Spotted mandarin eating home made food!

[sammyinafrica]

I have a spotted mandarin (spotty, called by my girls) that has been plodding around the tank for a while eating cope's off the rock. Today, I fed my home made food and wathced as he gobbled up several pieces that had settled near the sand bed. This is was the coolest thing! I have been told that it is tough to get them to eat prepared foods. hmm, maybe i'll get that red mandarin I have had my eye on....

[sammyinafrica]

Sorry guys, I did not see this post "Who has a Mandrin Dragonette that eats with the other fish?"....Obviously, I do.

[justahobby]

Care to share what was in your home brew?

[sammyinafrica]

Care to share what was in your home brew?

Well, nothing special I am affraid. I get some sea food medaly from the local Asian food market (squid, shrimp, muscles), add some brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, and blitz it all into a powder. My fish attack it. I try to do it as inexspensivly as possible. Recently I went to Port A to a bait shop, got several pounds of shrimp to which I plan to add muscles and scraps from the HEB fish section...

How about you?

[justahobby]

Very cool. I've mostly heard of people, including myself, having used some variety of shrimp or plankton, but to hear someone using a medley with success is good news.
I haven't made the switch to home brew. I still have alot of prepared food to use up and the asian market is never open on my days off

[Ross]

You got pretty lucky with your mandarin, I wouldn't get another mandarin unless you have 150lbs + of lr because you probably won't get lucky with the second one.

[sammyinafrica]

You got pretty lucky with your mandarin, I wouldn't get another mandarin unless you have 150lbs + of lr because you probably won't get lucky with the second one.

I have had my mandarin for about 10 months, and I have only seen him eat made food recently. Up until then he has just foraged. I have about 130 pounds of live rock and have active copepods (sp). I figured that given all those factors that my tank could support two. I most likely will not get one, but I was just intertaining the thought.