Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
Most everything likes to eat pods, especially wrasses. Even with a pod farm, I was unable to produce enough pods for a single mandarin long term. That's with 500 gallons of water.
Pods without a fuge
- Thread starter Mcmcoker
- Start date
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I had to breed pods as they get depleted in the main tank fast the mandarin gets his share as do all the fish there all just pigs lol
I'm also lucky my mandarin eats frozen and pellets
I've had my pair of mandarins almost 2 years now
I keep a separate tank with dividers to raise the pods and feeder shrimp
I keep all my fish plump and happy they just love the live foods
raising your own feeders also helps save money on foods plus I make a few bucks selling them to pet store
I got the pet store hooked on feeder shrimp as there hard to find out here in Colorado
I'm also lucky my mandarin eats frozen and pellets
I've had my pair of mandarins almost 2 years now
I keep a separate tank with dividers to raise the pods and feeder shrimp
I keep all my fish plump and happy they just love the live foods
raising your own feeders also helps save money on foods plus I make a few bucks selling them to pet store
I got the pet store hooked on feeder shrimp as there hard to find out here in Colorado
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Mcmcoker
Aquarium Advice Activist
My lfs says if I get the pods in the tank a month prior to adding the mandarin I shouldn't have any problems. I know there is a stigma here about lfs but my store is very knowledgable and they are a reef only store. I will be adding the pods to the tank after I return the damsel and puffer and have only a cuc in the tank. If the mandarin picks through the pod pop to fast and I can't keep up with him I'll take him back. I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes
Dav3
Aquarium Advice Addict
Remember that your lfs is there to make money. adding pods ahead of time in that size tank likely won't matter much.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
You aren't going to know until it's late. Dav3 is right. It takes them months to starve to death.
By the time you realize he doesn't have enough pods he could already be on his way out and half the time the mandarins lfs get in are already thin. I wouldn't attempt it in any tank that hasn't been running for a long time. I also would not attempt it in such a small tank, they need a huge refugium system that can grow pods as quickly as they eat them.
carey
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm playing devils advocate here kinda.lol. I reared both my mandarin and scooter in a small 29g biocube with a small fuge in back. I did not of course attempt the mandarin until many many months later after I had an obscene amount of pods. It took the mandarin and the scooter each a month to eat all the pods that were in the tank. By that point I had gotten them each weened onto frozen foods, which was fortunate cause I was out of pods. I added the scooter about a year before the mandarin and it took that long to get another healthy colony of pods in time for the mandarin. I also purchased an ORA mandarin, cost me $50 but in the end I think it was easier to get him eating prepared due to his upbringing at ORA. NOTE** The ORA mandarin did not eat pellets or any prepared foods after he hit my tank. This is very common but I would still urge you to consider the ORA one if you must add one. I think it m made the difference.
As a side note, I ended up moving the dragonettes to a 60g rimless where they eat pellets mostly and are fat and healthy. The small tank approach worked for me and can work if enough dedication is given.
As a side note, I ended up moving the dragonettes to a 60g rimless where they eat pellets mostly and are fat and healthy. The small tank approach worked for me and can work if enough dedication is given.
mandarins eat about 1000 to 1500 pods a day adding pods yes will give you a boost but it will deplete fast as your other livestock will eat them also , before I started raising my own feeders I spent on avg every month $75. which adds up fast, statistics say 75% to 80% who try to keep a mandarin in a newly established tank will fail , the main reason is starvation from lack of
pods / food , the one sure fire way to ensure your mandarin survives is to train him to eat both frozen mysiss and pellets , Remember these little guys are fragile and picky , you will see better results on survival of a mandarin in a mature tank at-least 6/12 months old after pods have a good chance to establish but still understand you still may not have enough pods to keep up with your mandarins appetite
as they eat almost constantly ,
below I added 2 links about the mandarin and everything you need to know about them,
Melevsreef.com - Mandarin Care
Caring for Mandarin or Dragonette Saltwater Fish - Yahoo Voices - voices.yahoo.com
pods / food , the one sure fire way to ensure your mandarin survives is to train him to eat both frozen mysiss and pellets , Remember these little guys are fragile and picky , you will see better results on survival of a mandarin in a mature tank at-least 6/12 months old after pods have a good chance to establish but still understand you still may not have enough pods to keep up with your mandarins appetite
as they eat almost constantly ,
below I added 2 links about the mandarin and everything you need to know about them,
Melevsreef.com - Mandarin Care
Caring for Mandarin or Dragonette Saltwater Fish - Yahoo Voices - voices.yahoo.com
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Mcmcoker
Aquarium Advice Activist
Thank you Carey for being the first one to try and give tips for success rather than discouragement. Obviously I don't intend to just say F' it and if he dies say oh well but I really want a mandarin and started this thread looking for advice on what I could do to keep one with the setup that I have. I will be looking into getting an Ora mandarin. My lfs had a few just last week that were Ora and were very fat. They also ate live brine shrimp as well as pods. To be honest as far as fish go I only plan on having the mandarin and a couple of clowns, the rest of the tank will be cuc and corals. Will the clowns pick at pods? My plan now is to return the puffer and damsel get pods colony established for a couple months then add lights get an anemone a few clowns then wait a month before adding the mandarin. So all in all it should be about 2-3 months with pods in the tank before the arrival of the mandarin
My clowns pick at pods on the glass, not on the rocks though. I think people were giving advice for the fishes well being. Some people can keep mandarins alive no problem, while others have no luck. There have been a lot less success stories with this fish than their have been successful ones. Hopefully you can get a nice fat one that never reverts off frozen food.
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Mcmcoker
Aquarium Advice Activist
I don't think everyone was trying to be discouraging but I can't help it if I feel like a few were. So far I have had mixed feelings about this forum. It seems that there are a few here who are really here solely to help other and a great many here who are boarder line insulting to those who are beginners, don't have 150g+ tanks with refugiums top of the line lighting and all the other widgets and gidgets. I see a lot of competition daily for who has the best answers and can one up the other guy. ( sorry for the venting)
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
We are just sharing our experiences. That is the purpose of forums like this so others can learn from our mistakes and success's. A lot of good information was shared with you, some of it conflicted with what you had decided to do already and you took it as some type of negativity. We will not always applause your decisions if some of us see disaster looming. The Mandarin topic has maybe 100 threads started on this forum, they all say the same thing. I would sure listen to Mr_X at least, he has a lot of experience and is right most the time in my experience. Same with Carey, her dedication has allowed her to pull off some difficult stuff.
Most of us here talk from experience
the main rule for saltwater is take it slow rushing never gets you anywhere fast , it only brings on problems
mandarins are a very delicate fish and also finicky and it takes time to train him to eat frozen foods along with pellets
we just want to see whats best for you and your fish
remember most saltwater fish are not cheap!!
we want to see you succeed rather than fail
from my experience I spent over $75. a month to support my pod population as fast as I add them all the fish eat them
Not everyone can afford this monthly expense , we are trying to tell you what the pet store failed to tell you , it can get costly
still now 2 years later I still add pods but now I breed them now that extra money saved every month goes buying corals
think of it this way better to be well informed than not
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