Can I have to many pods ?!?!

[krygoon]

So I added a fish to my tank that I have been dying to have but had to wait till my tank was ready! A ruby red dragonet! I understand that they eat pods which is why I waited till I noticed tons of pods at night for over a month and then added another entire bottle of Tigris from Ericksons copepods about two weeks ago and have fed the pods as well. I have read that the dragonets can be picky and some end up eating only pods. My question is what is the best practice for keeping my pod count up enough to sustain my new fish? I’m perfectly fine with adding a bottle monthly or bimonthly if needed as my local store produces them. Any tips or tricks are appreciated thank you for reading all that!

 

[winzig]

I was under the impression that tisbe pods are the preferred pod for mandarins

 

[ScottJ]

More info on the tank, size, age, other inhabitants, a white light picture, will help knowledgeable people give you advice.

 

[Reef Jedi]

In my eyes, there’s no such thing as too many pods when it comes to housing a dragonet.

They will spend all day grazing and eating every one they can find. I was topping off my population once a month with 5280 pods from Algae barn. I did that for 6 months to the point where at night when the lights were off, in corners of the tank you’d see them swarming like crazy. I haven’t added any in a couple months due to still seeing them all over. As long as it has a fat belly then you’re good!

 

[Boehmtown]

Tisbe pods are what you want, the tigger pods stay in the water column a lot. I have also had every Mandarin I've met eat reef nutritions tdo chroma boost extra small pellets. Just put on an auto feeder 2-3 times a day, at least one you aren't around and make sure enough gets fed that a bunch get past the fish and end up on the sand rocks etc. they will eventually figure it out

 

[afboundguy]

So I added a fish to my tank that I have been dying to have but had to wait till my tank was ready! A ruby red dragonet! I understand that they eat pods which is why I waited till I noticed tons of pods at night for over a month and then added another entire bottle of Tigris from Ericksons copepods about two weeks ago and have fed the pods as well. I have read that the dragonets can be picky and some end up eating only pods. My question is what is the best practice for keeping my pod count up enough to sustain my new fish? I’m perfectly fine with adding a bottle monthly or bimonthly if needed as my local store produces them. Any tips or tricks are appreciated thank you for reading all that!

Never a thing as too many pods! Best way to keep up a healthy pod population it so provide them with a safe place to reproduce like a refugium. Dosing your tank with phyto helps feed them and you can also culture your own copepods at home to constantly dose them.

I was under the impression that tisbe pods are the preferred pod for mandarins

Tisbe pods are what you want, the tigger pods stay in the water column a lot.

Tisbe pods are benthic (crawl vs swim in open) and T. Californicus do both but they're super bright red so chances are they'll get picked off faster by other fish. Tisbe are typically the best benthic copepods and they are easy to culture on your own and reproduce in tanks well.

I have also had every Mandarin I've met eat reef nutritions tdo chroma boost extra small pellets. Just put on an auto feeder 2-3 times a day, at least one you aren't around and make sure enough gets fed that a bunch get past the fish and end up on the sand rocks etc. they will eventually figure it out

My two mandarins love TDO and other pellet food. I squirt it on the sand bed and they rush right over!

 

[krygoon]

So I added a fish to my tank that I have been dying to have but had to wait till my tank was ready! A ruby red dragonet! I understand that they eat pods which is why I waited till I noticed tons of pods at night for over a month and then added another entire bottle of Tigris from Ericksons copepods about two weeks ago and have fed the pods as well. I have read that the dragonets can be picky and some end up eating only pods. My question is what is the best practice for keeping my pod count up enough to sustain my new fish? I’m perfectly fine with adding a bottle monthly or bimonthly if needed as my local store produces them. Any tips or tricks are appreciated thank you for reading all that!

Never a thing as too many pods! Best way to keep up a healthy pod population it so provide them with a safe place to reproduce like a refugium. Dosing your tank with phyto helps feed them and you can also culture your own copepods at home to constantly dose them.

I was under the impression that tisbe pods are the preferred pod for mandarins

Tisbe pods are what you want, the tigger pods stay in the water column a lot.

Tisbe pods are benthic (crawl vs swim in open) and T. Californicus do both but they're super bright red so chances are they'll get picked off faster by other fish. Tisbe are typically the best benthic copepods and they are easy to culture on your own and reproduce in tanks well.

I have also had every Mandarin I've met eat reef nutritions tdo chroma boost extra small pellets. Just put on an auto feeder 2-3 times a day, at least one you aren't around and make sure enough gets fed that a bunch get past the fish and end up on the sand rocks etc. they will eventually figure it out

My two mandarins love TDO and other pellet food. I squirt it on the sand bed and they rush right over!

Awesome I have have been feeding tdo since my first fish in the tank and jsut recently started switching it up here and there with my local reef stores blend of frozen food for variety so I will keep doing that and hope he takes to it thank you

 

[Boehmtown]

Awesome I have have been feeding tdo since my first fish in the tank and jsut recently started switching it up here and there with my local reef stores blend of frozen food for variety so I will keep doing that and hope he takes to it thank you

It's important you have it on auto feeder at least once a day, because it will settle in the same place at the same time every day, I've found this to be very reliable