Reef Discussion
Primarily they need to be on a diet of prepared foods as many just simply don't survive in captivity due to lack of available live foods.
I had good success in a 200 litre tank with the following method of training them to frozen mysid shrimp:
- Acclimatise new mandarin
- Release into a breeders net within the tank.
- Put some macro such as a Caulerpa sp. in with the mandarin to reduce stress.
- Feed 3 times a day - morning, afternoon and evening, more if you are home
- Defrost mysid shrimp in saltwater from the tank and introduce a small amount to the breeders net with some tubifex worms. For the first few days they will mostly eat the tubifex worms but will mistakenly get the odd mysid as well. They then develop a taste for them. Over the next 2 weeks, gradually phase out the tubifex.
Should take 2 to 3 weeks to get them not only trained on prepared foods, but recognising you as the source of it and showing a feeding response when they see you. Once you are certain they are eating well, release into the tank. At feeding time, pumps should be turned off, as the food needs to settle to the bottom of the tank or onto the rocks so they can go around picking it up off of a surface. They occasionally grab food from the water column but if you watch the way they hunt, you will see why the food needs to be on the substrate or rocks.
I found that they occasionally go off the frozen foods and you should act fast if they stop eating it for a few days, otherwise they lose weight quickly. They need to be caught and put in the breeders net for re-training. Pretty high maintenance fish when it comes to feeding.
I had good success in a 200 litre tank with the following method of training them to frozen mysid shrimp:
- Acclimatise new mandarin
- Release into a breeders net within the tank.
- Put some macro such as a Caulerpa sp. in with the mandarin to reduce stress.
- Feed 3 times a day - morning, afternoon and evening, more if you are home
- Defrost mysid shrimp in saltwater from the tank and introduce a small amount to the breeders net with some tubifex worms. For the first few days they will mostly eat the tubifex worms but will mistakenly get the odd mysid as well. They then develop a taste for them. Over the next 2 weeks, gradually phase out the tubifex.
Should take 2 to 3 weeks to get them not only trained on prepared foods, but recognising you as the source of it and showing a feeding response when they see you. Once you are certain they are eating well, release into the tank. At feeding time, pumps should be turned off, as the food needs to settle to the bottom of the tank or onto the rocks so they can go around picking it up off of a surface. They occasionally grab food from the water column but if you watch the way they hunt, you will see why the food needs to be on the substrate or rocks.
I found that they occasionally go off the frozen foods and you should act fast if they stop eating it for a few days, otherwise they lose weight quickly. They need to be caught and put in the breeders net for re-training. Pretty high maintenance fish when it comes to feeding.
I wish I followed your instructions Megan my madarin eats well from the live rock/macro algae in the tank but I havent seen him eat anything prepared... I might have to train him when I rescape in a few weeks.
Excellent Megan-mine eats mysis already but i have to target feed him. I'm trying out a mandarin "diner' -basically just a thin glass jar that you put at the back of the tank and fill with food for him-if it works it would be an easy method to use.I'm also putting NLS pellets in there to see if i can get him to eat these as well-would really be great if he learned to take these as well
tried your way today Brendore -current just lifted the mysis block out of the sand and all the other fish had a feast instead-may have to give it another go elsewhere in the tank-anyway the other fish were very happy indeed for their unexpected meal:) .
tried your way today Brendore -current just lifted the mysis block out of the sand and all the other fish had a feast instead-may have to give it another go elsewhere in the tank-anyway the other fish were very happy indeed for their unexpected meal:) .
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