Mandarin help

[Joe Fish]

For those of you that have mandarins that eat prepared foods....how did you get them to do this? Mine doesn't seem to go after anything. I have tried frozen brine and mysis and formula one. Suggestions?

 

[Fuzz16]

a lot of time and pateince. some never go to eat frozen foods.
you might have to buy pods to keep yours alive depending on how established your tank is.

 

[zoalover34]

did you make sure it was eating in the store before you bought it? when i got mine it was eating brine and took mysis almost instantaly, kinda wish i didn't sell her!

 

[TRe]

mine eats mysis every once in a while but i dont think theres any real way to force them*crazysmil

 

[Joe Fish]

I know I have a good pod population so I wasn't too concerned with it eating at the LFS. I see it picking at the rocks all day. Just wondered what I could do.

 

[TRe]

if you have a pretty good pod popultion than why worry about it?

 

[Joe Fish]

Good point. My tank is also going on a year old so that helps too.

 

[saltwater84]

Here how I got mine two mandarins to eat mysis shrimp. I put them into a smaller tank, like a 5 gals with some live rock. Buy live brine shrimp, use a turkey baster and slow squark it in front of the mandarin. When the mandarin inhale water, he will acciendently inhale in the brine shrimp. This will intiate him to eat the brine and then from there on you will be able to get him to mysis in no problem with the same method. My mandarins love mysis more than brine. Alot lot of people said keeping mandarin in small tank is not possible, but I have kept one for a year now in my 20gals and one for 4 months now in my 5 gals, they are doing fine.

 

[joeyjoeq]

Hey Joe is there any way you can get some Rod's Reef Food? I traded mine away, but the guy that has them suggested I use this food since coral and fish like it. I saw my old Mandarin chow on that stuff like crazy, something I never saw him do.

 

[Joe Fish]

I'm not sure if I can. What is all in it?

I have tried basting some mysis/brine infront of him but he didn't seem to care.

 

[Lorna]

Joe you can get Rod's Reef Food through Premium Aquatics

 

[zoalover34]

any pic's of the mandarin

 

[Joe Fish]

I'll see what I can do...

 

[Joe Fish]

Here is the best I could do for now.

 

[saltwater4life]

Didn't you get him over the fall? anyways i think he looks nice

 

[Joe Fish]

Actually, only a week ago. I didn't QT because I do not have a pod population in my QT tank. Since they cannot get ich I thought I would be ok and so far so good.

 

[saltwater4life]

oh lol i must be thinking of someone else.. sorry and i guess thats a good thing you didn't QT him lol