Mandrins

debi0000

debi0000

New Member
MANDRINS, AUGH, MANDRINS,
I HAVE RECENTLY PURCHASED A MANDRIN VIA MAIL, IT'S VERY HEALTHY AND BEUTIFUL, AND IT'S ONLY APPROX. 1 AND 1/2 INCHES LONG. HE COMES OUT IN THE FRONT OF THE TANK AND LOOKS AT ME AS THOUGH HE SEARCHING FOR FOOD. I PUT IN 400 COPEPODS AT THE SAME TIME I PUT HIM IN. IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE I COULD BE FEEDING HIM? MY TANK HAS BEEN UP AND RUNNING FOR ALMOST 5 MONTHS. IS THERE A SPECIAL WAY TO FEED THEM, LIKE PUT FOOD IN A TUBE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE TANK?
THANKS FOR HELP DEBI0000
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
haha the voice in my head was screaming this as i read it.
anyways, if you can get him to take other kinds of food you should probably feed him a variety of frozen, freeze dried, etc... but sometimes they just wont take it. i would try though because pod populations can crash and it would be good to have something else he can eat.
good luck, mandarins are BEAUTIFUL!
 
browniebuck

browniebuck

Active Member
When I feed my tank mysis and/or brine shrimp, I turn off all filters, powerheads, and my skimmer to allow the mandarin to see the food before it is swept away from her (mine is a girl). I also try to pour the shrimp in the area of the tank that she is in, so that she will most definitely see it.
Another possible idea is to suck some shrimp with tank water up into a turkey baster (make sure that you rinse it thoroughly before using...don't use soap) and squirt it as close as you can to your mandarin (the fish will have to get used to this intrusion, but will come to associate the baster with food).
Good luck, I love my girl!!! I got her off SWF.com when she was barely an inch and a half long (and nearly frozen to death from shipping), now she is almost three inches long.
 
debi0000

debi0000

New Member
Originally Posted by wingzfan
hey debi do u have a fuge?
NO I DO NOT HAVE A FUGE AND I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT A FUGE IS. I REALLY HERE QUIT A BIT ABOUT THEM, BUT HOW DO THEY WORK. YOU CAN TELL THAT I AM A REAL BEGINNER.
DEBI0000
 
royal gang

royal gang

Active Member

Originally Posted by debi0000
no I Do Not Have A Fuge And I Really Don't Know What A Fuge Is. I Really Here Quit A Bit About Them, But How Do They Work. You Can Tell That I Am A Real Beginner.
Debi0000
A Fuge Is Where You Put Cheato, Cheato Is A Plant That Sucks In Bad Nutrients Throughout The Water That Encourage Algae To Grow And Make Your Aquarium Look Like Turds In The Sewer, And Is A Home To Copepods. It Can Connect To The Aquarium Through Pipes Where You Cant See Them, Hang On The Side, Or Buy A Small One To Put Inside The Aquarium. Why Do You Want Copepods? They Help Keep Your Sandbed Healthy By Eating Detritus On It, And Also Keep Your Fish HealthyAs A Food Source.
 
thirty5

thirty5

Member
Mandarins are very picky eaters. And if they stop eating for some reason they may never start back up again even if there is food available.
Do you have any LR in your tank? Putting pods in the tank is fine, but if you dont have LR as a minimum (fuge is better) then you will be losing your pod population and you will be spending tons of cash on pods. Mandarins eat all the time so they need a large supply of food.
If you can get them to eat frozen that is great.
I am very lucky my mandarin eats all types of froze, Mysis, Enriched Brine, Plankton. And surprising enough last night i noticed that he even at pellets that i fed the other fish.
So if you dont have any LR or a Fuge, im sorry to say that it might be a dismal life for your Mandarin.
 
thirty5

thirty5

Member

Originally Posted by ROYAL GANG
A Fuge Is Where You Put Cheato, Cheato Is A Plant That Sucks In Bad Nutrients Throughout The Water That Encourage Algae To Grow And Make Your Aquarium Look Like Turds In The Sewer, And Is A Home To Copepods. It Can Connect To The Aquarium Through Pipes Where You Cant See Them, Hang On The Side, Or Buy A Small One To Put Inside The Aquarium. Why Do You Want Copepods? They Help Keep Your Sandbed Healthy By Eating Detritus On It, And Also Keep Your Fish HealthyAs A Food Source.

What is with your post like that. Terribly hard to read.
 
ice4ice

ice4ice

Active Member
You should have waited til your tank is really matured before adding the Mandarin. They need tanks that are at least a year old, NOT 5 months. They will starve and die - even when you're adding pods for him to feed on. Set up a fuge and let it run for a year then buy the mandarinfish. That way your tank will have a constant supply of pods for the fish.
I also agree with thirty5's response as well.
 
miaheatlvr

miaheatlvr

Active Member
Originally Posted by Ice4Ice
You should have waited til your tank is really matured before adding the Mandarin. They need tanks that are at least a year old, NOT 5 months. They will starve and die - even when you're adding pods for him to feed on. Set up a fuge and let it run for a year then buy the mandarinfish. That way your tank will have a constant supply of pods for the fish.
I also agree with thirty5's response as well.
This is correct 100%, some people will also try to get them to eat mysis or fortified brine, but I havent heard of this being done to often latley!
 
thirty5

thirty5

Member
Originally Posted by MiaHeatLvr
This is correct 100%, some people will also try to get them to eat mysis or fortified brine, but I havent heard of this being done to often latley!
I am SOOOOO lucky that mine eats the frozen. And now that i saw that he is eating pellets it is wonderful. I bought mine from a LFS, a friend works there. This fish was there for a few weeks and my friend fed it frozen daily and he ate it up like last meal. Even when i went to pick it up, he fed it for me and i watched it eat the frozen. Pods are teh best since they will just multiply on their own if the tank has teh capability, ie LR FUGE
 
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