Adding Mandarin while culturing pods
- Thread starter RWhitt907
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RWhitt907
Active Member
Couple months, 75
Midas Blenny, Scissortail, 2 Oscellaris Clowns, Coris Wrasse, Diamond Goby
Setting up my sump tank w/ refugium this week.
But I am going to be culturing pods in a gallon jar.
TCseh
Active Member
If there are no pods in the tank you should at least wait for the gallon jar to be full of them. Dump them in that tank and once the jar is full again you might be good. I don't know exactly how much pods they eat but that should give you a head start if you need more.
I have a 75 with coris and just added a mandarin. The coris will compete so you want to ensure you have a good pod supply. Ide suggest adding at night so they can settle in. I have a 5 gallon jug that ive been culturing tisbe pods and seeding the tank. I also recently started another culture of tigger pods. The life cycle on pods is short so i say wait 2-3 weeks and then yiu can really seed your tank.
PotatoPig
Valuable Member
For pods that will live in the tank - if you’re culturing Tigger pods then those are great for direct feeding, but will rarely last in the tank. The swim in the water column rather than hide out on rocks, so are heavily predated on, and almost every fish in your tank will eat them, on top of that the tanks are usually a little warm for them to reproduce. TL;DR- Tigger pods will be promptly wiped out no matter how many you keep adding.
If you don’t have ocean live rock then add Tisbe pods, these do well in reef tanks, reproduce in sumps, hide out on rocks and are too small for a lot of the fish in the tank. They should self sustain in the tank and the dragonet will be their primary predator.
If you added ocean live rock chances are your tank has a number of species of tropical marine pods in there already.
If you don’t have ocean live rock then add Tisbe pods, these do well in reef tanks, reproduce in sumps, hide out on rocks and are too small for a lot of the fish in the tank. They should self sustain in the tank and the dragonet will be their primary predator.
If you added ocean live rock chances are your tank has a number of species of tropical marine pods in there already.
Have a little patient. Make sure you have food for him first. It is not like Mandarin is once in 5 year fish, there will always be Mandarin for you to get. Get a male, then you can feed him all you want and not have to worry about it dying due to egg bind. IMO, male Mandarins are more beautiful than female also. Mine are always more outgoing and easier to take picture, or view him.
twentyleagues
2500 Club Member
Id say depends on the mandarin. Is it wild or tank bred? If tank bred they will eat frozen and some times pellets. It will still hunt pods and pretty much between that and the coris wipe out any chance of having any lasting supply of pods. If its wild id wait they are extremely hard to get to eat anything but pods. I had mine for 2 years before it even tried frozen. Eventually he ate frozen some times. I had a huge refugium with tons of pods so I wasnt worried.
What "Coris" wrasse do you have? Consider remove the Coris. True Coris wrasse are too large for your tank, and a lot of the smaller wrasse are very good pod hunter and will wipe out the food for mandarin.
In a small tank, the Yellow Canary Wrasse will be the death of your Mandatin. They are much faster and better hunter for pod than your Mandarin ever be.
Not my picture
OP
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RWhitt907
Active Member
I've got a 75g, I'll be culturing in a gallon jug and also adding to my refugiumIn a small tank, the Yellow Canary Wrasse will be the death of your Mandatin. They are much faster and better hunter for pod than your Mandarin ever be.
Not my picture
Tired
2500 Club Member
A gallon jug worth of pod culturing is not going to be enough for a mandarin. They eat thousands of pods a day. Best to focus on setting up your tank and refugium to allow for pod growth- the gallon jar is more of a snack provider.
Tchung23
Well-Known Member
If you really want a Manderine. Get a captive bred one. You won't have to worry about it starving as you'll be able to watch it eat during feeding time. I have a 50G and bought one when my tank was only a few months old. He is now 2 years old and big and happy.
Tired
2500 Club Member
Captive-bred mandarins should absolutely be the go-to, but that isn't a guarantee. Their guts aren't set up to hold food and get nutrition out of it, they're designed for a constant supply of tiny, incredibly nutritious food items, so feeding frozen once or twice a day is not enough to keep one healthy long-term. It does make a good supplement to pods, though.
