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tkcaptiva
Guest
i have a 110 gallon reef tank with 160 pounds of live rock..if i put 2 bottles of copepods with a blue tang, clown and a foxface, will they have time to multiply enough to maintain a mandarin...?
mudplayerx
Active Member
Originally Posted by tkcaptiva
i have a 110 gallon reef tank with 160 pounds of live rock..if i put 2 bottles of copepods with a blue tang, clown and a foxface, will they have time to multiply enough to maintain a mandarin...?
How old is the tank? Mandarins need established live rock. The bottled copepods will keep the mandarin fed for awhile but if it is a new tank I would be concerned that it would eat them all.
i have a 110 gallon reef tank with 160 pounds of live rock..if i put 2 bottles of copepods with a blue tang, clown and a foxface, will they have time to multiply enough to maintain a mandarin...?
How old is the tank? Mandarins need established live rock. The bottled copepods will keep the mandarin fed for awhile but if it is a new tank I would be concerned that it would eat them all.
itom37
Member
You're on your way to a tank that can support a mandarin, but you've got to give it time. After a few months of set up you should be on your way to a solid pod population, but it's generally recommended that you wait 8-12 months to allow a large population to build. Be patient, it will be worth it.
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tkcaptiva
Guest
Thanks guys, tank is 8 months old..I am hoping that Santa Claus will bring me some fish....Too soon?
mudplayerx
Active Member
If the live rock was in there for the entire 8 months then you should have a good enough pod population to buy a mandarin.
I would shy away from buying any other fish with a mouth shape similar to the mandarin's so that you don't have competition for the food source.
I would shy away from buying any other fish with a mouth shape similar to the mandarin's so that you don't have competition for the food source.
larryndana
Active Member
i say go for it.
itom37
Member
8 months... that much rock... should be crawling with pods. Do you see any in the sand or on the glass? Little white flea looking things... actually there are tons of different pods. Before I first saw a pod I thought i had none. Then I saw them munching on a dead zoa frag and realized they were everywhere.
Sounds like you might be ready!
Sounds like you might be ready!
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tkcaptiva
Guest
i cannot see the pods..how soon before they do the wild thing and procreate? are two bottles of pods enough to stock the tank for the mandarin? will i need to replenish the pods or is nature good to go...
thanks all
thanks all
itom37
Member
Well... if you actually had no pods in your tank then it will take several months for the population to build up. Hopefully you've got them already and you just don't know it. I think with that much LR and no major pod consumers other than the mandarin you should be able to build up a sustainable population and not have to supplement. A refugium helps, though.
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tkcaptiva
Guest
refugium in the sump? won't the little suckers get munched in the return pump?
dogstar
Active Member
Generally, the reason ppl recomend 6 + months for tank to become established is because it takes this long for most micro and macro organisiums to populate a large enough population of themselfs...The pods, worms, tiny seastars, and other type buggies we all like haveing in our tanks...most lay eggs or release larvae into the water and they have to grow and populate and so on and so on...takes time and also there has to be safe places for them to live to do this.....most everything ( the buggies ) as well as crabs, snails, corals and fish, will feed on everything else at different stages of their growth along the way and this cause more time to be needed....Tangs and Clowns will feed on them too if they see them....
If you cant see any pods in you tank on close observation then I would say that you dont have enough....
as recomended, a refugium ( the name itself is given for a reason ) is the best way to allow these organisiums to thrive so as to have a healthy supply for all...
They do not get mangled in the pumps but many mechanical filters ( sponge, fiber, floss, ect. ) do trap them...
If you cant see any pods in you tank on close observation then I would say that you dont have enough....
as recomended, a refugium ( the name itself is given for a reason ) is the best way to allow these organisiums to thrive so as to have a healthy supply for all...
They do not get mangled in the pumps but many mechanical filters ( sponge, fiber, floss, ect. ) do trap them...
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tiberius
Guest
Originally Posted by tkcaptiva
i have a 110 gallon reef tank with 160 pounds of live rock..if i put 2 bottles of copepods with a blue tang, clown and a foxface, will they have time to multiply enough to maintain a mandarin...?
My mandarin also eats amphipods. These are bigger and look like a shrimp. You should see these guys in the bed and at night you can see them crawling out from their holes in the rock.
i have a 110 gallon reef tank with 160 pounds of live rock..if i put 2 bottles of copepods with a blue tang, clown and a foxface, will they have time to multiply enough to maintain a mandarin...?
My mandarin also eats amphipods. These are bigger and look like a shrimp. You should see these guys in the bed and at night you can see them crawling out from their holes in the rock.
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tkcaptiva
Guest
i must be blind as i cannot see any and i put in two bottles of the little guys. at night, you use a flashlight, right?
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tiberius
Guest
Originally Posted by tkcaptiva
i must be blind as i cannot see any and i put in two bottles of the little guys. at night, you use a flashlight, right?
You can use a regular flashlight but you can freak your fish when you shine it on them. I slowly raise up the flashlight to hit the bed first and then go up to a rock where I now no fih are sleeping. I can see the amphipods scurrying about trying to get out of the light. You can use red tissue paper over your flashlight so you won't spook your fish. But, I have a hard time seeing the bugs on the rock if I do.
The copepods you put in, you can see these guys on the glass. They will go after the algae. You can see them shoot through the water as white specks. I doubt you will ever see them on rocks as they are too small.
i must be blind as i cannot see any and i put in two bottles of the little guys. at night, you use a flashlight, right?
You can use a regular flashlight but you can freak your fish when you shine it on them. I slowly raise up the flashlight to hit the bed first and then go up to a rock where I now no fih are sleeping. I can see the amphipods scurrying about trying to get out of the light. You can use red tissue paper over your flashlight so you won't spook your fish. But, I have a hard time seeing the bugs on the rock if I do.
The copepods you put in, you can see these guys on the glass. They will go after the algae. You can see them shoot through the water as white specks. I doubt you will ever see them on rocks as they are too small.
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tkcaptiva
Guest
i never see these guys and i look.i love to find new stuff in the tank!
