selcon. The mandarin ate it the first time he saw it, the blenny did as well. They don't eat mysis though, but i figure brine is better than nothing.