Establishing pods for mandarin

[Kimberely]

Is there any chance I could establish a big enough population of pods to support a green mandarin in my 125 gallon as it is without adding a refugium or dosing pods once a month

? Or do I not have enough rock for that?

 

[Reefpuck]

Yes it's possible. How much rock you got?

 

[Kimberely]

Yes it's possible. How much rock you got?

About 100 pounds split between the 2 islands

 

[RMS18]

It is possible, you will need a food source for the pods so they can maintain their population and reproduce. You may have to add pods for some time before you have a healthy population of them. To help achieve this it's suggested to add the pods at night, keep return pump off for a little bit. Remove any filter socks, skimmer, and UV you may have along with reactors.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

It's possible if you have plenty of rocks and feed Phytoplankton everyday or every other day. But you will need to drop a big load of copepods first with light off and every time you feed phyto turn the skimmer off for about an hour.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

Definitely possible.

I would recommend a daily light feeding of @Reef Nutrition PhytoFeast as most pods will eat it and reproduce faster than only scavenging in your tank. After a month or so adding an initial population of pods and feeding phyto daily you should be able to sustain a mandarin without the need to introduce more pods.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

By the way, beautiful tank.

 

[Kimberely]

Definitely possible.

I would recommend a daily light feeding of @Reef Nutrition PhytoFeast as most pods will eat it and reproduce faster than only scavenging in your tank. After a month or so adding an initial population of pods and feeding phyto daily you should be able to sustain a mandarin without the need to introduce more pods.

Thank you so much! I'll get started then.

 

[Billldg]

I have a 120 gal tank, and about 2 months ago I added 1 5600 count jar of mixed pods from algae barn and feed algae every night, 2 months later and I have a good population, I added about 80 percent to tank and the rest in my sump which I have some rock in and the rest is history. If I let some coraline algae build up on my glass the pods cover the glass, so the population is good, just need to give them time to establish a population.

 

[Kimberely]

I have a 120 gal tank, and about 2 months ago I added 1 5600 count jar of mixed pods from algae barn and feed algae every night, 2 months later and I have a good population, I added about 80 percent to tank and the rest in my sump which I have some rock in and the rest is history. If I let some coraline algae build up on my glass the pods cover the glass, so the population is good, just need to give them time to establish a population.

I don't have a sump. I'm running 2 Fluval 406 canisters. The tank wasn't drilled and I'm not brave enough to attempt drilling it. I do have a small HOB refugium but I hate that thing so I didn't put it on this tank.

 

[Billldg]

I don't know how much me putting it in the sump helped, they mainly live on the rocks and in the rocks, I will boost the population from time to time because I plan on adding 2 wrasse, at 46 or so dollars, it isn't much money to boost population, but as of right now my population is good. You will just need to seed the tank and let the population grow before adding a mandarin because so far as I know that is their main source of food.

 

[Kimberely]

I don't know how much me putting it in the sump helped, they mainly live on the rocks and in the rocks, I will boost the population from time to time because I plan on adding 2 wrasse, at 46 or so dollars, it isn't much money to boost population, but as of right now my population is good. You will just need to seed the tank and let the population grow before adding a mandarin because so far as I know that is their main source of food.

Thank you

 

[falc]

I used the Amphipod breeding kit from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms to stock for my Green Mandarin Dragonet and Ruby Red. I ordered a second kit for my 40b for the end of this week!!
They have extra pod breeders available if you need to replenish your stock! They also love baby live brine shrimp so they have a varied diet!! They are both fat and happy! YMMV~

 

[NS Mike D]

I know you don't want to add a fuge, but would you consider a hang on back fuge? Not the same as a sump. That would keep a steady supply of pods flowing into the tank and reduce the need for phyto dosing to maintain the population. Plus cheato, IMO is great at helping with nutrient stability - NO3/PO4 rises, it grows faster. CPR has some nice HOB fuges that are fairly inconspicuous.

I can't say for sure, but I think my mandarin is eating LRS Reef Frenzy Nano frozen food which I broadcast feed for the mandarin, the other fish and my corals (it's has mix of bits, really tiny bits and slurry for all sizes of mouths).

 

[NS Mike D]

I used the Amphipod breeding kit from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms to stock for my Green Mandarin Dragonet and Ruby Red. I ordered a second kit for my 40b for the end of this week!!
They have extra pod breeders available if you need to replenish your stock! They also love baby live brine shrimp so they have a varied diet!! They are both fat and happy! YMMV~

do amphipods eat copepods? I've looked at those kits, but my concern is that the would wipe out my tigger pods which I prefer after following a number of posts on the subject by @Reef Nutrition

 

[Kimberely]

I know you don't want to add a fuge, but would you consider a hang on back fuge? Not the same as a sump. That would keep a steady supply of pods flowing into the tank and reduce the need for phyto dosing to maintain the population. Plus cheato, IMO is great at helping with nutrient stability - NO3/PO4 rises, it grows faster. CPR has some nice HOB fuges that are fairly inconspicuous.

I can't say for sure, but I think my mandarin is eating LRS Reef Frenzy Nano frozen food which I broadcast feed for the mandarin, the other fish and my corals (it's has mix of bits, really tiny bits and slurry for all sizes of mouths).

I have a small HOB fuge. I just hate how it looks and I screwed up and didn't leave enough space between the tank and the wall to hide it behind the tank. I'll never add chaeto to another tank. My last tank started getting a bit of algae and I got the HOB fuge just so I could add chaeto. Unfortunately the chaeto I bought introduced dinoflagellates which crashed my tank. I had to break down the tank and completely start over after 8 months of fighting it unsuccessfully and losing most of my corals and several fish. I should have just got some more cuc. This tank is only about 5 months old and it's completely algae free other than coralline. I prefer to control nitrates and phosphate with water changes, low stocking and light feeding now.

 

[SciGuy2]

Beautiful aquascape, Kimberely!

 

[Reef Nutrition]

do amphipods eat copepods? I've looked at those kits, but my concern is that the would wipe out my tigger pods which I prefer after following a number of posts on the subject by @Reef Nutrition

Amphipods do eat copepods. They also are cannibalistic. Keep in mind that copepods also eat their young and other copepods. If you provide ample habitat and food, they can coexist.

Chad