Hand-Fed Mandarin

meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
WOW...In my 225G tank, I noticed my mandarin eating frozen food a couple of weeks ago....WELL Every morning I feed the fish, I take little pieces of scallops, and hand (well tongs) feed the cleaner shrimp, peppermints, and the crabs (if they come out) WELL this morning I was dangling a piece of scallop be a cave, and the mandarin came over and ate a piece.
Belive me.....I havo NO shortage of pods in this tank either....I think it just shows that some will eat other foods if they are available...
 
small triggers

small triggers

Active Member
WOOHOO thas freaking awesome,,,, some people that rear them also start them out on frozen, but they arent exactly available in the trade (sane problem with the filefish that are being reared to eat frozen,, would LOVE to have one of those!!)
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
That's awesome!
I remember how happy I was when I discovered that my mandarin ate frozen food, so I can only imagine how cool that would be.
After being in your tank for awhile, many mandarins do start to accept frozen food (especially mysis and arctipods) but the food needs to land on substrate or LR for then to eat it. They wont eat free floating food, they forage.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by BTLDreef
http:///forum/post/3198518
That's awesome!
I remember how happy I was when I discovered that my mandarin ate frozen food, so I can only imagine how cool that would be.
After being in your tank for awhile, many mandarins do start to accept frozen food (especially mysis and arctipods) but the food needs to land on substrate or LR for then to eat it. They wont eat free floating food, they forage.
I hate to disagree.....BUT....I have seen my mandarin catch a piece of mysis as it was floating by....
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3198519
I hate to disagree.....BUT....I have seen my mandarin catch a piece of mysis as it was floating by....

Really? Now I am very jealous! I have always been told that they don't catch free floating food.
You still have evil damsels though
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
thats awesome. hopefully in the future, all mandarins sold in the hobby are tank-bred and accept frozen food.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Yay Mandy!
It's a BIG deal when your fish start taking other food items. It's still our missing link to vitality in these guys (all fish... not just the Mandy's), IMO. The more varied food items you can get in him, the better.
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
you should get a video of it!
ilove these fish but have onnly tried to keep them once when i was about a little over a year into the hobby and it didnt go well. i would love to see them eat something else than pods, but have never actually seen it. hear itfrom time to time, but never seen it!
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Ours would never eat pods. He wouldn't graze on the rocks at all, but would spend his time with the other fish mid-column. He was a joy.
 
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