WTB Mandarian that will eat normal food

[Blindrage]

I am looking for someone locally that has a Mandarin that is known to eat supplemental foods. My tank is still too young to supply the number of copepods needed to keep up with a Mandarins appetite, so the only way I can add one is if it will 100% eat flake, pellets, PE Mysis, or anything else.

Neptunes was supposed to have them, but the lady that handles them there had a crash in the Mandarin tank and lost the entire batch she was training. I have checked the other places I trust, and no luck. So I thought I would put out notice that I am looking.

I only want to purchase from someone locally, but I would travel down to Colorado Springs or farther north from Denver for a confirmed eater. I have looked into the ORA breed ones, and I am seeing too many issues with them once they are in a normal tank environment.

Hey, it cannot hurt to ask. :attention:

 

[goslugsgo]

What issues are you seeing with the ORA fish, if I may ask?

 

[Fitz19d]

I would caution rushing into mandarin, eating frozen or not.

 

[Blindrage]

Agreed Fitz. I have no plans to rush in. Just testing to see if I need to wait another six months to be 100% safe, or if I had options with the pods plus additional feedings.

The ORA fish seem to be picky. Lots of people saying they will only eat the exact same food they were raised on, presented in the exact same method, and without any competation from other fish. Essentially, if the moons align then you might be able to feed them as ORA did and keep them happy in your tank. There were just too many reports that the smallest deviation ended the way most Mandarins did, with a fish that dies from starvation.

The recommendations I saw was the ORA fish would probably do fine as the only fish in a very small reef tank, but I have 150 gallon where they would have to compete. Just too much risk to pay 4 or more times the normal price for what is looking like an off chance of things working out. More than the price was the thought of them not having the best chance possible to live a good life.

 

[mathewkofalk]

you could buy fresh pods and feed him that way for awhile.

 

[Blindrage]

Yeah, thought about that as well, but from the amount of pods they eat on a daily basis that was looking like a very, VERY expensive endeavor.

I was just hoping to have an option to get on earlier. If I have to just wait it out then I will be that much more excited once the tank can fully support one with just pods.

 

[SkyDiv3r17]

I was looking to do the same thing. I think reefs2go has like 20 bucks for a ton of pods and free shipping. Just gotta keep em somewhere!

 

[Highway66]

In my experience the pods that ref2go has is a mix of copepods and amphipods. I might be wrong but I don't think the mandarin would eat the amphipods unless it was on the bigger end? Perhaps someone could correct me on this if I'm wrong. I had a very nice supply of copepods in my fuge and still had problems getting them to the main display to keep a mandarin fed.

 

[Craigar]

I honestly love reef2go copepod packs they are by far one of the best. They breed In your aquarium very well.

 

[Craigar]

Oh and I have 6 mandarins an within 1000 gallons and I have copepods all over my rock and you pick up a frag plug and there's atleast 10 on it

 

[xxHLTxx]

You could also get the pods from Algaebarn off the site here or their website. They last on the shelf (not fridge) with adding phyto to let the pods grow/eat... get a mandarin and stick in a nano for a few weeks. Get Algaebarn's pods and supplement the nano daily with pods but also introduce small amount of other food to get the mandarin enticed to eat rather than "hunt." Once they eat frozen or pellet/flake once, and don't spit it out... they generally do not need to be trained and will immediately accept those others as SUPPLEMENTS to their hunting. They are a fish... think of a tang rather, you can feed nori on a daily basis... doesn't mean when you stick a rock with algae on it it wont go straight for that. Its in their blood and system to hunt pods... whether you have them or not.

I have a mandarin in my 180 and he eats pellet, frozen and flake.

Do i still buy R2G pods and Algarbarn pods every so often to feed the tank? Yes

They hunt ALLLLLLL day, you will never get a mandarin to swim all day and accept feedings when you feed. All you can hope is that you can get a mandarin (wild, babies, tank bred, ORA.... doesn't make a difference..) to accept and allow you to supplement their diet with food they haven't hunted or caught.


My .02, and my experience... but fish will be fish, never a guarantee.

 

[Smiley]

Just wait til your tank is growing pods before you waste money on one... You'll be happy you waited.

 

[Blindrage]

I might have tried Plums suggestion, but I do not have any kind of a small tank around. I want a smaller cube style tank around, but the wife is not going to consider that until I get rid of the 72 and 90 that we went through getting to this 150.

And I imagine those are going to have to go on Craig's list since I paid too much up front, and I can not compete with the prices I have seen tanks of that size going for on here.

 

[kmcmurtry]

I've had good luck with mine from Liquid Kingdom. They showed me him actually eating frozen in the tank when i asked and he's been fat since i got him. I had bought one from them last year for my 90g i used to have and was also a good eater. Wherever you go, ask them to feed while you watch. No question that way