How should I feed a dragonet with copepods?

[BilboB]

I'd like to get a dragonet but I'm not sure how to feed it copepods. Do they reproduce, so I just add once and then add microalgae every few days? Or do I need to add copepods on a regular basis? If so, how often and how much do I add at a time? If I use part of the bottle, can I keep the rest in the fridge until the next feeding?

Sorry for the newb questions, maybe I should post in the beginner forum.

 

[edsbeaker]

Please tell us more about your tank…size, how long it’s been running, and what other fish do you keep? Keeping a dragonet requires a large population of pods.

Some have had success buying tank bred ones that are raised on pellets, but even those will sometimes stop eating that and instead eat pods exclusively.

 

[BilboB]

My 1.5-year-old fish-only tank is 55 gallons, filled with lots of live rock and sand. I have about 10 fish, varying from 1 to 5 inches, including a red mandarin that eats frozen mysis shrimp & plankton. I tried adding a two-spot mandarin a few months ago but it disappeared, probably because I wasn't feeding it copepods correctly.

 

[slingfox]

I am not sure whether a tank that size can support two mandarins.

 

[brclark82]

Even with mandarins that will take prepared food they still need pods to survive long term. They need to be eating almost constantly through the day so even if you are feeding them multiple times a day they are still eating pods through out the day. You can’t rely on “feeding” them pods, you need a developed and self sustaining pod population for even one let alone 2. Highly unlikely a 55 gallon tank will support 2 mandarins without a large sump and plan for keeping the pod population up.

 

[BilboB]

How can I tell if I have a self-sustaining pod population? Or can I just infer that I have one because my mandarin is going strong?

 

[DrkNMighty]

How can I tell if I have a self-sustaining pod population? Or can I just infer that I have one because my mandarin is going strong?

It can be hard to determine. Are you able to visibly see them on the glass? Also does your tank have a sump?

 

[MBruun]

Paul B. has a Mandarin feeder description in his book.
Dose phyto plankton, it will support your pod population

 

[afboundguy]

Paul B. has a Mandarin feeder description in his book.
Dose phyto plankton, it will support your pod population

This helps a ton! I would also suggest getting captive bred mandarins that have been trained to eat pellet and frozen food like the @Biota_Marine mandarins! I have a male from them and paired it up with a wild caught female and he has "trained" her to eat pellet food and they rush right over to the back corner of the tank when I feed them!