help with mandarin!!!!!!!!!

[niki]

i have had a 55 gal tank for 10 yrs. this year i took the step to saltwater.i cycled my tank with a blue damsel and 2lbs of live rock(heard it would help speed up cycle?).now i have two percula clowns,feather duster,5 turbo snails, 6 blue leg crabs,10 lbs of live rock, 55lbs of base with some algea cover.about 15 centiped looking things that i'm sure came from live rock, but i don't know what they are? and finally i have a mandarin goby.he's what i'm worried about.i keep reading that he needs copepods to stay alive. but i don't know what they are.are these centiped looking things them?i've been feeding him brime shrimp and i see him nipping at the bottom of the tank in the coral.am i just not seeing them?but i've read about people seeing tons of them in there tank. what do i need to do? i don't what him to starve to death. and i what health live stock. sorry if this is to long thanks

 

[kev]

I once had mandarin... if you can find one to eat brine and/or blood worms you are lucky, yes, they feed off of coepods and that is the best route to go... if you dont have coepods and you feed them brine or blood worms its likely that he will pass away soon due to the lack of coepods

 

[fshhub]

welcome aboard, and nope, not too long
the centipede looking things are more than likely bristle worms, andyes they probably came on the lr
pods are little(tiny) bug like looking creatures that often hike in on lr, this is what it may be nipping at in the bottom of the tank,
as far as what to do to insure his success, the best hting to do, is to add some lr and wait about 10 or 12 months before adding a mandarin, so they can establish themselves very well(this is not aguarentee, but is often the best solution), however it is too late for that now, but if it is eating the brine, and you see it eating, you may be fine, since most mandarins who die from starvation is because they do not want to be fed
HTH

 

[yardrat]

copepods come from ls (live sand) and live rock. you need more live rock to have and established copepod colony. i had a madarin goby, but found out too late that about all he will eat is pods. good luck though. also at night after you turn out all the lights wait about a hour and look in your tank with a flashlight and you should see some pods running around on your rock.

 

[niki]

can i buy copepods and introduce them into my tank othr then live rock? i'm going to to get another 5lbs this week (10.99 per lbs) and will do so for the next month about 20 more pounds. but can i added more i thought i read it somewhere but i'm not sure?

 

[fshhub]

lr you can add enough to fill 1/3 of your tank if you want(even more, i fyou really like)
and for the pods, to buy them, i really have not heard of actually buying them seperately, but i do know that getting them into the tank would be tricky, they more than likely would be food before they can get establishe on the lr, so adding lr is a better idea because they can ride in on it and have cover for the introduction, otherwise ti woudl be like setting out ice crea at a very large picnic in july, intant smorgasborg for the damsels and clowns too

 

[niki]

sorry for all the questions.will my snails and crabs eat my copepods off my live rock. they go over pretty much everyday?

 

[fshhub]

snails i would say no, crabs, i think not(especially hermits), but there are so many crabs that i know nothing about, but most are scavengers that eat detritus or algae eaters, and some are carnivores(but i am not 100% sure if they would or would not), so my guess is no, but as i said, i am not completely sure, maybe someone else can help there more
HTH

 

[striker]

There is a place where you can buy the copepods. Give me a few minutes and I'll look it up for you.

 

[trebor126]

You are paying way too much for LR if it is 10.99/lb. Look on this site. SWF.com sells great rock for 4.99/lb delivered... There are also other sites that are a little bit cheaper.. Just a thought...

 

[striker]

Hello niki, check out inlandaquatics.com and <a href="http://www.livebrineshrimp.com" target="_blank">www.livebrineshrimp.com</a> for help. They might offer the food your manderin will need to survive.

 

[badkjb2]

i have a mandarin and he eats frozen brine shrimp. i justed noticed him chowing it down today. it makes me feel much better. but this is the exception, not the rule

 

[niki]

update on copepods!!!!
an hour after lights out i took a flashlight and looked at my live rock wow there are little clear bugs running around.they went back in when the light hit them. is my goby a night feeder?
he nippes around the tank but i can't see what he's eating. i turn my powerhead off for about an hour when feeding brime so that they will settle to the bottom for him so maybe that will help?
wish me luck.

 

[fshhub]

you can try the brine, IMO i would try anything in hopes of finding somethign it would at, but not all mandarins will eat brine either, as for buying it goes, i would see if i could get some from the lfs, before ordering a whole lot in case he does not want it either, an di fhe is nipping, he is probably eating the pods, they can gind them much easier than we can, we use a turkey baster adn shoot some brine down to our scooter, so that she can get hers too, because they do not come up muc for hte food, and the other fish eat ti before it settles
HTH and good luck

 

[heavenly damsel]

Wow, you are paying alot for your rock. I got mine from SWF.com...great rock and a much better price. I have also picked some up at the LFS, maybe I was there at the right time one saturday. A person breaking down a tank due to moving brought in 100 lbs in buckets, they sold it for $6 a lb right from the buckets...was gone in 30 minutes.

 

[niki]

Originally posted by niki:
<strong>i have had a 55 gal tank for 10 yrs. this year i took the step to saltwater.i cycled my tank with a blue damsel and 2lbs of live rock(heard it would help speed up cycle?).now i have two percula clowns,feather duster,5 turbo snails, 6 blue leg crabs,10 lbs of live rock, 55lbs of base with some algea cover.about 15 centiped looking things that i'm sure came from live rock, but i don't know what they are? and finally i have a mandarin goby.he's what i'm worried about.i keep reading that he needs copepods to stay alive. but i don't know what they are.are these centiped looking things them?i've been feeding him brime shrimp and i see him nipping at the bottom of the tank in the coral.am i just not seeing them?but i've read about people seeing tons of them in there tank. what do i need to do? i don't what him to starve to death. and i what health live stock. sorry if this is to long thanks</strong><hr></blockquote>
UPDATE ON TANK,ADDED ABOUT 5LBS OF LIVE ROCK,I KNOW IT'S NOT MUCH BUT MONEY IS TIGHT.WENT TO CLEAN MY GLASS THIS MORNING AND THERE WHERE HUNDREDS OF LITTLE WHITE BUGS ON THE GLASS, FILTER, EVERYWHERE :} THINGS ARE LOOKING UP THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!1