(Un?) Pleasent surprise

[adonis311]

So my wife got me a tank raised target mandain for a late christmas gift. Now what? I have no refugium to breed pods, the tank is just 6mos old, and nearly everything else in there eats pods as well. My LFS says he'll eat frozen and live mysis and brine shrimp, however I bought a ton of live brine and added them to the tank and every fish in there went nuts over it...except the mandarin. He seemed to only take notice after my other fish were chomping down the last of the escaping brine. I have yet to see him eat, but I've had him for about a week now and he's no likeness to any starving fish I've ever seen. His stomach is rounded, not flat and folded, he's highly active like a wasp around my tank, and he seems to be finding something to sustain himself. My question is, since after a week in, if he's not eating, it'd be showing now right? Should I continue to take care of this fish or go ahead and sign him back over to the LFS (and consequently probably mortify my wife)? Yes, a sump with a fuge is in the future, but as far as fish go we are a bit budget tight at this time.
I just want whats best for all my little finned homies.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Get a very small glass olive jar with an opening just big enough for him to get into and clean it up. Then put some frozen foods in it and sink it in the tank. The other bigger fish won't be able to get in it and he will have a buffet. Try this first before you take him back.

 

[gemmy]

Here read my thread:https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/389469/my-mandy
Also, you can still add pods to the tank. Chances are your tank already has some. You can easily add a HOB filter, take out the carbon, add chaeto and a light and viola you have a fuge.

 

[adonis311]

Thanks a lot guys. I will try all of this and check back to let you know how it goes.

 

[adonis311]

Well. I used a plastic small (16 oz) coke bottle and put it in the area he usually hangs out in, but my pinkbar goby immediately chased him away (mouth gaping wide open and all) and moved into it, so I removed it, and put it back, and same results. So that backfired on account of a pinkbar. I also doused him with both live and frozen shrimp and he remained oblivious to it. I broke down and got a bottle of copepods from my LFS (tigger pods?) and added them to the tank. It was a 16 oz bottle, so how long can I expect that food supply to last?
Was happy to see him eating at last though.

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by adonis311 http:///t/389869/un-pleasent-surprise#post_3449302
Well. I used a plastic small (16 oz) coke bottle and put it in the area he usually hangs out in, but my pinkbar goby immediately chased him away (mouth gaping wide open and all) and moved into it, so I removed it, and put it back, and same results. So that backfired on account of a pinkbar. I also doused him with both live and frozen shrimp and he remained oblivious to it. I broke down and got a bottle of copepods from my LFS (tigger pods?) and added them to the tank. It was a 16 oz bottle, so how long can I expect that food supply to last?
Was happy to see him eating at last though.
Unfortunately, the tigger pods are a cold water species and won't survive long term in our systems. I would recommend getting reef pods, tisbe or tangerine. I would try to target feed him frozen with a turkey baster.

 

[adonis311]

Yeah he's basted with frozen food every time we feed, but he takes absolutely no interest in the food. I will have to bite the bullet next time I get pods and get him some tisbe or something. (I'll have to order it online and the shipping fees are insane. )

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by adonis311 http:///t/389869/un-pleasent-surprise#post_3450100
Yeah he's basted with frozen food every time we feed, but he takes absolutely no interest in the food. I will have to bite the bullet next time I get pods and get him some tisbe or something. (I'll have to order it online and the shipping fees are insane. )
Just don't give up on basting your mandarin. It took me a couple of months to finally see that my mandarin was coming out just for the frozen food. I have to assume that it was eating the frozen when i was not looking.

 

[siptang]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///t/389869/un-pleasent-surprise#post_3448612
Here read my thread:https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/389469/my-mandy
Also, you can still add pods to the tank. Chances are your tank already has some. You can easily add a HOB filter, take out the carbon, add chaeto and a light and viola you have a fuge.
Krista - your a genius. I would have never thought of this lol.

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Siptang http:///t/389869/un-pleasent-surprise#post_3450142
Krista - your a genius. I would have never thought of this lol.
Thanks! I'm not a genius. I'm sure someone here gave me the idea.

 

[smallreef]

also if you have any of the pods left... get some of those in the baster with some of the frozen mysis so when you target feed him he will probably inadvertently eat some of the shrimp.. may start using more shrimp than pods ...

 

[adonis311]

Good ideas, and good news! I was checking out the condition of my fish and corals with a magnifying glass and I saw a copepod! And then I saw another! And then I noticed that not only are the tigger pods I bought still active, but my tank actually has a copepod base already in place. Maybe I was too blind to see it but that would explain why my mandy wasn't starving. Thanks and you are all awesome people! Gemma you are a mandarin goddess!!