Keeping Mandarins in Nano's 2

Well I have not had any luck so far but there person I got him from did feed him prepared and I saw him eat there but he is still a little shy so no luck. But I know he is eating pods. As I have some nice big ones in there. I feed the tank reef food.. any tips you could share to help me along.

 

What did you see him eat? How was it introduced to him. I've seen several methods used when feeding a Mandarin prepared foods. Here's a couple...

Target Feeding.
Jar method. Place a small jar within the tank and introduce live or frozen foods to him that way. Try an elevate the jar so as to keep other critters out.
A small dish type feeding station placed on the sand bed.

It has been my experience that turning off the flow is best while feeding Dilly. Although he makes attempts at catching free floating foods, he doesn't quit get them.

Please remember that Dilly is a captive bread Mandarin. Born in captivity and raised on prepared foods. So I'm having an easier time with feeding prepared then most would with a wild caught.
In all honesty, if Dilly wasn't eating prepared foods as well as he is, I would NOT be keeping him in my 26 gallon tank. Reason being is he would be totally dependent on Copepods and a Nano tank cannot sustain a large enough population, long enough for the Mandarin.
So please, if for any reasons you feel or see that Red Baron is not getting enough to eat and of the proper foods, consider finding him a new home. It doesn't take long for these fish to starve. If they go to long without eating, chances are they will stop completely.

I've got several new homes picked out for Dilly if this should ever happen to him

 

Dilly looks beautiful.....I love mandarins and it seems you are doing a great job. The tank is looking great too!

 

Thank you so much! It's great hearing words of encouragement

 

Cant wait to get one my self. What type of lights are you using?

 

4x24w T5HO. All ATI lamps. Aquablue special-Coral Plus and 2x Blue Plus.

 

9 weeks and all is well with Dilly!! Not sure how but he's had a small notch taken out of his tail. I'm expecting new pods tomorrow from Livecopepods.com

 

such a great job caring for dilly! He is really cute!

 

Thank you Soggytoes Got up this a.m. looking for the nice lil cluster of tigger pods I *had* going on..seems as if Dilly had himself a nice little pod munching party as the tiggers are no where to be found I've been watching Dilly hang out at night in the exact corner where the pods were hanging out. Sitting right on top of them, but I never did see him pecking at them. Guess he's a shy eater~lol. Plus his lil belly is looking sort of full.
Expecting a new order of pods today. Will most likely be putting the entire contents into the DT as my fuge is kind of messed up these days. Gotta figure something out with that.
Anyways..I've dropped Dilly's target feedings down to 2x daily. Wanting him to eat more pods versus the prepared. As long as his belly isn't skinny in the a.m. I'll continue.

Oh an talk about strange~that lil notch I noticed missing from his tail, it's gone. His tail is back to normal. Weird or what???

 

Just sitting here watching my tank and for the first time since I've gotten him, Dilly is actually perching! He's usually always active during the day. It's very nice to see him just hanging out, and of all the places he's chosen to perch is right on top of the big clump of chaeto I've got growing in the DT
What an awesome lil fish! He has definitely taken up the #1 spot in my heart for fish