Mandarin fish food

[Tony13]

Can I feed my mandarin fish cyclop eeze instead of live copepods?

 

[Breakthecycle2]

You have to "train" them, but they usually don't.

 

[twilliard]

You can try and see but it is hard to get them to eat anything other than what they eat in nature.
They do best in a well established large system where food is plentiful

 

[Breakthecycle2]

If you don't have one and want one, you're best best to buy pods every month or so and let them reproduce for 6 months or more.

 

[tripdad]

If your dead set against pods try an ORA mandarin, they sometimes have them already trained onto alternatives, but still difficult fish without pods.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

If your dead set against pods try an ORA mandarin, they sometimes have them already trained onto alternatives, but still difficult fish without pods.

The problem is they don't have any anymore.

 

[Waboss]

You can build a culture for pods (I do it for my mandarin) and then feed "the tank" from the culture every couple of days.

Basically you need a bucket, air pump, rigid air line, sea water and phyto. That's it. Oh, and pods to seed it with of course.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Refugium even a hob with only Chato. Sprinkle spiraling flake on it every so often. Lazy culturing I know but reduces n and p at the same time.
My mandarins will eat several kinds of frozen now. But it's best to have lots of bugs while they learn. Some of the successful foods have been mini mysis. Oyster feast for the eggs. Cyclops. Spirulina brine shrimp.
Leave the pumps off for an hour at feeding time and they get used to it and you'll notice what they like and don't. They will come running.
Once you have pods btw you always have pods. I now have live mysis too.
You can find the best pod deals on the Internet $20 for a TON free shipping usually.

 

[Robink]

I added pods to my refugium where they multiply like crazy and make there way into the display. Always have plenty in display for my mandarin. And that is all he eats.

 

[drstratton]

When you guys say pods are you talking copepods, amphipods or both?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Me both in my tank. Iso in some cases.

 

[drstratton]

Paul B has a lot of great info on feeding Mandarins. Here are a couple of links and a picture of his Mandarin feeder!!!

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-discussion/85904-they-all-love-feeder.html

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fattening-up-a-mandarin.154713/

 

[drstratton]

Me both in my tank. Iso in some cases.

I have both in my tank also. Do the Mandarins eat amphipods or just copepods, I'm really trying to get a huge supply in my tank. I'm also planning on having a brine shrimp hatchery. I want to add a Mandarin next October when my tank is a bit over a year old.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Its a matter of great debate.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-with-a-job.225326/page-2#post-2609146
Most believe its both. small shrimpy bugs and stuff we cant see. Mine eat the small baby brine live and frozen. on and off frozen rotifers. oyster feast. Prawn eggs are what we started with
Nutrimar OVA (prawn eggs)was the staple for training them but they went under. I think its because they made more money selling it as people food.

 

[paraletho]

I had mine trained to eat Mysis. To start out I found that he would eat bloodworms. I would bury one end in the sand and let them wave in the current. He would run up to them and watch them move and then slurp them out of the sand. Slowly I would introduce bloodworms from a set of tweezers after he had started grazing and he started taking them from hand feeding. I eventually had him feeding on frozen mysis but only the smaller ones.

 

[Shell]

I waited 18 years to add one because they are picky eaters. Brine shrimp have no nutritional value unless you soak in something like selcon.

 

[dzel]

I have a culture of pods going on a 8 g tank and just switch small rocks back and forth between my DT and the pod tank.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Mandarin auto feeder. [emoji12]

 

[injdog]

I have a male spotted mandarin in QT inhaling masago. (Little orange fish eggs they use for sushi). I just recently started mixing in frozen mysis cut up into little bits. Couple more weeks and It should be ready to go into DT.