Spotted Mandarin

[bkneeland]

My wife thought she would surprise me with a new fish. She got me a spotted mandarin and i know nothing about them. the tank is a 125 gallon and has been running for about 6 months, there is about 90 lbs of rock and 130 lbs of substrate. What do i need to feed this little guy. I have read on here where they will survive on what is already in your tank if it is a mature tank. I am not sure mine is mature enough to supply him with everything he needs so what should i do.

 

[tall_90]

They eat coppepods. bugs that run around your tank, i think.

 

[greenwolf52]

Originally Posted by tall_90
They eat coppepods. bugs that run around your tank, i think.
This is correct. If you have lots of little bugs running aroung the bottom of your tank around the substrate and rock, then this guy will eat them. They kind of look like brine shrimp but they just produce themselves naturally if the conditions are right. You can look them up. I think the spelling is copepods.
Awesome fish BTW
Good luck

 

[nygel]

if possible, just to help things out, buy pods (they come in bottles sometimes) and dump some in your tank, couldn't hurt, also feed mysis shrimp, SOMETIMES in rare cases they will eat mysis shrimp along wtih pods.

 

[johnny84]

Mine will eat frozen food, got lucky I guess, if he doesnt take frozen food try getting some live brine and see if he will eat that

 

[nygel]

my scooter and green mandarin both accept mysis, its pretty sweet, the mandarin attacks it.

 

[johnny84]

Originally Posted by nYgel
my scooter and green mandarin both accept mysis, its pretty sweet, the mandarin attacks it.

Yeah I know what you mean, they attack it like a cat would

 

[promisetbg]

Most tanks have amphipods & isopods, but not necessarily copepods. Copepods do not look like shrimp to the

[hr]
eye...they look like a speck. The best way to insure a copepod population is to set up a refugium and add bottles of copepods. They eat detritus & live phytoplankton. DT's & Algagen are two good sources for phytoplankton. every few months add more to insure their numbers. If a refugium is not an option, you can smash up some LR into rubble or see if you can aquire some from the bottom of the LR bin at your LFS. Place this in an inconspicuous place..like behind the LR. There the copepods will be able to breed without predation. As stated some mandarins will take to prepared food. Piscine frozen mysis shrimp, Sweetwater zooplankton in a jar, and frozen cyclop-eeze are some good foods to try.

 

[tizzo]

Copepods do look like specks, if you can see them at all... Hi promisetbg... I love that name, LOL

 

[promisetbg]

Hi Tizzo..how the heck are you?

My comp. crashed, so I don't have your Ph# anymore...you could leave it in a pm at 'that other "Basic" place' if you want. Sorry for the interuption,now back to our regularly scheduled post.