Told My Self I Wouldn't Do It, But I Did

[reef keeper]

Gonna get some to feed my regals

 

[Nonuser]

Gonna get some to feed my regals

Wooden they be too small for Angels of that size?

 

[Luke.]

Do you have to drip them?

Good questions im going to put the bottle right on in ( that's what they do at the store) and the bottle says 1.25 solinity mines 1.24 should I or nah? What do you think

 

[David Caplan]

Tiger pods aren't really the best option for keeping mandarins, as they reproduce poorly. Pouring in a whole bottle of tigers means they will get eaten (as they are large and visible) then some will get stuck in mechanical filtration. They tend not to last long in most aquariums. They are best used for target feeding.

Tisbe, parvo and other small copepods are the best fit for reef tanks. Not only do dragonettes prefer these small pods, your corals also benefit from them being around. Because they are very small, 50-150 um at adult, they go through most filtration and pumps unharmed, and can freely reproduce in your tank. In this case, unlike Tiger pods, the more you add at once the better. They find homes in your rockwork, substrate and filtration and breed. Provided you have enough that they can keep up reproduction with the rate they are being eaten, it gives you a little self-sustaining ecosystem for small fish and corals.

As you can see the tigers are suspended in the bottle, they are pelagic (free float through the water) as opposed to the copepods that mandarins prefer which are benthic (live in rock and substrate). Dragonettes are constant grazers and love the small benthic pods.

 

[Joshbrookkate]

does he eat frozen ??? as well?

I added a bottle every 3 months
but mine also ate frozen

Do you still have him?

 

[David Caplan]

I have a 2 year old green mandarin, 2 year old grissingeri goby, two wetmorella wrasses, a ruby red scooter and 3 pygmy fairy wrasses that all feed on benthic pods. The fairy wrasses will eat processed food, but none of the other fish will. It is also incredible how much more colourful the fish get from eating live food, my wetmorellas went from a very pale colour to really deep colours, and the fairy wrasses have maintained their wild colour, which is difficult to do without live food.

For larger finicky eaters, I love live blackworms.

 

[Nonuser]

Live black worm are they not hard to acquire? Plus hard to keep, you need them cool but not to cold and oxygenated water. Plus they're freshwater and if left un eaten....blah,,,blah,,

 

[David Caplan]

Live black worm are they not hard to acquire? Plus hard to keep, you need them cool but not to cold and oxygenated water. Plus they're freshwater and if left un eaten....blah,,,blah,,

I get them from a freshwater fish store, they are very cheap. They store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. At some point when I have some room I am going to breed them. The ones you get from the freshwater store require lots of rinsing. I've yet to see a finicky eater reject live blackworms in garlic. It unfortunately doesn't work for the small fish that require the HUFA (Highly unsaturated fatty acids) found in the phytoplankton that copepods eat.

 

[reef keeper]

Where do you get blackworms

 

[SamB]

I can bring you one of David's copepod mix "seed packs" on March 28

 

[shamous113]

this is an interesting way of feeding the little guys. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2113800&highlight=feeding+brine+shrimp

 

[Poseidon]

ive owned 3 mandarins, all successful and never died. I simply had a large amount of liverock and a good pod population (never seeded, came naturally)
they will hunt, as long as you have alot of rock and your system is at least a year old you wont have any problems (normally speaking)

 

[Nonuser]

ive owned 3 mandarins, all successful and never died. I simply had a large amount of liverock and a good pod population (never seeded, came naturally)
they will hunt, as long as you have alot of rock and your system is at least a year old you wont have any problems (normally speaking)

Wow how old are they now?

 

[Poseidon]

Wow how old are they now?

i cant verify they are still alive, as i sold them all off when i quit the hobby, but the one i had the longest (over two years) survived both my tank leaks.