Mandarin eats bloodworms..

shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
Well,
I have my first mandarin, and of course, the diet is the pressing issue. He is eating pods, and occaisionally brine shrimp but I dont really find that exciting as they have little/no nutritional value.
I bought some bloodworms and the little guy seems to really like them. He swims after them, eats them off the sandbed etc.. Anyone know anything about the nutritional value of bloodworms? I cant get him to eat any other frozen/prepared food, so I was really excited about this bloodworm thing. Maybe this will open a new door into coaxing him to eat other frozen foods.
Maybe I should just food color all the other frozen food red. :thinking: J/k of course.

He is a big guy, at about 3-3.5" and very fat so I think he has a good chance if I can provide for him. If he starts to decline, I will return him to my supplier of course.

Thanks guys. Any info on nutritional value/success with bloodworms would help.
 
J

jesses89

Guest
bloodworms are for freshwater fish... ive heard that you shouldnt mix what you feed to species of different waters?
ex: no foods from the ocean to fish from freshwater
no foods that come from freshwater for species of saltwater. ??
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
Got them from my Reef store and they only sell saltwater stuff... so I think its ok.. same packaging as all the other frozen mysis, etc I buy made by hikari. Its the biopure(frozen stuff) 'bioencapsulated with multi-vitamins' blah blah.
I hope its ok.. my local Reef store owner was feeding them to her tanks yesterday.. myself and a friend were helping her. It would really suck if they arent ok and these are what my mandarin likes to eat
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
Ok, I just did some reading and I think you are right about the bloodworms .
Dammit.
Any other foods that the mandarin might eat that are representative of a bloodworm? Maybe he just likes the way it looks? Are there other 'red' or bright/vivid colored foods I can offer him? He doesnt seem to go for the white or clear stuff. Maybe its just me but I think its the color that catches his eye.
:help: :mad: :notsure:
 
J

jesses89

Guest
if its the colored red bright stuff he goes for... you can always make your own food... mix it togehter freeze it... add coloring to it??? red? blue? just a thought
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
Yeah, I dont think food coloring is safe for inverts? :thinking:
I think Ill try some plankton or little krill or something pinkish. I dont know what food coloring is made of. But, I do think it is the color/pigment. I could be wrong.
 
lesleybird

lesleybird

Active Member
Hi, You know if he likes blood worms then give them to him....don't worry if they are not from the ocean...Protein is protein no matter where it comes from. Look at humans, we eat fish from the sea, and fish from the pond, not to mention birds that fly, and cows that eat grass and well, you get the idea. It does not matter if the worms are for fresh water fish or found only in fresh water. I would keep trying other things to see if he will eat them. I would not take him back to the supplier thinking he would end up with a better owner as these fish often go home with someone else and starve to death also. They would not feed him as well as you are trying to do. He has already been taken from the wild so make the best of it and don't worry too much. Lesley
 
T

tizzo

Guest
Pods are what they eat in the ocean... Why not let him keep eating those?? Were they frozen pods or live??
If live were they added or already part of your "system".
Do you have a fuge? Cause if you do, then you can feed the pods whatever you want- that way you know they are passing the nutrition on to your mandarin...
 
texanangel

texanangel

Member
Just so you know, even for freshwater fish: blood worms=candy. It's a good way to get them to start eating, but not to fill up on. For any dragonet you really need a refugium, as far as I know that's the only way to keep them alive, happy and growing. I could be wrong, but I've had friends do it both ways:1-refugium, 2-spot feeding pods and such. Only number 1 would last more than 6 months. My friend has one that is 5 inches long now, a green one, not the spotted/target.
Again, this is only what I have observed, not personal experience. Except about the blood worms, that's how I get picky freshwater fish happy and eating more.
Good luck!
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
Ive only had the mandarin since 3/26/07, Im working on my DIY fuge, but Ive already added a few bottles of pods from SWF.com just to keep him running. I did have pods in the tank before I put him in, and I see him hunting and pecking nonstop.
My fuge should be done in the next 7-10days and Im gonna seed it with LR and pods to kick start it. I also have like a mini-fuge going on in my sump with some cheato and whatnot but I want something more elaborate so thats why Im building an actual fuge. Im not in a rush to return him, just saying that if he starts to decline, and it looks like my fault, Ill admit defeat and take him back.

Maybe he will start to adapt more to the frozen foods now that Ive found that he likes the bloodworms. I know they cant be his only food source, but I figure its a good start at getting him to eat something other than pods.

But I am going to provide the pods/fuge anyway. Just trying to cover all bases. I know these guys can slowly starve- and do starve frequently in the home aquarium.

thanks for the input.
Jessica
 
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