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mandarin goby
- Thread starter mike90
- Start date
Mike,
Sounds like you did the same thing I did when I bought a mandrin. Bought it with out researching it. Unfortunitly that can lead to the rapid death of the fish. They eat mostly copods, and other reef bugs. Some have been seen to eat flatworms, but that is more an exception than a rule. You may be able to get it to eat brine shrimp or mydis shrimp as well, you will have to target feed it to get the shrimp right up by the fish, and have low to no flow during feeding as they are not quick fish. But that wont give it the long term nutrition it will need. It may be enough to keep it going until you can make other arangements. When I bought mine my reef was a couple months old and a 29. The tank grew to a 46-55-75 each time adding more rock and thus more copods. This isn't a reality for most. The tank size changes happened every couple few months over the course of a year. What is more fessable for most in this situation is setting up a fuge. Buy some live rock and a fuge seeding kit from an online vendor. That would be the best bet. I had my mandrin for 3 years before I lost him in a move that took almost my entire reef out.
Sounds like you did the same thing I did when I bought a mandrin. Bought it with out researching it. Unfortunitly that can lead to the rapid death of the fish. They eat mostly copods, and other reef bugs. Some have been seen to eat flatworms, but that is more an exception than a rule. You may be able to get it to eat brine shrimp or mydis shrimp as well, you will have to target feed it to get the shrimp right up by the fish, and have low to no flow during feeding as they are not quick fish. But that wont give it the long term nutrition it will need. It may be enough to keep it going until you can make other arangements. When I bought mine my reef was a couple months old and a 29. The tank grew to a 46-55-75 each time adding more rock and thus more copods. This isn't a reality for most. The tank size changes happened every couple few months over the course of a year. What is more fessable for most in this situation is setting up a fuge. Buy some live rock and a fuge seeding kit from an online vendor. That would be the best bet. I had my mandrin for 3 years before I lost him in a move that took almost my entire reef out.
Mike, check out this recent discussion:
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=76580
Some mandarins will eat frozen/sinking food, but most won't. Mandarins have excellent eyesight and will closely inspect whatever falls in front of them, so you'll know quickly if he'll accept non-live offerings. Unfortunately, most mandarins are difficult to get eating (ironically, they're fairly tough when it comes to water quality).
Assuming you don't have an existing pod population, the best solution for keeping your mandarin alive is expensive: purchase large stocks of live copepods (i.e. multiple bottles of 500 pods) and divide them between your main tank and your refugium. This method gives the mandarin something to eat as you build up the pod colony in the fuge (a solid pod colony takes 2-4 months to establish if you have 40+ lbs of live rock, a decent refugium, and one mandarin). My LFS sells bottles of 500 pods for $20/bottle.
One good thing about pods is that they keep in the fridge or your basement for long periods of time in the bottle, so you can buy in bulk. In between, try live brine, as even finicky mandarins will usually take a few here and there.
Again, if you're very very lucky, your mandarin will take frozen/sinking food. Otherwise, you stuck in the same boat as everyone else, which is trying to get a pod colony going as you race against the clock (and the fish starves).
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=76580
Some mandarins will eat frozen/sinking food, but most won't. Mandarins have excellent eyesight and will closely inspect whatever falls in front of them, so you'll know quickly if he'll accept non-live offerings. Unfortunately, most mandarins are difficult to get eating (ironically, they're fairly tough when it comes to water quality).
Assuming you don't have an existing pod population, the best solution for keeping your mandarin alive is expensive: purchase large stocks of live copepods (i.e. multiple bottles of 500 pods) and divide them between your main tank and your refugium. This method gives the mandarin something to eat as you build up the pod colony in the fuge (a solid pod colony takes 2-4 months to establish if you have 40+ lbs of live rock, a decent refugium, and one mandarin). My LFS sells bottles of 500 pods for $20/bottle.
One good thing about pods is that they keep in the fridge or your basement for long periods of time in the bottle, so you can buy in bulk. In between, try live brine, as even finicky mandarins will usually take a few here and there.
Again, if you're very very lucky, your mandarin will take frozen/sinking food. Otherwise, you stuck in the same boat as everyone else, which is trying to get a pod colony going as you race against the clock (and the fish starves).
- Location
- San Francisco (formerly Manhattan!)
Hey Mike- I second the postings here, and also would add that is it important to always research whatever you buy first. Without exception.
Okay, on to concrete help. BTW, how large is your tank? The amount of live rock in your tank (and resulting pod population) will in large part determine your Mandarin's chances. I've heard 75lbs as a rule of thumb thrown around, but you could get away with less if you have a fuge, which will also help. I designed my last tank around a mandarin, specifically. It featured an above tank fuge that drained by gravity (important for making sure small pods are not chewed up in a pump and killed before getting to the main tank). Purchasing pods in bulk is a good suggestion, but in my fuge I had good success with keeping about 8 peppermint shrimp, VERY well fed, and they in turn would spawn every week or so. I made sure not to have any other fish in the tank competeting for the same food (no wrasses, for example) and in time I had a healthy population of peppermint larvae and tiny shrimp that my Mandarin thrived on. This solution is less expensive in the long run. Even then I still target fed the Mandarin live brine fortified with Selcon and algae, just to be safe.
Good luck, hope this helps. I would start with some live brine shrimp first, as a stop-gap measure, and feed alot, while setting up a fuge. Your mandarin might not have eaten for quite a while...
Best, Peter
Okay, on to concrete help. BTW, how large is your tank? The amount of live rock in your tank (and resulting pod population) will in large part determine your Mandarin's chances. I've heard 75lbs as a rule of thumb thrown around, but you could get away with less if you have a fuge, which will also help. I designed my last tank around a mandarin, specifically. It featured an above tank fuge that drained by gravity (important for making sure small pods are not chewed up in a pump and killed before getting to the main tank). Purchasing pods in bulk is a good suggestion, but in my fuge I had good success with keeping about 8 peppermint shrimp, VERY well fed, and they in turn would spawn every week or so. I made sure not to have any other fish in the tank competeting for the same food (no wrasses, for example) and in time I had a healthy population of peppermint larvae and tiny shrimp that my Mandarin thrived on. This solution is less expensive in the long run. Even then I still target fed the Mandarin live brine fortified with Selcon and algae, just to be safe.
Good luck, hope this helps. I would start with some live brine shrimp first, as a stop-gap measure, and feed alot, while setting up a fuge. Your mandarin might not have eaten for quite a while...
Best, Peter
thanks guys for all your good info. im trying to avoid building a fuge if possible. are there any "sinking" food pellets out there that i can order off of some of the popular reef websites? if not i was looking at ordering some pods that i can just pour into the tank. but how long would that last the goby?
- Location
- San Francisco (formerly Manhattan!)
Owenz- I had an automatic feeder feeding twice a day- I think just a mixed small pellet food, but I would also add shrimp every once in a while leftover from my anemone, as well as live brine. Fuge was about 16 gallons, mounted on a cantilever above the tank. I had no shrimp in the main tank- they steal food from my anemone! : )
Mike- while I don't really believe in absolutes in this hobby- it is highly unlikely that any sinking pellet you get will actually be eaten by the Mandarin. Even the smallest sinking pellets I have seen are too large for the Mandarin's mouth, and because it is not live, it usually will not go for it. Dumping pods into the tank might help things, but depending on the size of your tank (how large is it??) your Mandarin will eat these very quickly if not offered any supplemental food. And buying pods every week is expensive and susceptible to laziness. You can try to start with live brine, then train it on frozen brine (by slowly increasing the proportion of frozen brine shrimp in your feedings over several weeks until the Mandarin acknowledges them as food).
Sorry to break it to you, but without a fuge I think it is really going to take you hand, target feeding the Mandarin faithfully every single day for adequate health of the fish. Note in my set-up I target fed PLUS had a thriving pod/shrimp larvae population. I viewed the pod population and fuge set-up as a buffer in case a couldn't feed for a day or two. Without the right set-up or large enough tank, it is a high-maintenance fish. Not trying to be harsh here, but if you are not able to feed everyday live foods or change your set-up signifcantly, I'd honestly just take the fish back...
Thanks, Peter
Mike- while I don't really believe in absolutes in this hobby- it is highly unlikely that any sinking pellet you get will actually be eaten by the Mandarin. Even the smallest sinking pellets I have seen are too large for the Mandarin's mouth, and because it is not live, it usually will not go for it. Dumping pods into the tank might help things, but depending on the size of your tank (how large is it??) your Mandarin will eat these very quickly if not offered any supplemental food. And buying pods every week is expensive and susceptible to laziness. You can try to start with live brine, then train it on frozen brine (by slowly increasing the proportion of frozen brine shrimp in your feedings over several weeks until the Mandarin acknowledges them as food).
Sorry to break it to you, but without a fuge I think it is really going to take you hand, target feeding the Mandarin faithfully every single day for adequate health of the fish. Note in my set-up I target fed PLUS had a thriving pod/shrimp larvae population. I viewed the pod population and fuge set-up as a buffer in case a couldn't feed for a day or two. Without the right set-up or large enough tank, it is a high-maintenance fish. Not trying to be harsh here, but if you are not able to feed everyday live foods or change your set-up signifcantly, I'd honestly just take the fish back...
Thanks, Peter
There's a LOT of Copepod info I have gathered over the past few weeks. Let me start off by questioning one comment made by somebody. I am told, and it's on the respective website FAQ's, by the makers of both types of pods you can buy that you should NOT put them in the refrigerator. It's not like phytoplankton. They need room temp.
Uh... Adelaide's OCEAN PODS (www.oceanpods.com) have 1000 pods in a bottle, and the makers of Phyto-feast (http://www.copepod.com/) have 500 in a bottle. Both are similar in price. There's a guy on Ebay who will sell you Ocean Pods for only $5 shipping too... Reef Revolution. Adelaide charges about $15 shipping/handling. I got a Copepod bottle from Sharkey's. I decided to dump the Ocean Pod bottle in the tank (small plastic bottle) and I'm going to try and culture the Copepod brand bottle. In the meantime live brine, like everybody said will do, maybe frozen mysis. I've been doing live brine for a couple of weeks now and... boy he has a hard time eating them even when they are in front of his face. I was thinking... try direct feeding with a syringe or something so he gets some food. Try that with mysis too.
Adelaide tole me that a bottle might only last 2-4 weeks b/c of all the pod eaters in a tank and the time needed for them to populate. They might not get over the hump and populate quicker than they are consumed. I guess I'll have to start looking in the dark with a flashlight to get a good idea of exactly when I have enough pods. That's the real question... when is it enough?
Read both websites for info on how to care for them, feed them, culture them, etc. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you bought a bottle every month for the rest of your life but that doesn't seem logical. You can go with refuge or you can try what I'm thinking about and culturing them yourself. You can do it for a few months in the bottle they sell. Or make your own out of a 2-liter bottle, tupperware, etc. They also talk about aeration, light, etc. too. Adelaide told me she was working on a more informative FAQ on culturing them this way. I figure I'll just culture them easily this way for awhile b/c I'm not real interested in another tank or having something else hanging off the back of my tank. If I were more of an expert like these guys around here I think ideally a refuge can have a lot of advantages.
About pellets and stuff... you know what... don't start adding all sorts of food hoping he'll get it. Don't foul your water up. Anything you try like this do it with a very small amount. And I mean mysis. Mandarin's are like koala bears. They have very specific diets... they are highly specialized for this diet too. So try direct feeding mysis or live brine.
OH yea... don't use tank water to add or do water changes with. I never understood why now I do. I think I forgot the reason too but let me hack at it. Apparantly the bacteria (good stuff that has built up) in the tank can't survive outside the tank. SO they'll die and foul the water up. So use Catalina seawater, maybe bottle/box seawater, or make your own. There are instructions on OceanPods.com.
Uh... Adelaide's OCEAN PODS (www.oceanpods.com) have 1000 pods in a bottle, and the makers of Phyto-feast (http://www.copepod.com/) have 500 in a bottle. Both are similar in price. There's a guy on Ebay who will sell you Ocean Pods for only $5 shipping too... Reef Revolution. Adelaide charges about $15 shipping/handling. I got a Copepod bottle from Sharkey's. I decided to dump the Ocean Pod bottle in the tank (small plastic bottle) and I'm going to try and culture the Copepod brand bottle. In the meantime live brine, like everybody said will do, maybe frozen mysis. I've been doing live brine for a couple of weeks now and... boy he has a hard time eating them even when they are in front of his face. I was thinking... try direct feeding with a syringe or something so he gets some food. Try that with mysis too.
Adelaide tole me that a bottle might only last 2-4 weeks b/c of all the pod eaters in a tank and the time needed for them to populate. They might not get over the hump and populate quicker than they are consumed. I guess I'll have to start looking in the dark with a flashlight to get a good idea of exactly when I have enough pods. That's the real question... when is it enough?
Read both websites for info on how to care for them, feed them, culture them, etc. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you bought a bottle every month for the rest of your life but that doesn't seem logical. You can go with refuge or you can try what I'm thinking about and culturing them yourself. You can do it for a few months in the bottle they sell. Or make your own out of a 2-liter bottle, tupperware, etc. They also talk about aeration, light, etc. too. Adelaide told me she was working on a more informative FAQ on culturing them this way. I figure I'll just culture them easily this way for awhile b/c I'm not real interested in another tank or having something else hanging off the back of my tank. If I were more of an expert like these guys around here I think ideally a refuge can have a lot of advantages.
About pellets and stuff... you know what... don't start adding all sorts of food hoping he'll get it. Don't foul your water up. Anything you try like this do it with a very small amount. And I mean mysis. Mandarin's are like koala bears. They have very specific diets... they are highly specialized for this diet too. So try direct feeding mysis or live brine.
OH yea... don't use tank water to add or do water changes with. I never understood why now I do. I think I forgot the reason too but let me hack at it. Apparantly the bacteria (good stuff that has built up) in the tank can't survive outside the tank. SO they'll die and foul the water up. So use Catalina seawater, maybe bottle/box seawater, or make your own. There are instructions on OceanPods.com.
There's a LOT of Copepod info I have gathered over the past few weeks. Let me start off by questioning one comment made by somebody. I am told, and it's on the respective website FAQ's, by the makers of both types of pods you can buy that you should NOT put them in the refrigerator. It's not like phytoplankton. They need room temp.
I'm not contradicting you here at all...but my LFS keeps their Tigger Pods (the Phytofeast brand) in the fridge with no apparent ill effects. I looked in several of his bottles the other day and saw dozens of little guys swimming around. I've also used him as the primary source of pods for my tank, since he somehow sells them for $20/bottle with no shipping. Anyway, this certainly isn't to say that putting them in the fridge is ideal...just that I've seen it done with ill effects. Because I buy them so cold, I follow normal acclimation procedures before adding them to my tank and fuge. (All that said, I will print out a copy of the FAQ from Phytopods and give it to them.)
I will definitely agree that, from what I've read and been told, the size of the food is the determining factor with Madarins (combined with it being alive). In other words, Mandarins don't particularly care if it's pods, baby brine, or baby peppermint shrimp you're feeding tehm...as long as the critter moves and is small enough to fit in his mouth. Pods are the most logical food source, since unlike brine or other shrimp fry, they never grow too large for the Mandarin to eat. Pods will also regenerate and provide a permanent food source, although Entacmaea seems to have escaped the "permanent source" box with his always-spawning peppermints.
Mike - if your Mandarin won't eat live brine, he almost certainly won't eat any kind of sinking pellet. If you want to give it a try anyway, my advice would be to throw smallest the pellet you can find in the tank, let the Mandarin take a look at it, then pull it out if he doesn't bite. He's not going to "go back later" if he doesn't go for it on the first pass.
I'm not contradicting you here at all...but my LFS keeps their Tigger Pods (the Phytofeast brand) in the fridge with no apparent ill effects. I looked in several of his bottles the other day and saw dozens of little guys swimming around. I've also used him as the primary source of pods for my tank, since he somehow sells them for $20/bottle with no shipping. Anyway, this certainly isn't to say that putting them in the fridge is ideal...just that I've seen it done with ill effects. Because I buy them so cold, I follow normal acclimation procedures before adding them to my tank and fuge. (All that said, I will print out a copy of the FAQ from Phytopods and give it to them.)
I will definitely agree that, from what I've read and been told, the size of the food is the determining factor with Madarins (combined with it being alive). In other words, Mandarins don't particularly care if it's pods, baby brine, or baby peppermint shrimp you're feeding tehm...as long as the critter moves and is small enough to fit in his mouth. Pods are the most logical food source, since unlike brine or other shrimp fry, they never grow too large for the Mandarin to eat. Pods will also regenerate and provide a permanent food source, although Entacmaea seems to have escaped the "permanent source" box with his always-spawning peppermints.
Mike - if your Mandarin won't eat live brine, he almost certainly won't eat any kind of sinking pellet. If you want to give it a try anyway, my advice would be to throw smallest the pellet you can find in the tank, let the Mandarin take a look at it, then pull it out if he doesn't bite. He's not going to "go back later" if he doesn't go for it on the first pass.
my tank is a 90gal by the way..
i think ill give a shot at the live brine. i dont want to sound stupid but i must admit though that i have never bought live brine before and dont know the procedure for using it. do you just pour it into the tank and they will sink to the bottom? at the LFS i always see it all moving around the hole tank so how will the mandarin get at it if it is not on the bottom? do i keep the rest in the fridge, or room temp?? how do i keep the brine alive? sorry for all the questions. im still an amature at the hobby. i've had my tank only since July.
i think ill give a shot at the live brine. i dont want to sound stupid but i must admit though that i have never bought live brine before and dont know the procedure for using it. do you just pour it into the tank and they will sink to the bottom? at the LFS i always see it all moving around the hole tank so how will the mandarin get at it if it is not on the bottom? do i keep the rest in the fridge, or room temp?? how do i keep the brine alive? sorry for all the questions. im still an amature at the hobby. i've had my tank only since July.
- Location
- San Francisco (formerly Manhattan!)
The best way to feed the brine is to get a turkey baster, or long segment of rigid airline tubing (the 1/4 inch diameter is fine). You can then suck up a few brine and target feed the Mandarin. Don't pour them in the tank.
Only do a couple at a time, as the mandarin will only be able to "hunt" in a small area before the brine scatter and the opportunity is lost. Repeat as many times as necessary for a healthy feeding- id say 15 brine is a good target, if your Mandarin is average size. Make sure to feed all other fish in the tank first, to lessen competition. Whereever you store them, make sure the container gets air- don't put them in a sealed tupperware container. Fortify them for at least 24 hours with selcon or and algae paste before feeding, but make sure to change the water every few days if you do this...
Only do a couple at a time, as the mandarin will only be able to "hunt" in a small area before the brine scatter and the opportunity is lost. Repeat as many times as necessary for a healthy feeding- id say 15 brine is a good target, if your Mandarin is average size. Make sure to feed all other fish in the tank first, to lessen competition. Whereever you store them, make sure the container gets air- don't put them in a sealed tupperware container. Fortify them for at least 24 hours with selcon or and algae paste before feeding, but make sure to change the water every few days if you do this...
i think ill give a shot at the live brine. i dont want to sound stupid but i must admit though that i have never bought live brine before and dont know the procedure for using it.
Keeping brine alive is a snap. Just siphon 3 or 4 gallons of tank water into an old Instant Ocean bucket (the white provides a good back drop), and keep it in your basement with an air stone in it (room temp is fine). A few bucks worth of brine will last at least a week or two in the bucket. I've never bothered to feed my brine or get them spawning...I just pick up a batch from the LFS every ten days or so.
Beyond that, follow Entacmaea's turkey baster advice.
Keeping brine alive is a snap. Just siphon 3 or 4 gallons of tank water into an old Instant Ocean bucket (the white provides a good back drop), and keep it in your basement with an air stone in it (room temp is fine). A few bucks worth of brine will last at least a week or two in the bucket. I've never bothered to feed my brine or get them spawning...I just pick up a batch from the LFS every ten days or so.
Beyond that, follow Entacmaea's turkey baster advice.
Couldn't hurt to give cyclopeeze a try with the pumps off so it falls to the bottom. Mine eats it till it looks like he'll pop. I've had him for years though, and he is definitely an exception to the rule, he even eats the small size spectrum anti parasite formula. Probably best to take him back though, time is not on his side.
- Location
- San Francisco (formerly Manhattan!)
Owenz live brine set-up is good. Also, if you keep them in the dark they swim less and thus last longer.
If you get a long piece, 24" or so, of 1/4 inch rigid airline tubing, and use that as your "turkey baster", you can get close enough to him without him seeing it hopefully (clear tubing). Broadcasting larger amounts of live brine in the tank means he might get a few if you are lucky, and the rest will get eaten by other things, or just add unnecessary nutrients... They decompose quickly when dead...
If you get a long piece, 24" or so, of 1/4 inch rigid airline tubing, and use that as your "turkey baster", you can get close enough to him without him seeing it hopefully (clear tubing). Broadcasting larger amounts of live brine in the tank means he might get a few if you are lucky, and the rest will get eaten by other things, or just add unnecessary nutrients... They decompose quickly when dead...
see the only problem is, i cant really target feed the mandarin because it's a 90 gallon tank and he gets scared when anything comes near him so im thinking a turkey baster although a good solution may still scare him away
Even if you're only getting them in the Mandarin's general area, it's a good thing to try. Otherwise, they'll swim all over the tank.
Even if you're only getting them in the Mandarin's general area, it's a good thing to try. Otherwise, they'll swim all over the tank.
use a pcs of rigid air tube attached to a long pcs of air line. There is no ball to siphion it up like a baster so you'll have to use your mouth, BUT you can have a rigid pcs 2-3' long thjat will reach all over in a 90 gal, and since it is clear it will be less noticeanle to the goby
Couldn't hurt to give cyclopeeze a try with the pumps off so it falls to the bottom. Mine eats it till it looks like he'll pop. I've had him for years though, and he is definitely an exception to the rule, he even eats the small size spectrum anti parasite formula. Probably best to take him back though, time is not on his side.
From everything I've read, Mandarins like the one Beak has are almost always older fish who have been in the tank for a while (the one exception: a really good LFS employee can sometimes tell you which Mandarin has been accepting non-live food in the store). It seems like Mandarins can eventually learn to eat non-live foods if the fish had pods or another good live food supply in the first crucial months. In story after story you hear about the Mandarin getting extremely skinny just after going into the tank due to lack of pods, then stabilizing slightly as the owner feeds them live brine and other semi-appropriate live food, then finally dying after a couple of months. So you might even say the "crucial period" is the first few weeks, rather than months...
It's kind of a case of the rich getting richer. If your Mandarin is plump and happy, the chances of him taking non-live food are relatively decent over the long haul. If your Mandarin is skinny and struggling, however, you can bet he'll ignore non-live food and only take pods and exotic substitutes (like peppermint shrimp fry). Tricky little fish.
From everything I've read, Mandarins like the one Beak has are almost always older fish who have been in the tank for a while (the one exception: a really good LFS employee can sometimes tell you which Mandarin has been accepting non-live food in the store). It seems like Mandarins can eventually learn to eat non-live foods if the fish had pods or another good live food supply in the first crucial months. In story after story you hear about the Mandarin getting extremely skinny just after going into the tank due to lack of pods, then stabilizing slightly as the owner feeds them live brine and other semi-appropriate live food, then finally dying after a couple of months. So you might even say the "crucial period" is the first few weeks, rather than months...
It's kind of a case of the rich getting richer. If your Mandarin is plump and happy, the chances of him taking non-live food are relatively decent over the long haul. If your Mandarin is skinny and struggling, however, you can bet he'll ignore non-live food and only take pods and exotic substitutes (like peppermint shrimp fry). Tricky little fish.
Be careful on this guys... so you don't KILL your culture. This is from copepod.com...:
Longer Term Storage
Tigger Pods™ can be stored in a "warm" (40 F +) refrigerator to decrease their metabolisms, which will increase the stored shelf life.
But why do this. Either add them to your tank or culture them.
ANEOMEBUFF... is he doing Cyclopeeze DIRECT feedings or just adding it to the tank?? And you mean the frozen, not live, cyclopeeze.
Yea... $20 is MSRP. Nice you have an LFS so you don't have to pay shipping. I've been checking places around here in Central Florida with no luck.
I've put those big Ghost Shrimp in before and saw my Mandarin with one in his mouth... part legs and stuff sticking out.
It's tuff to feed a Mandarin. It's like... they're really dumb or something. They see a live brine right in their face, and they look at it and think about it so long that it ends up swimming away. If you try to target feed him your other fish will pounce on him and run him off... if your hand doesn't scare him away.
Mike90: If you got a 90gal tank I'd say buy 2-3 tablespoons of Live Brine. They'll be all over swimming around and your Mandarin will get some. It's a nice treat to give your fish once-in-awhile too. I've been adding 1-2 tbls. couple times a week to keep mine alive till I can figure out my pod situation. Nothing is going to live in a frigerator... of normal temperature!!! Phytoplankton can but they're like... bacteria almost... so that makes sense. Just put your live brine in right away after a temp. acclimation, don't add the water of course, or you can probably leave them in the bag under your tank for a day or two.
I'd try some target feeding, just in his general direction not too close, to see if it can work for you. We don't want to foul up our water. Whatever you do don't start putting all sorts of food in there just to keep him alive and kill all sorts of other things.
Longer Term Storage
Tigger Pods™ can be stored in a "warm" (40 F +) refrigerator to decrease their metabolisms, which will increase the stored shelf life.
But why do this. Either add them to your tank or culture them.
ANEOMEBUFF... is he doing Cyclopeeze DIRECT feedings or just adding it to the tank?? And you mean the frozen, not live, cyclopeeze.
Yea... $20 is MSRP. Nice you have an LFS so you don't have to pay shipping. I've been checking places around here in Central Florida with no luck.
I've put those big Ghost Shrimp in before and saw my Mandarin with one in his mouth... part legs and stuff sticking out.
It's tuff to feed a Mandarin. It's like... they're really dumb or something. They see a live brine right in their face, and they look at it and think about it so long that it ends up swimming away. If you try to target feed him your other fish will pounce on him and run him off... if your hand doesn't scare him away.
Mike90: If you got a 90gal tank I'd say buy 2-3 tablespoons of Live Brine. They'll be all over swimming around and your Mandarin will get some. It's a nice treat to give your fish once-in-awhile too. I've been adding 1-2 tbls. couple times a week to keep mine alive till I can figure out my pod situation. Nothing is going to live in a frigerator... of normal temperature!!! Phytoplankton can but they're like... bacteria almost... so that makes sense. Just put your live brine in right away after a temp. acclimation, don't add the water of course, or you can probably leave them in the bag under your tank for a day or two.
I'd try some target feeding, just in his general direction not too close, to see if it can work for you. We don't want to foul up our water. Whatever you do don't start putting all sorts of food in there just to keep him alive and kill all sorts of other things.
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