Curtis Scott March 30, 2013 Share March 30, 2013 I know they like pods, but since there are many types out there I thought I'd ask what you guys think. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b March 30, 2013 Share March 30, 2013 (edited) I know they like pods, but since there are many types out there I thought I'd ask what you guys think. Thanks Unless you have a 260G with a big fuge I would not depend on pods to feed your MD. I fed mine the following 3 things and they were fine: "Ocean Nutrition Marine Formula 1 Small pellets" Red or Orange sushi roe (get it at H-mart, 8103 Lee Hwy (at Gallows Rd), Falls Church, VA 22042, in the back). All your fish will go berserk for red sushi roe! Blood worms (I turn the flow on and off to make them wiggle) I had to spot feed them with the flow off for the first few weeks and after that they would eat it readily. These days many MDs are tank raised on frozen food but even so they can still be finicky. Edited March 30, 2013 by sen5241b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals March 30, 2013 Share March 30, 2013 The kind that they eat are good .Does it really come down to having that big a tank with a big fuge to keep one happy does it? We had a pair in a 150 with no real fuge, and they didn't seem to be eating any of the food we fed in the tank. Just grazing kept them fat and healthy, they even did their spawning dance at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimlin March 30, 2013 Share March 30, 2013 never would have thought of feeding fish with sushi roe. thanks for the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef March 30, 2013 Share March 30, 2013 Copepods and amphipods mainly, at least that's what they eat in my 50g tank.I have a large population going on...he will sometimes eat a few things that float dowfrom my Jans food i put in 2 times a week . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k March 31, 2013 Share March 31, 2013 check out Paul B's threads on feeding mandarins. I'd say he's the resident expert with these fish and their dietary requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 31, 2013 Share March 31, 2013 PaulB has a special feeding station for his mandarins where he gives them live baby brine regularly. Daily, I think. He also has a very established tank which should be crawling in pods, but still feeds his mandarins in this special way. As Rob said above his feeding station is neat and worth a look. Here's the thread he was referring to: http://wamas.org/forums/topic/54473-some-thoughts-on-mandarins/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b March 31, 2013 Share March 31, 2013 (edited) I've seen MDs attack and bite bristleworms in half and then eat them. Edited April 1, 2013 by sen5241b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decadence April 1, 2013 Share April 1, 2013 Three for three with mandarins going after live black worms. My current tank is near devoid of pods and the mandarin is doing just fine. We are thinking about getting it a female companion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k April 1, 2013 Share April 1, 2013 harder to breed blackworms than it is to breed BBS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decadence April 1, 2013 Share April 1, 2013 In this area, there are multiple stores which you can get live black worms from. I don't breed them. All of my fish love live lack worms and they are extremely nutritious. They also redly absorb just about everything you stick in their water so it is easy to medicate or enrich them to feed your fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b April 1, 2013 Share April 1, 2013 I do not have to feed my spawning mandarins, scooter bleeny or pair of breeding blue striped pipefish, but I do anyway. They can easily live without feeding because the tank is old, not very sterile and full of life. But I like them to spawn and spawning fish are in the best shape they can be in so I built this feeder that gives them live baby brine shrimp for a few hours a day. Here they are spawning And here is a video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis Scott April 1, 2013 Author Share April 1, 2013 Very informative! Thanks everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b May 7, 2013 Share May 7, 2013 The mandarins should spawn again tonight as the female is ready Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef May 7, 2013 Share May 7, 2013 The mandarins should spawn again tonight as the female is ready how can you tell.....did her water break? Har har .....knee slapping funny, no? Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 May 9, 2013 Share May 9, 2013 What material do you use over the bbs feeder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM May 9, 2013 Share May 9, 2013 What material do you use over the bbs feeder? He cut a section out of an old fish net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b May 9, 2013 Share May 9, 2013 Yes exactly, and yes her water broke, the tank is slightly overflowing this morning. I didn't see her yet today because the lights are still out so I don't know if she spawned last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals May 9, 2013 Share May 9, 2013 How would you know if they spawned? Does the female look skinny afterwards or something? And how do you tell the female is ready and will spawn that night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals May 9, 2013 Share May 9, 2013 Maybe I should have payed more attention when we had ours spawning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b May 9, 2013 Share May 9, 2013 How would you know if they spawned? Does the female look skinny afterwards or something? And how do you tell the female is ready and will spawn that night? Look at the picture above of mine spawning. The female on the right has a very large baby bump. After she spawns she goes back to her normal, sexy shape. My female again looks like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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