Where do you buy pods?

[Moonrs]

I responded to a post the other day about mandarin fish (I have one) and about what they eat and having enough pods for them. Someone had advised the original author of the post to not get a mandarin without also having a fuge to grow pods in. I wrote that my mandarin was doing fine (it is), and that it wasn't having any problems, even without something to grow pods in, besides the LR itself. That got me to thinking. Although I'm not having any problems yet, I don't want to assume I'm going to continue being "lucky". I want to ensure the health of my mandarin. So, is there a place that sells pods? If there is, can you add pods to the tank and expect them to live, or even better, multiply before they're all consumed? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks... Moonrs

[Sherri]

You might want to check out thread under Group Orders - "I AM Going To Do An IPSF Order" - I believe they have pods...The one doing the order is wkopplin and is from San Antonio...

[matt]

Depending on your tank size, amount of liverock and type of sandbed, and other inhabitants, you could keep a mandarin healthy without a refugium. I don't know what the minimum size would be, but probably with a 75 gallon or bigger, if you have a good amount of liverock and no other copepod eaters, your copepod and amphipod population could sustain a mandarin. I don't really know; I'll bet you'll get lots of postings on this.

[Instar]

Moonrs, you ask a string of questions that we need background on to answer correctly. Tank details, dimensions, pounds of rock, substrate, filtration, type of tank (reef, FO?), skimmer, etc, etc. Pods will grow if the water and food is right. Feed the rocks! (Translsation - feed the pods and all the little creatures inhabiting the rocks.) There is no substitute for a refugium attached to the tank. It serves many purposes, pods is just one of them. Add one if you can. I doubt anyone with a fuge is sorry they have one.

[prof]

I have yet to have any problems with my 2 mandarins. I have the refugium ready to add to the system. More water=more stability. This includes pods as well as all of your chemical levels. That is why you see so many of the nano guys running 20, 30 or more gallons behind their 'nano tank'. The show tank is small but the system is the same size as what most of us are running in stand alone tanks.

Be careful to not double up your creatures that eat pods. Multiple wrasses and gobies will decimate your pod population leaving nothing for your beautiful mandarin to survive on.

[Yves Nobleza]

http://aquaculturestore.com/swinverts.html

[Moonrs]

I only have one "pod-eater", the mandarin. Do any LFS around San Antonio sell pods?

[GaryP]

Moonrs, I've never seen any LFS that sold pods. It would be cool if they did though.

Gary

[matt]

Maybe you should get in on the IPSF order. They sell amphipods, which are different from copepods, (much larger) but mandarinswill still eat them. If you have a mandarin, though, you should definitely put the pods in a refugium, as Larry suggests, or else you'll probably just be buying some very expensive mandarin food which will be gone in short order.

[GaryP]

I've gotten mine eating frozen, enriched brine shrimp. From what I know that's the exception to the rule and not something you should count on happening. I was about to give him away to someone that has a fuge.

Gary

[Yves Nobleza]

I've seen them pick off cyclop-eeze and zooplex too(rarely though)

[Richard]

I have always been able to get them to take frozen bloodworms. It may take time though. Just feed the "floor" of the tank so the mandarin has plenty of time to get them. Many years ago I had one that was eating lots of frozen brine but still slowly wasted away. They seem to keep their weight on better when eating bloodworms though. It is very difficult to keep enough pods in the tank, as matt said minimum 75 gallons with no other competition sounds about right for 1 mandarin unless you can supplement with bloodworms. Also remember that there is suppossed to be about a 95% kill rate of pods going through an impeller so depending on how your refugium is setup and the size of your tank you still may not supply enough pods to sustain a mandarin long term.
GREAT fish...too bad so many of them die such a slow miserable death.

[Moonrs]

So, until I get a larger tank/refugium(remember I'm VERY financially strapped), how can I be sure my mandarin is healthy? IMO, He looks healthy(nice and fat, with normal movement) and I see him occasionally picking at the LR. If a mandarin is starving, wouldn't he look skinny and possibly be lethargic as well, maybe even prone to getting sick? Is my mandarin only doing well atm simply because he hasn't exhuasted the pod supply yet? Everything seems to be thriving, with good parameters... Should I be worried anyway?

[fishermiguel]

oh

[Andrew]

I just posted and the message was under your avatar?
weird?

andrew

[Andrew]

anyway, i was saying that i get all my pods from my rock, walt smith rock is great stuff. The bigger the tank the better for mandarins. I would avoid species that compete for the same type of food, i.e. many types of small wrasse sp., dottybacks, pseudochromids, blenny, goby, etc.
I think I nice tank would be 100 or bigger with pair of mandarins, pair of clowns, and several (dissimilar shaped) tangs.

andrew

[dan]

moonrs: my fug. sets up higher then my tank.water drains from fug. to top of main tank.kill rate is 0.you can see all those litter critters all over on exit pipe going to the tank.gota love it :-D :-D :-D :-D critters in fug just keep multiplying.i even have tiny jelly fish,tiny white star fish and all kinds of pods

dan

[Moonrs]

I guess I'm going to have to set one up. I wish I could see some of the other more experienced folks setups, not necessarily the top of the line ones, but the ones closer in size to mine... I am having a difficult time picturing how to set all that up.

[matt]

It's really easy to set up a refugium, basically all you need is a tub or aquarium that has some sand, a few pieces of liverock, and enough lighting to grow macroalgae. Then this set up gets connected to your main tank's plumbing circuit, usually by an overflow and return pump. Dan's set up of pumping water into the refugium, then having that water drain into the main tank, is probably the ideal, but most people just have the refugium under the tank, or next to the tank, draining into the sump.

[Henry]

Moonrs, If you want you can stop by my apt and look at my 215 in progress. It is basic tank with a 55gal tank as a sump and a 20gal tank as an above tank 'fuge. Right now all the sides are off the stand so you can pretty much see everything. Its a little naked but I think I will help you with your planning.

[Tim Marvin]

Wow Henry! I hope you live on the bottom floor. Sounds cool.

[Inno]

Normally I do not recommend mandarins except to those very dedicated and having very mature aquariums. Fuge's are a plus; however, it is essential that the pod variety is often re-established in a fuge and main tank. Mandarins can decimate a pod population within a month or two, if even that. Most dedicated mandarin keepers provide tanks of 125g+ because of the amount of forage space with plenty of LR. There are always going to be people who have success in feeding Mandarins something other than their natural food source; however, they are in the minority. Majority of Mandarins perish within a months time. There is a person from ReefCentral who has a couple mandarins and has weened them onto other foods so you might want to do a search and see if you can partake in some of her methods.

[Moonrs]

I've had my mandarin in my tank for about 5 months time, and he looks very healthy. My tank is only 30 gallons, so I"m nost sure why he has survived this long, without my having a separate source of pods. I do have lots of LR, so maybe that helps. Maybe he's nipping at the food I feed the rest of the fish... I usually feed the fish flake food called Brine shrimp plus, from Ocean Nutrition, once a day. Every two or three days, I'll feed them Sally's frozen brine shrimp, instead of the flakes.

[Henry]

Yeah Tim, I'm on the first floor. They tried to put me on the third floor and I just laughed and said I didn't think my neighbors below would be very happy having a tank crash through their apt.

[saltcreepette]

i have a small dragonet (same family as mandarins) that eats formula one frozen (its red and gelatinous) and I deliver it to the floor of the aquarium via airline tubing. its a stroke of luck that he likes this stuff as most dragonets wont recognize dead food as edible. mine has been with me for six months and is doing great.

i ordered from ipsf some amphipods and have them multiplying in a seperate 10g tank and intend on setting up a gravity fed refugium to my main tank, for the record.

ive also heard of people making a little rubble pile in their main tank that the pods can take refuge in to breed so the fish cant get to them.

[Moonrs]

If you have a good amount of LR in your tank, saltcreepette, wouldn't the pods have enough hiding spaces there?