Copepods.

[ameyaraje99]

How do you grow Copepods in your refugium/ tank. I want to keep a mandarin. I have a 30 gallon tank and a large hob refugium

 

[carey]

I'm curious too. So, I'm following........

 

[Sqasnatch]

You can order starter packs of tiger pods and other types. You release them in your refugium where they are free from predators. And they will spawn and float into your main tank. And that's it in a nut shell

 

[Sqasnatch]

Put you don't have to get these starter packs. It will happen naturally after the tank starts to mature. Assuming you have purchased live rock

 

[thominil]

A mandarin would swallow all pods that both the fuge and tank itself could create in a matter of a few weeks and still be hungry. These guys just don't stop eating. Your best bet would be to try an ORA captive bred and prepared-trained mandarin, but make sure you have a backup plan since there have been a few reports of them going back to old feeding habits when introduced into a tank. Good luck, and I hope this helps.

 

[ameyaraje99]

Copepods breedingz

How do you grow Copepods in your refugium/ tank. I want to keep a mandarin. I have a 30 gallon tank and a large hob refugium

 

[Sqasnatch]

I strongly disagree with putting a mandarin in a 30 gallon.

 

[Sqasnatch]

Scouter blennys would be a better candidate. They don't require as much food. And take to prepared foods

 

[neilanh]

I merged your 2 threads together. Please do not multi-post the same subject in different threads.

 

[ameyaraje99]

I do apologize for the multiple threads. My network went down. Hence the double threads. I

 

[ameyaraje99]

So if a mandarin is tank bred and is eating frozen food , will it revert back to it's pod habits when introduced in a new tank? Anybody here have any good/bad experience with mandarins to share?
Thanks again everyone for all your help/counsel.

 

[thominil]

The ORA ones are supposed to be captive bred and already trained to eat prepared foods, but, some people have reported that they just go back to old feeding habits of pods. This does not mean that ALL of them will do the same, it just means some. Hence why I said make sure you have a backup plan. Also, if you do choose to get one, make sure it is ORA and make sure it is eating prepared foods such as pellets or frozen at the store.

 

[ameyaraje99]

I'm going to get a mandarin this week. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

[PrettyFishies]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but a mandarin in a 30 is not a good idea. In all likelihood, it will starve in a few months.

I had one in my 90, but no refugium and the tank was running 9 months with 125 lbs of LR, still no luck.

I'm waiting for my 125 reef to get to a good population and I have a 30 gal sump with fuge.

I would be wary. You just dont have enough LR to support a mandarin.

 

[Rscomia]

If you do a starter pack how fast do they reproduce? Will the mandarin eventually run out and will have to do a starter pack again? My girlfriend is really wanting me to get one but I want to make sure he is gonna have enough food to survive (90 Gallon display with 29 gallon sump)

 

[PrettyFishies]

Take a look at this - YouTube - My 90 Gallon Mixed Reef Tank: The Live Stuff, The Dead Stuff and Where I Am Now

Skip to 3:20

He has a 90 gal with a 50gal sump w/ refugium that's probably 15-20 gallons