where do my pods go?

[Anthony.Luciano710]

ok so i have a 125 gallon reef started on november 5th 2010 and i got a bunch of cheato with pods and within 2 weeks there were pods all over the glass like an infestation in bot the refugum and the tank. i got a mandarin goby and a red scooter dragonette and in another 2 to 3 weeks i only see like 5 pods crawling on the glass of the refugium and both the fish are so skinny i might have to sell them. how could these fish eat all the pods. there about 200-250 pounds of live rock in the tank and a hang on back refugium full of cheato.

 

[KathyC]

A tank that was set up Nov 5th is WAY too young to have a Mandarin or Dragonette in it.
They should only be added to large tanks (100+g) that are 'established', it is suggest they be 2 years old (the tank, not the :fish .

Mandarins alone eat between 200-400 pods per day. I expect it is similar for the Dragonette as well.

They don't eat the pods you will usually notice in your tank. The ones they eat are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.

So yes, yours are probably starving to death already.
The downside is that too often once a Mandarin is starving (belly caved in), it will not resume eating and will probably die.

It would be best to get them out of your tank ASAP and hope they live in the tank you re-home them to. Please try and find a WELL established tank and let the next owner know of your issue. You may want to offer a refund if they don't make it

Please do research fish before you purchase them. Mandarins are one of the most beautiful & interesting SW fish we have (IMO & according to many) and it is such a shame to hear of this happening so often to them.

 

[dubs]

anthony luciano i dont know if its too late and dont have a 100g tank but if u want i can hold on to them till u find someone to buy them so they wont die i got tons of pods in my tank i offering a temp help if u need it lmk those fish are some of the hardest fish to keep

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

thanks so much but i just ordered a whole bag of copepods so ill see if they can last with that and ill dump it in the refugium so they can multiply in there.

anthony luciano i dont know if its too late and dont have a 100g tank but if u want i can hold on to them till u find someone to buy them so they wont die i got tons of pods in my tank i offering a temp help if u need it lmk those fish are some of the hardest fish to keep

 

[dubs]

kool hope it work out those fish are pretty but a pita to keep lmk how it goes good luck

 

[JimmyR1rider]

ok so i have a 125 gallon reef started on november 5th 2010 and i got a bunch of cheato with pods and within 2 weeks there were pods all over the glass like an infestation in bot the refugum and the tank. i got a mandarin goby and a red scooter dragonette and in another 2 to 3 weeks i only see like 5 pods crawling on the glass of the refugium and both the fish are so skinny i might have to sell them. how could these fish eat all the pods. there about 200-250 pounds of live rock in the tank and a hang on back refugium full of cheato.

You answered your own question- as Kathy stated your tank has to be EXTREMELY well established to have enough pods to where the population can still stay ahead of the mandarines appetite. The reason so many people lose theirs - theyre hard to keep fed.

Best of luck with it all

 

[basiab]

You will have to buy pods every week until your tank is established. That gets very expensive.

 

[Staaan]

A tank that was set up Nov 5th is WAY too young to have a Mandarin or Dragonette in it.
They should only be added to large tanks (100+g) that are 'established', it is suggest they be 2 years old (the tank, not the :fish .

Mandarins alone eat between 200-400 pods per day. I expect it is similar for the Dragonette as well.

They don't eat the pods you will usually notice in your tank. The ones they eat are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.

So yes, yours are probably starving to death already.
The downside is that too often once a Mandarin is starving (belly caved in), it will not resume eating and will probably die.

It would be best to get them out of your tank ASAP and hope they live in the tank you re-home them to. Please try and find a WELL established tank and let the next owner know of your issue. You may want to offer a refund if they don't make it

Please do research fish before you purchase them. Mandarins are one of the most beautiful & interesting SW fish we have (IMO & according to many) and it is such a shame to hear of this happening so often to them.

Or you can try training it. Speak with guarda here on MR, he has successfully done so with his mandarin, and it seems to be a growing trend.

 

[jcolon2]

Training them is possible. However, it may be harder if you have live pods in your tank. I have a wild spotted mandarin, a baby. And I bought him from Tropic Island Aquarium. He was eating frozen brine shrimp like crazy. The minute I purchased him, and introduced him to my tank he went crazy over the pods and hasn't eaten frozen food since. Ironically, he is getting fatter (I have a lot of pods).

Anyway, you can try frozen food. Try roe (salmon eggs, that you can prob buy as at a sushi store) or frozen or live brine shrimp to start. Perhaps even mysis?

Best of luck!