new mandarin diet

[mandarin man]

jus recently got a green mandarin and i know they naturally eat the ...pods that are on the rock. but are there any tricks to make them eat the marine cuisine or brine shrimp or anything of that matter? i even heard sometimes theyll eat algae. any feedback wanted i have been wanting a mandarin ever since i got the tank 2 yrs ago. and id really like to keep it healthy and fed right. please give any and all advice. hunter

 

[lando]

It is very rare for manderins to accept prepared food. A plentiful population of pods is certainly needed. How much LR do you currently have? do you have a sump or fuge?

 

[steve-s]

What Lando says is quite true but you may also want to consider....

http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com/feeding_mandarin_or_synchiropus_splendidus.html

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve r]

my mandarin eats frozen mysis shrimp thawed and soaked in selcon. he also eats live brine which i gut load with selcon. the advice i have is to try to feed your other fish a little pre feeding snack. keep the food small and the biggest thing i have found is to turn off the pumps when you drop the food in and always drop the food in the same place. i use a place that i see my mandarin hanging out at the most.

steve r

 

[mcescher]

I would have to agree with the above post.

My mandarine eats a combination of mysis and brine shrimp.

I have found the key was to turn of my power heads and filters while I am feeding so that the Mandarine doesn't have to chase after any food...mine likes to "browse" around on the bottom and doesn't like to go chasing after his meals.

 

[flamingonhot]

Nothing much to say anymore lol.

Just do that be ready for it not to eat it. Most will not even notice it. There have been a lot of cases lately but it does not mean yours will be the same.

 

[StripesTheEel]

Mine was bought up on frozen foods. I hand feed it marine green, brine shrimp and plankton.

 

[mandarin man]

thanks ill def try to turn the pumps off. hopefully ill have my own mini miracle.

 

[DragonForce]

MOST Mandarine purchased from the LFS die from starvation. Even if your Mandarine were to eat prepared foods, they need pods to thrive. Please understand the special needs these beautiful creatures must have to make it in the home aquarium.

What is your tank size, how much live rock do you have, what other fish do you have, do you have a sump/fuge?

 

[StripesTheEel]

I tend to disagree, I have a sixline and mandarin in my 100gal and both are thriving without pods as they have wiped out the majority of them. Although on prepared foods they share a tank with tangs and an angel so i have a little contraption (thanks to Melevs website) to ensure the mandarin especially gets target fed.

My mandarin has lived successfully for years without having pods to thrive..

But keep in mind that this is a minority case.. as Dragon said most mandarins from LFS are plucked straight from reefs and do not readily accept frozen foods

 

[DragonForce]

Ill bet there is still enough pods for them to graze casually.

 

[flamingonhot]

Yes I would say that is defintitelf a minority case.

Im guessing though that in the future this may be more common to have happen.

Mandarins, and all dragonets for that matter, have specialized mouths and eyes designed almost specifically for the purpose of eating copepods and other small crustaceans. They can somehwat be expected to eat frozen but shoiuld have a great quantity before purchasing..if they eat frozen food later on they should still at least have a little to eat here and there. Having them beforehand will make sure that if they dont eat frozen they'll still have copepds there.