Training mandarin eat pellet when pods is around?

[foxngn]

Hey guys,

I would like to get a mandarin to train it to eat frozen/pellets.

Prior to this, i would like to say my tank is 5 years old, i got a tiny refugium, as well as a hang-on macroalgae box.

Thing is, i would want to place it inside this macroalgae box to train.
But then, those macros within the box is full with pods.
In such case, does training inside this box gonna be doom to fail?

Thanks

 

[MabuyaQ]

Starting of to train to eat pellets is doomed to fail. Training should start with feeding some frozen of the same/similar type of live food you feed mixed into the live food and than increase the percentage of frozen in the mix. For most dragonets that is it, you can get them to eat some frozen or just frozen foods besides what the tank provides them. Only if they eat a decent amount of frozen food can you start adding pellets to the mix and see if they will eat those as well (mine never did). The only exception were the once I raised and started excepting pellets as a juvenile (which not all did), those kept accepting pellets but still prefered live or frozen over pellets.

 

[foxngn]

ya, I'm intend to start it off with frozen.
But my real question is, do i have to start it with an empty hang-on box? OR if inside the hang-on box present population of pods will be waste of effort to wean it off, as it will only focus on picking on pods.

 

[najer]

What size is the tank and are there any other pod eaters?

 

[foxngn]

What size is the tank and are there any other pod eaters?

Is a 2x2x2ft cube tank.
So far got a pair of clown, chromis, blue eye cardinal and a royal gramma.
As far as I'm monitor, other fish doesn't really pick on pods on the rock or glasses

 

[najer]

Is a 2x2x2ft cube tank.
So far got a pair of clown, chromis, blue eye cardinal and a royal gramma.
As far as I'm monitor, other fish doesn't really pick on pods on the rock or glasses

I would start feeding live phyto if you can to feed the pods, mandarins want to hunt all day so training to feed on offered foods is a bonus in my opinion but will sustain the fish rather than make it healthy and happy.
If you are confident in your pod population I would put it straight in the tank but start adding pods also every week or so.

 

[Tchung23]

Try captive bred as they are fed pellets at a very young age

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Look up a PaulB mandarin feeder for baby brine shrimp. Once they get accustomed to that thing with live food you can have an auto feeder dispense right over that area. Seemed to work for me but I don’t love using pellets anyways

 

[PeterB113]

they seem to go after frozen brine more than anything else IMO

 

[Tchung23]

they seem to go after frozen brine more than anything else IMO

From what I read. Brine is not that healthy unless they are newly hatched.

 

[PeterB113]

From what I read. Brine is not that healthy unless they are newly hatched.

It's not that their not healthy they just don't have as much nutrition as mysis. I switch off feeding mysis/brine. I also have a hatchery for brine shrimp and feed every other day

 

[Tchung23]

Keep pushing the prepared stuff. I remember when I saw my mana farina eat their first pellets!! I was so happy.

 

[MabuyaQ]

Introduce to the tank and train them in the tank. Like Najer said, feeding phyto to the tank will help with in tank pod population (amount and diversity). Brine shrimp, tiger pods and mosquito larvae are all really easy to breed and can be used as life food. What is also helping keeping pod population up is not cleaning the one of the glass panes for one or two weeks and than clean it and leave another one uncleaned for one or two weeks. The different algae that develop in different stages help keep pod population up as well.