TDO feeding amount for 2 mandarins?

[JayFish4004]

I recently bought some TDO pellets (x-small) and realize I have been making a mistake not doing this sooner. The Biota mandarins eat them right up and they will sit on the rock work until they come by to feast.

I had been doing Hikari frozen brine and frozen can o cyclops and the challenge with this is the pieces are so small they suspend in the water and I don’t think the mandarins have a chance to get too much. I have a feeling this tiny food ends up creating a ton of nitrates in the tank too since its so inefficient and probably gets clogged everywhere.

Now my question - how the heck do I figure out how many daily pellets of these super tiny 400 micron things so they get enough but I don’t blast the nitrates?

Also - should I retire the hikari baby brine and can o cyclops or just severely limit it? I also do monthly pods so the mandarins are super fed.

 

[blaxsun]

Probably a dozen or so pellets twice a day.

 

[JayFish4004]

Probably a dozen or so pellets twice a day.

Should I put them on the same rock every time and hope to train them to go there to find it or spread around? The other challenge is I have 10 other fish but if its sitting on rocks the other fish dont usually touch it, might just mean if I spread it around I’d need more.

 

[blaxsun]

Should I put them on the same rock every time and hope to train them to go there to find it or spread around? The other challenge is I have 10 other fish but if its sitting on rocks the other fish dont usually touch it, might just mean if I spread it around I’d need more.

I found a feeder works best to target feed my mandarins.

 

[JayFish4004]

I found a feeder works best to target feed my mandarins.

What do you mean by feeder? Like a pipette or a specific device?

 

[blaxsun]

What do you mean by feeder? Like a pipette or a specific device?

Pipette, baster, etc. Even a syringe if the tip is wise enough. The longer the tube the easier it is to get it nearer to the fish without startling it.

 

[JayFish4004]

Pipette, baster, etc. Even a syringe if the tip is wise enough. The longer the tube the easier it is to get it nearer to the fish without startling it.

Here’s a video of them eating

 

[merkmerk73]

Old thread, but I found the frozen stuff to be a tad iffy sometimes - my male goes for calanus now but it's like a 'pod by pod' situation

Both male and female will eat TDO Chroma Boost B2.

I just sprinkle pinches of it around their acclimation box and they go for it.

 

[JayFish4004]

Old thread, but I found the frozen stuff to be a tad iffy sometimes - my male goes for calanus now but it's like a 'pod by pod' situation

Both male and female will eat TDO Chroma Boost B2.

I just sprinkle pinches of it around their acclimation box and they go for it.

Im over a year in with these guys and TDO pellets have been the way to go. They will go after mysis as well but not all that much and they aren’t super skilled at getting stuff out of the water column. They much prefer picking stuff off rocks or sand.

I have reserved to using Rowaphos to control the phosphate levels that come with pellets - kind of inevitable if you want well fed fish.

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

Im over a year in with these guys and TDO pellets have been the way to go. They will go after mysis as well but not all that much and they aren’t super skilled at getting stuff out of the water column. They much prefer picking stuff off rocks or sand.

I have reserved to using Rowaphos to control the phosphate levels that come with pellets - kind of inevitable if you want well fed fish.

I just tried some TDO B2 and it seems to just float on top of the water. Will the Mandarins go for it up there, or do you have to soak it in water and suck it up in a pipette to put it near to where the Mandarins live?

 

[areefer01]

Having several fish from Biota all arriving on the small side I'll share my experience. I don't expect many to do this but I feel it is important to share regardless. Captive bred or raised fish usually arrive small and are eating some form of prepared food. Typically Biota will list what they are eating in the fish description or notes. I make sure to have this on hand. TDO, DKI, etc. Pay attention if they note the pellet size or frozen type. Mastick is also good to keep on hand. With that out of the way here is my routine.

I feed frozen 2 x day. At first I will do one type at a time. LRS Nano, next rotation LRS Reef, next rotation LRS Fish, next rotation Brine, next rotation Mysis, then prime reef, etc. Each feed I'm only using one type and I observe what is eaten vs picked at. Take notes and move to dry.

Dry I feed several times a day. Similar to frozen above I rotate through TDO x-small, or small, then PE mysis pellet, then Hakari, and so on. See what they eat vs pick at. Take notes. Once they are in the display then the auto feeder kicks in and I mix what everyone eats for the hourly.

If I need to isolate or observe or grow out in refugium it isn't a bit deal. I just manually feed several times a day pellet then frozen twice. If they are in the display then they get an auto feeder hourly starting at 0830 which ends at 1830. Frozen is around noon and again at 2000.

Why so much food? First I like plump fish. Second is they are foraging all day anyway so small auto portions gives them something to do. Third is more important for the smaller growing fish. They are growing and just like babies need to be feed often. In order to make sure they get enough food I decided to go hourly with dry and twice with frozen so I know they get food throughout the day. Even with the faster and larger fish the new little lads get something.

Biota gold lined rabbit, pink square anthias, links goby, upside down goby, lyretail damsel, radial filefish, matted filefish, blue neon goby, and recently a milletseed butterflyfish. The key to their success in my care has been the availability of food.

Your mileage may vary of course but this is how I manage. Manual feeding is not much different. Just add some food and observe. Note what they clearly eat and don't. Go from there.

 

[JayFish4004]

I just tried some TDO B2 and it seems to just float on top of the water. Will the Mandarins go for it up there, or do you have to soak it in water and suck it up in a pipette to put it near to where the Mandarins live?

You have to turn pumps off for 30min or so - extremely important to set a reminder to turn them back on its a dangerous endeavor. Definitely use pipette to distribute on rock areas they can come pick it up from.

 

[merkmerk73]

I just tried some TDO B2 and it seems to just float on top of the water. Will the Mandarins go for it up there, or do you have to soak it in water and suck it up in a pipette to put it near to where the Mandarins live?

I have one of those urinal cups from Tidal Gardens coral orders

(ps Than I'm a big fan)

Anyways, fill it with a little bit of tank water and then sprinkle your TDO pellets into it and stir - they'll sink and then you can dispense with an eyedropper or something similar