Converting a Mandarin Goby to Mysis?

[MichaelReefer]

So, I really, really, want a Mandarin Goby at some point, and wanted to see if anyone here has personally converted them to pellets/Mysis.

I dont really have the space for a large refugium (it's maybe a gallon or two) to supply unlimited Copepods for it.

How did you do it?

 

[LesPoissons]

Hey there,
So copepods dont "need" a refugium. It's a nice area they like to grow, but they will be fine with live rock. The issue is how much your mandarin eats. Is your tank over 50g? There are videos online that show how to create mandarin feeding stations that use very simple set ups to try to get it switched to other foods, but it depends on the fish how successful it is. If you have an established tank with 50# of rockwork or so, you will probably be okay. You can supplement pods just buying by the bottle and you can also try to hide a ball of chaeto in the tank like behind your rockwork to add safe spots.

 

[Jesterrace]

Honestly going frozen is almost more work than just having a good sized tank with a healthy pod population and it's a gamble with whether or not they will ever take to the other foods anyways. The thing many folks don't realize is that mandarins basically have a non-existent digestive tract which means during the waking hours they need to feed near constantly whether it be pods or frozen food. So you literally become a feeding slave to the fish unless you introduce one to a sizeable aquarium with a well established pod population. As someone who tried and failed with a green mandarin, I understand how much of a challenge these can be. Even now with a 2 year old tank that is in the 90 gallon range with a 29 gallon sump that is crawling with pods, I am still wary of adding one.

 

[Reef Nutrition]

So, I really, really, want a Mandarin Goby at some point, and wanted to see if anyone here has personally converted them to pellets/Mysis.

I dont really have the space for a large refugium (it's maybe a gallon or two) to supply unlimited Copepods for it.

How did you do it?

We have customers that were able to train their mandarin to eat our TDO Chroma BOOST Small. Here is a video showing it.

It takes some patience, but it can be done. The same can be done with dead mysis and copepods.