How long should i wait to get a mandarin??

Sounds like you're definitely doing a good job, but pod populations can explode and crash. I agree with you about creating a natural environment, but what about feeding flakes and pellets to fish? They don't eat that in the wild, either. Better to cover more bases, IMO.

 

Flakes and pellets are made from things some fish eat naturally.Just in a different form.;D

 

Haha!, and Nutramar Ova is.....prawn eggs.:

 

Like I said I am not sure of the exact nutritional content of prawn eggs compared to copepods.Nor am I sure there isn't something that the mandarin gets from said diet as opposed to prawn eggs. Also the kinds of fish that consume flakes and pellets are usually not specific or picky eaters and will usually eat anything which is not the case with most mandarins.I am still going to try and get mine to eat them. The more available choices the person who buys one of these the better off the fish will be and maybe it will help more people to keep these beautiful fish from starving to death.

 

Well said.