Copepod dwellings

[fjr_wertheimber]

LOL Her mandarin eats copepods... mysis... frozen bloodworms... PE mysis... brine (frozen and live)... Basically, if he can fit it in his mouth he's on it. Well, except for all the "food for finicky fish" stuff being sold by various vendors... He absolutely turns up his nose at that stuff...

[zcatzmeow]

I'he heard that Cell-Pore has openings a good size for copepods and maybe too small for amphipods. It might be a safe haven for the little guys. Just throw in a brick or some cubes.

I always thought that mandarin dragonettes eat copepods and not amphipods or mysis, live that is.

Here's a link:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4169

Jack

Weird. Well, I am certainly not an expert Just someone researching as much as possible and doing everything I can to make sure my Beemer is eating. Please, please don't think I'm trying to say I know all there is about copepods and Mandarins....I just do a lot of research

There is just so much varied information out there regarding Mandarins. I was very much of the mind set that I could not maintain a Mandarin in a 29g after reading all that I had online. There are some people who have succeeded but they are often jumped on by the Mandarin police, lol, and they rarely speak out. There is no way that I would ever feel comfortable sharing my Mandarin adventures with a board like nano-reef.

What really changed my mind and lead me to believe that just like any other fish, what works some doesn't work for others, was my trip to True Percula in Dallas. For the first time ever I saw a tank full of Mandarins and they were all eating frozen/live foods. They fed the tank right in front of us and those Mandarins went to town chasing all the food down. Then, another shopper at the store just happened to stop and talk with us telling us she had kept something like 2 Mandarins in a >20g nano for well over a year. I was shocked, but I did grab my Beemer right on the spot to give it a go.

I have read many sites that include the larger amphipods in the Mandarin's diet. Perhaps they like the babies or juvenille's? Or maybe it is dependent on the size of the Mandarin? It would be entirely possible for Beemer to eat something the size of an amphipod. I couldn't believe that he was eating the large mysis the other day. Honestly, I wouldn't have thought they would fit in his mouth.

Here is another oddity. I'm 95% sure that Beemer eats flatworms too. I have a problem with copepod eating flatworms in my fuge. I stuck Beem in there for a day and he cleared them out! I've never seen even 1 flatworm turn up in my main display. Strange stuff

[p00num3lli]

yea, i have the perfect rocks 4 cope's. im about to start raising them my self and get a mandrin...beautifull fish they are. but neways you should try getting smaller rocks and piling them up in a corner... that i hear works great.

gl and happy reefing.

[ErikH]

My mandy eats nori, I haven't seen any others do that as of yet. very little, VERY fat.


I have a bunch of manmade rock, and the pods invaded it.

[Richard]

Babies! Lots of amphipods, but note other pod types too. I actually get out magnifying glass and observe them

Looks like some of the smaller pods on the glass are munnid isopods. Great critters and good food for mandarins. They are herbivores and ulva is one of the best foods for them, good for amphipods to. So you'll need to buy more ulva from time to time. It takes awhile but they will eventually eat it all.

[zcatzmeow]

Looks like some of the smaller pods on the glass are munnid isopods. Great critters and good food for mandarins. They are herbivores and ulva is one of the best foods for them, good for amphipods to. So you'll need to buy more ulva from time to time. It takes awhile but they will eventually eat it all.

Awesome! Thank you for the ID I do need to pick up more sea lettuce. Not too many places carry the stuff :(

[zcatzmeow]

My mandy eats nori, I haven't seen any others do that as of yet. very little, VERY fat.


I have a bunch of manmade rock, and the pods invaded it.

That looks like a fat, happy little fish I hear a lot about the nori, but have yet to try it out. I'd like to see what Beem thinks of it.

[Richard]

You can usually get ulva from some of the macro suppliers in this thread.
http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=30846

Although they all seem be in the process of redoing their systems right now so they're not shipping. I've ordered from Gulf Coast Ecosystems. They have good prices but they're moving and won't be shipping again until june.

ORA also sells it sometimes so you can ask your LFS to keep an eye out for some if they order from ORA.

[Richard]

Oh, Sachs and LiveBrineShrimp both have ulva. Sachs is also a good source for starter pod cultures (a mix of different species).

[zcatzmeow]

Looks like some of the smaller pods on the glass are munnid isopods. Great critters and good food for mandarins. They are herbivores and ulva is one of the best foods for them, good for amphipods to. So you'll need to buy more ulva from time to time. It takes awhile but they will eventually eat it all.

What about this isopod? Maybe too big?