Thanks PaulB- Mandarin feeder

revhtree · Sep 7, 2016

Paul B said:
I actually do. Here http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/diy-target-feeder-mandarinfish-pipefish-2804/

You do have to hatch brine shrimp. There is also an article there by me for a hatchery if you are interested.

Paul can you recreate the plans here? Thanks!

Paul B · Sep 7, 2016

I use a plastic container that Home Depot sells electrical tape in.

Drill or cut out a large hole in the cover almost as large as the cover.

Get a piece of acrylic or PVC tubing about 3/8" wide. Make a bend near one end of the tube. To do that get a spring that fits kind of snugly in the tube. Slide it in the tube with the center of the spring about an inch into the tube. Heat it with a hair dryer gun until you can bend it into a 90 degree angle. Hold it like that and run cold water over it to cool it. Remove the spring by turning it so that the coils get smaller and it will come out.

Hold the bent part on your substrate and mark it about an inch above the water. Cut the tube there.

Drill a hole in the side of the tape container so the tube fits in snugly and push the tube in.

Cut a hole in a stocking with a fine mesh larger than the container (if you cut out a piece of your wife's stockings, cover the hole with duct tape so she doesn't notice)

Lay the piece of stocking on the container (don't stretch it) and put the lid on.

Find or make a small funnel for the top of the tube so you can pour in the shrimp and a little water so they go down. I used a small plastic container for that.

I also put lead weights in it and covered them with Goop Glue. You can use quarters, rocks or anything heavy but if you use metal cover it with Goop. You need the weights because when you put the shrimp and water in the funnel, a little air gets in and it will float.

If the shrimp come right out after you add them, your mesh is too large. The shrimp should not be able to swim through on their own. You want the fish to pull them through as they get stuck in the mesh

Here I am using a plastic thing from a florist, but I am sure you can design something.

revhtree · Sep 7, 2016

Thanks to you both for this thread!

code4 · Sep 7, 2016

Sometimes it takes them a while to get used to it. Once they do though, they are hooked.

Shelley

star fawkes · Sep 7, 2016

Thank you. I haven't ever been able to get my pods to reproduce at a rate that will sustain a mandarin so I think I'll give this a try.

0202chunky · Sep 8, 2016

How long does it take for the eggs to hatch?

TherealplexiG · Sep 8, 2016

Hi @Paul B
Mandarins can be kept only on BBS?

Broog · Sep 8, 2016

0202chunky said:
How long does it take for the eggs to hatch?

Takes 24 hours..

bulldogg55 · Sep 8, 2016

I had the honor of meeting @Paul B and to see all the great things he has made for his fish. He helped me with making my feeder and thanks to him my mandarin has switch to frozen. He still love to get some snacks from the feeder but when I feed the tank he comes out and pick anything that flys by the rocks

Broog · Sep 8, 2016

Finally found the feeder last night was munching away

...

Paul B · Sep 8, 2016

Yes mandarins can live on nothing but BBS, but I am sure they are getting pods also. A new born brine shrimp "may" be healthier than a real copepod because a new born brine shrimp is almost all yolk sack and a real pod is an adult animal with a shell. The yolk sack is full of nutrition so I would assume a mandarin could get along with less BBS than real pods. But that is just an assumption on my part as I am not a mandarin nutritionist.
The eggs take a little longer than a day to hatch depending on temperature. I start a batch a day before I put them in my hatchery so I have a constant supply.

tj w · Sep 8, 2016

7k views. Way to go guys. Paul is a wealth of knowledge for this forum even if everyone can't always agree.

knoxmandan · Sep 8, 2016

I will be building one of these thanks for the great info!!!

Paul B · Sep 8, 2016

7K views. Wow, I didn't even know there were 7,000 people with fish tanks. Who would have thought? Where are all of you people or do the 6,897 times I read this thread count?

Broog · Sep 9, 2016

Okay, question for anyone who has hatched BBS , how long can you use the batch, they hatch in approx 24 hours, but how long do you pull BBS from that batch before starting a completly new batch, I pulled some from a batch at 24hours and 48hours, but after that emptied and started another batch, just curious how most go about using there batch before starting a new one?

code4 · Sep 9, 2016

I use the black dish to hatch them. I have two. So I add to one, then add more the next day to the same dish. Then on day 3 I start using the second dish for 2 days in a row. I continue doing this non stop. I do add live phytoplankton to the first dish as I start on the next. I add all the BBS I can each day into the feeder. I clean one of the dishes every other day. I have had no issues doing this.

Shelley

Paul B · Sep 10, 2016

I hatch them every day and start the batch the day before. As soon as they hatch I put them in the feeder and in a couple of hours they are gone. They are much healthier as soon as they hatch and get less nutritious as the day goes on because they absorb their yolk sack. You can use them anytime but they become less nutritious