mandarin fish

[joselastra]

when is it ok to introduce a manadrin fish to a tank. i know they need an established tank w/ plenty of rock to that houses their food......when is a tank "established"?

[Dentoid]

The rule of thumb that I have seen is 1 year before adding a Mandarin. This gives the tank time to become stable and allows the microfauna time to develope. I have also heard 100 lbs of LR. I was at my LFS the other day and they had two Mandarins. They were hovering at the top of the tank near the waters edge. The guy told me that is what they do when they are hungry. It broke my heart. All I could do was hope that someone with a mature tank would come and buy them. My tank is only 7 month old and 180lbs of LR.

[BigAl07]

Each tank will "mature" at different rates depedning on how it's maintained and how it's stocked.

In my mind I would think an "established" tank in this sense would be approximately 12 months old with TONS of live rock and a refugium with tons of "pods" in it. It would need to be stable and very well maintained.

The reason why the tank must be established is that the mandarin eats mainly "pods" and a new or semi-new tank wont have enough of a pod-pulation to properly support one (if EVER as they are usually difficult to keep but no always). With a few pods what happens is that mandarin slowly starves to death over a long period of time which sounds awfully cruel and un-fair.

Hope this helps some!!

Allen

[joselastra]

thank you. i have seen for sale on certain sites pods. i beleive these are the pods that mandarins eat, in place of TONS of live rock will the purchase of these pods suffice?, as for the maturity of the tank, i too was also thinking along the lines of the tank being AT LEAST 12 mos. old.

[kimoy]

i have a madarin on my tank when it was only 2 months old and been to an upgrade already. i still have my mandarin today healthy and eat like a pig. i have recently seen him eat frozen mysis. it's not that i recomend adding a mandarin to such a new tank(even though i did).

[kimoy]

and oh, i was adding a bottle of tiger pods once a month up until 3 months ago.

[joselastra]

what and where are these tiger pods purchased from?????

[Dentoid]

Do a Google search, you'll find a lot of distributors. I buy them at my LFS. Here is one dinky linky.

http://www.onlineaquatic.com/index.a...ROD&ProdID=212

[charlir1954]

some of the more saltwater stocked LFS have them in small refrigerators usually located within the stores. if you have a well stocked LFS nearby, check them. they usually run about $25.00 for a small bottle. or on ebay.

[AdvanceAquatics]

Originally Posted by joselastra

what and where are these tiger pods purchased from?????

Establish Tank: is depending on multiple factors 1 year is a bulletproof rule to fallow, but it can accure as fast as45-60days-With help.

Pods Are:
Copepods are crustaceans. They are found almost everywhere where water is available and they constitute the biggest source of protein in the oceans. Most of the economically important fishes depend on copepods and even the whales in the northern hemisphere feed on them. Trillions of litte copepod guts produce countless fecal pellets contributing greatly to the marine snow and therefore accelerating the flow of nutrients and minerals from surface waters to the bottom of the seas. Predatory freshwater copepods have been successfully used to control pests like Dengue fever.
Copepods can live in your main tank, your refugium, or in a separate dedicated system. In your main tank they will be eaten and depleted by your fish and corals. In your refugium they will thrive since there are no predators. Pods from your refugium can be periodically harvest and fed to your main tank.
Copepods like to hide so they will prefer an environment with nooks and crannies. In your main tank they will hide in your live rock and gravel. In your refugium they will hide in your macroalgae and other plants.

This place sells codepods($20), called tigger pods which we could breed in your reef allowing you to feed the mandarin with easy. pluse they have pos effects on a reef.
Reef Nutrition Marine Copepods

Breeding Tigger Pods
Upon arrival, open bottle cap and remove the inside liner. Let stand at room temp for 2 hours to allow temperature to rise. The Tigger Pods™ can be poured directly into your refugium and/or main tank. They can live several weeks in the bottle, as long as they are fed and the bottle is open to the air.
Tigger Pods™ feed on microalgae and we recommend feeding them with Phyto-Feast™. Phyto-Feast™ can be dosed directly into both your refugium and main tank. The recommended feeding rate is 1 to 5 drops per gallon each day, depending on the bio-density of your reef tank.

Mandarins:
Feeding: As noted above, feeding can be a major issue with Mandarins. Some will take foods such as frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms. Others will refuse to take anything but live foods. Mandarins are extremely slow and hover, much like a hummingbird using their front fins while looking for food. Even Mandarins that take prepared foods have a hard time competing with faster fish for the morsels. One suggestion I have heard that makes good sense, especially in smaller tanks that don't support a large pod population is to build something called a 'pod pile'. This is a few small rocks stacked into a pile into which small pieces of shrimp or similar food can be inserted every couple of days. This pile of rocks provides shelter and a food supply for the pods which allows them to rapidly breed and provide food for the Mandarin.

[joselastra]

wow, thanks. that was a great help!!!!!

[kimoy]

great post AQ.

i add tigerpods to my sump and main tank (half and half) and feed phyto 1-2 a week. i buy them at my LFS for $20 a bottle.

[vdituri]

Originally Posted by charlir1954

some of the more saltwater stocked LFS have them in small refrigerators usually located within the stores. if you have a well stocked LFS nearby, check them. they usually run about $25.00 for a small bottle. or on ebay.

Dang! I'm getting a deal. $15 for a bottle about the size of a shampoo bottle. Maybe you guys are getting a higher density of tigers?

[SubRosa]

Not all species of mandarin are that difficult to keep.IME splendidus are the least likely to take frozen,while picturatus almost always does.You just have to make sure that tankmates don't out compete them.

[Jova]

One suggestion that I got from my LFS, Inland Aquatics, was to put sections of 3/4" PVC pipe behind the live rock structure, as to provide a safe place for the pods to live and breed. I have always kept this pvc pipe in my tanks, but I am just now planning on adding a mandarin, so I can't vouch for this method's effeciency, but to me, it makes perfect sense.