Mandarin Question

[mbgrubb15]

So i am not too worried about my mandarin having enough food. he eats bloodworms and always see him picking off the rocks. (i think i have a good copepod population. introduced a ton)

however, today i was feeding the tank flakes and i saw him take a bite out of a flake and spit out a lot. then he took another bite out of a diff flake and spit some of that one out.

I know he spit it out but do you think he will start eating flakes now?

 

[dherrera83]

Someone people try to train them to eat frozen food. Looks like yours is a fast learner, if he is actually taking some of that in with time he will prob start accepting any and all food. Looks like you got lucky buddy. People sometimes have issues with feeding them and keeping them.

Your on a good path. Just make sure he keeps his appetite up.

 

[isnyc300]

in my experience, when they get hungry they will eat anything. i have a pair in my 75 and they eat pods, pellets, and frozen. but in many cases they do slowly starve to death. your best bet would have been to qt them and train them to eat.

 

[btldreef]

Seems like a good start, try getting him to eat Meaty foods like pe mysis. I had a green spot for over three years who loved mysis shrimp.

 

[SIReefer]

Depends on the individual fish but I think the green mandarins usually eat only pods while the psychadelics have a more varied diet. Which type do you have?

 

[Imbarrie]

I have two, the larger one eats many things including the mysis I feed to my larger fish and ribbon eel. Not sure about the smaller mandarin since it is not as visible during feeding.
I feed nightly behind a rock in a corner of my tank with Nutrimar Ova and Cyclopeez and their bellies are always a nice round shape. The smaller one is female and she is always carrying eggs. So they appear content.

They remain a constant concern as I have heard many things about their long term prospects. Every time I see them I look to make sure they appear full and eating well.
I would try feeding a variety of food including Cyclopeez and the Nutrimar Ova product. That especially has been shown to elicit a feeding response in some of the most picky eaters.