The Mandarin Candidate

NoDeltaH2O

NoDeltaH2O

Superstar Fish
#21
Feb 17, 2005
1,873
0
0
52
SC
#21
Any local discount drug paraphinalia store will carry syringes, as well as tiny litle ziploc bags and corn starch to cut the snow with... Uh, seriously, syringes can be had many places. Restaraunt supply stores carry them as chefs sometimes use them for various things, although they would probably not have the fine needle at the end. Also, ink refill kits come with a syringe, so if your old refill kit needs replacing, keep the syringe, clean it out. Drug stores surely carry them for diabetics, CVS, Walgreens, RiteAid, etc.
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#22
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#22
its tough to get syringes with the really fine point...illegal to sell without a perscription...but you probably don't need that kind. i would look at target or the like in the cooking aisle because like nodeltah2o said people use similar items for cooking. or call ronco and ask for the liquid flavor injector ;)
 

lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#24
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#24
5/8/05 Update
I went a step further in my pod pile bedding and transfered the pad from my first jar to the main tank. This now comes to a total of 2 scrubbing pads, bunkered down beneath live rock rubble and large seashells. Looks kind of ugly, but kinda natural in a way too...

Pods are everywhere. They seem to multiply every day. In full daylight I looked closely on one of the pads and saw hundreds of amphipods scurrying about in their refuge. Almost every area of sand reveals several too. It seems the amphs are taking over, but the copes are so small to see it's tough to tell.

I'm going on my honeymoon on wednesday and won't be back til next friday, so I wanted to really boost the population while I'm away. Luckily my brother is house-sitting. Nevertheless, he will be given very detailed instructions. :)

Mandarin is more active than ever. He seems totally oblivious to me, even when I put my hand in to scrape algae or target feed the star. He plays king of the hill often on the biggest live rock and swims all over the place, constantly grazing on pods. I'm still not satisfied with his appearance, but his behavior and coloring is ideal. Very energetic and constantly eating...

He continues to show interest in formula 1 crumbles but I've yet to see him actually eat a bit.

Pod farm is going well. First jar I dunno, but second is crawling. I hope to get to the point where I can inject a nice boost every week... if the main tank pod levels continue to stay at this rate, that should suffice nicely.
 

lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#26
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#26
5/21/05 Update

I am pleased to report the mandarin made it through my absense and appears no worse for the wear. The tank looks beautiful. You guys should see this scroll algae... I'll snag a pic later. It's huge, and each "ear" of it is a mecca for pods. And speaking of pods, I am astonished at their population. I bet there's a million in there... they are all over the glass, over every single rock, and the sand crawls. They are especially active and numerous in their pod pile refuge, where I have 2 and a half scrubber pads for them to reproduce in.

Unfortunately, the little guy is still not fat. Using my magnifying glass, I've identified 4 or 5 different species of copepods and amphipods, maybe isopods too. He gobbles up a pod every minute or so. Yet the pod population is not only sustaining itself but exploding. I've seen 100 plus gallon reef systems and looked at them pretty closely, and they look barren for pods compared to my tank.

I hope he wasn't too far gone when I bought him.

Though the skinny abdomen is disappointing, I'm very excited about the scrubber pad and pod pile. My pod population has rocketed since I introduced the oceanpods and pile. I'm still maintaining the quart jars and will start a third culture soon, just in case I'll have to inject again.
 

lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#28
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#28
Yeah bro, it's great. You ID'ed it a while back, but I forget the proper name. At its size now, it almost looks like some soft corals, and it's tough and rubbery to touch, and it stood up to an avalanche when I collapsed the pod pile to add another scrubber.

Here's a good shot.

Oh, and that gunk on the central patch is cereth snail eggs.
 

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Gouramiman

Large Fish
#32
Jan 15, 2004
155
0
0
Visit site
#32
Great Project!! i was thinking of doing something similar in my 40 gallon when i get it running. ive heard using 3" pvc pipe with screen at the ends works great for pods. im sure you could do somehting like that and scale it down for your tank.
 

lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#34
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#34
Just started growing... must have been seeded in that one piece of live rock.

Good luck with your 40 gallon gouramiman. I've heard people have had a lot of success with screen pvc. Using scrubber pads and pvc would double your chances of success... best part is you can weave both under/in or around live rock.
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#35
Oct 22, 2002
4,077
3
0
#35
My scroll algae just turned up one day, and pretty much collapsed in one day as well. It is beautiful. It would be tough to ship.

If you're up to the eyeballs in pods why do you think it's getting thinner. I've seen much worse than his initial state?
 

lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#37
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#37
6/8/05 Update

(Cutting and pasting from my blog, dated June 7th)

It has been a while since my last report on the mandarin project. And no, it's not dead; on the contrary, everything seems to be staying at the status quo.

The mandarin's appearance remains the same, though he may be a little plumper. Good news is he's definitely not getting skinnier. I'm starting to believe there is no problem because he continues to be active, colorful, and alert. He perks up when msysis is injected into the water column, and though I haven't seen him eat a piece of mysis, there appears to be some cause and effect with his behavior and a load of mysis entering the tank.

The pod population seemed to be dwindling for a while. My quart jar production is not going well... and I'm almost at the point of abandoning it. The 2 scrubber pads and pod pile in the main tank may be sustaining the pods; I just have to refrain from injecting more from the quart jar next time the population drops. Either the population naturally waxes and wanes or the quart jars are keeping the pods in good numbers. I'm inclined to believe in the natural waxing and waning as the quart jars seem to be doing a lot of nothing--there has been no boom in population, and you can only see one or two pods at a time on the glass (of the jars).

Today I scrubbed algae from the front viewing panel and there are hundreds of pods on the glass. And they still are crawling all over their protected areas. I'm going to inject more mysis into the pod pile; this seems to boost their population with direct feedings.

I'm feeding the pods in the quart jars powdered Formula 1. I should be water changing out about quarter to a half of water in the jars every week, but that's a pain in the arse, and it didn't seem to make much of a difference anyway when I stuck to the schedule for about a month... again, bad science, but whatever. At least the pods in the main tank are plentiful.

Today, the 8th, the pods seem a little larger and in more abundance. I'm going to try to feed a small portion of mysis into the pod pile every other day.

On another note, things are really heating up. Tank gets to about 81-82, cools down to 80 at night. If I wasn't running an open top, I don't know what I'd do to keep things cool.
 

OCCFan023

OCCFan023

Superstar Fish
#38
Jul 29, 2004
1,817
5
0
35
New Jersey
#38
sounds as if all is going well in the Lordroad relm. Glad to hear its comming along, I was starting to wonder how it was going and im glad to see its going nicely. If you abandon the pod jars, are you just going to supply him with the pods in the tank currently and replenish them in the tank with mysis feedings?

Thats good news to hear the mandarins keeping up his weight, is he growing at all or has he yet to grow? Maybe you could post some new pics of him if you have some spare time.
 

lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#39
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#39
Very bad news

Well, after getting back from Wal Mart, I investigate the nano tank and couldn't find the mandarin. A moment later I discover him dead, stuck on the intake of the powerhead.

I did not see him this morning but by his near perfect state he must have died within a half an hour of me finding him.

This was a shock as I had watched him closely last night and he was fine, no change in behavior whatsoever... and eating, always eating. I'd use the magnifying glass and watch as he came up to the glass and saw him slurp down 1 or 2 pods at a time.

I looked at the body up close and he had not changed a bit since I got him from the store. Skinny and pinched in the abdomen. It appears he did indeed starve, but I just don't understand it. The tank enjoyed an over-abundance of pods, and even when I felt the population was dwindling, you could still find at least 3 or 4 on every rock or area of sand.

My hypothesis is he was too far gone when I bought him and he just could not recover to a proper weight, even with plenty of food. I wish my camera would take pics of the pods on the glass, it's really quite amazing how many I have. It honestly looks like an infestation.

At least with him gone the pods can really take over the tank now...

I still believe in my original theory and I won't let this deter me. However, I'm going to let the tank really get good and covered in pods, and for the meantime I'm going to try some zoanthids. I'll update this thread when I get another mandarin, this time one in excellent shape and a lot larger, around 2 and a half inches.

Edit: At least I gave the little guy a chance of living. He was on death's door when I bought him, probably wouldn't have survived another two days at the LFS. Way in the back in a Q tank, had been at the store for nearly a month.

... here's one for you, little guy...
 

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