Tips for feeding mandarin dragonet?

[kade]

Is it hard to get them to eat pellets?

[blackmolly]

it's not impossible, but it sure is unlikely if it's not eating them already.

[FDshoes]

It is hard to get them to anything but live food. Even if u get them to they are likely to revert back to live. Even if someone tells u they had a sucess story with prepared foods its highly unlikely. And then ask them how long they lived for and if its less then 2yrs is it really a success story?

[kade]

Ok well I'll do my best to try and breed lots of brine shrimp and find copepods somewhere.

[FDshoes]

Sry to be a downer but u can't succesfuuly just find enough pods they come naturally with a VERY established tank

[alex07]

What have you tried to feed your mandarin?

[kade]

Yeh, don't worry about it. I am aware that the live bottle copepods will not last long. But I am willing to give it a shot

[alex07]

Originally Posted by kade

Is it hard to get them to eat pellets?

Well the my lfs was feeding it pellets and brine shrimps

[alex07]

Get some chaeto to grow some pods

[FDshoes]

Originally Posted by alex07

Well the my lfs was feeding it pellets and brine shrimps

That one was prb tank breed and while that increases the chance it will stay on prepared foods but by no means guarentee that it wont just stop eating them.

[FDshoes]

That is the start for pods but it takes months a yr plus for them to be enough to support a pod eater.

[alex07]

Originally Posted by FDshoes

That is the start for pods but it takes months a yr plus for them to be enough to support a pod eater.

Mandarin doesn't only eat pods, yes they are very picky eaters but I am sure you can get it to eat other things as well. Just ask the store where you got it from what they were feeding it. I just started feeding my fish homemade food and it eats off the sand

[FDshoes]

Just ask the store that is trying to make money off u? Ur not gonna get a straight answer and again. They can stop eating prepared foods at anytime.

Bottom line is if u want any chance at SUCCESSFULLY keeping a manderian it has to be in a tank that can support its life without it eating any prepared foods period end of story.

[alex07]

Originally Posted by FDshoes

Just ask the store that is trying to make money off u? Ur not gonna get a straight answer and again. They can stop eating prepared foods at anytime.

Bottom line is if u want any chance at SUCCESSFULLY keeping a manderian it has to be in a tank that can support its life without it eating any prepared foods period end of story.

You've had a mandarin before?

[kade]

Yeh, the guy at my lfs said, I needed a well established tank. At the moment it is thriving with life, it's just if it happend to run out. I would like to have a back up plan. and at the shop, she was eating pods or natural food, she was in a coral tank.

[alex07]

Originally Posted by kade

Yeh, the guy at my lfs said, I needed a well established tank. At the moment it is thriving with life, it's just if it happend to run out. I would like to have a back up plan. and at the shop, she was eating pods or natural food, she was in a coral tank.

It will also eat live baby brine shrimps

[FDshoes]

No I have not because I am not going to put a fish into my tank that prb will not live anywhere near its life expectancy in the wild. I would love one but will not even consider it until I am scrapping pods off my glass every day for an extended period of time.

[FDshoes]

And again baby brine shrimp are tricky they have a very limited.time window for when they have any nutritional value.

[alex07]

Originally Posted by FDshoes

No I have not because I am not going to put a fish into my tank that prb will not live anywhere near its life expectancy in the wild. I would love one but will not even consider it until I am scrapping pods off my glass every day for an extended period of time.

Sorry but how can you give advise if you never had 1 before? They're not as hard to keep as others said

[FDshoes]

How long have u had urs? And yes they are I would love to hear tons of sucess stories and when I say sucess that means minumum 2 yrs.