Tobiko for dragonets/leopards

[reefnroll]

Many of you probably already know this, but for those who may not...

Flying Fish roe (aka Tobiko at your local asian market) is excellent food for smaller fish that prefer picking from the reef substrate, i.e. mandarins, leopard wrasses, blennies, etc.

These fish are typically very tough to feed ... so finding something they readily devour is a real score. I've been feeding selcon/garlic soaked tobiko for months now... and all the fish mentioned above tear it up (once they begin to recognize it as food). It's the perfect size and it sinks right to the bottom so they can pick it from the sand/rocks as they do live pods.

Enjoy -

bec

[ScavDog]

very nice Bec. THx

[wrassefan]

Great info Bec. How much do you feed at a time? If it goes uneaten, how long before you need to fish it out?

[reefnroll]

No prob Joe - Your leopard will love you even more!

Wrassfan - It depends on how many interested fish you've got in your tank. Start with about 20 or so (they're tiny little 'beads'... bright red). Mix them in with your regular food to start. The fish will be curious, but probably not eat them right away. By the third time around... they'll barely be on the sand long enough for you to see... before they're sucked up.

You can judge how much to feed based on that... but I've never fished out a single one. It gets eaten by the fish or the clean-up crew within minutes. My larger fish are now eating them as well.. though when mixed with mysis, the big guys grab that first.

b

[wrassefan]

Thanks!!! Will have to give it a try.

[Keith Sheridan]

So Bec, would you infer that, a mandarin, which will not eat anything but live pods, could, or better yet, should eat Flying Fish eggs?

[reefnroll]

Hey Keith -

No inference intended... just a simple suggestion! Everything becomes a debate around here!

Are you referring to a specific fish that you have that won't eat anything but live pods, or all mandarins in general? If a specific fish.. I'd say give tobiko a shot and cross your fingers... there is a good chance that it will go over well.

If you're referring to all mandarins in general... I would not categoraze all mandarins as "will not eat anything but live pods."

I have all of the fish mentioned in my first post... but I don't have any fish that will only eat live pods. I wean them onto all types of foods before releasing them into the general population of my 125 reef. Of all the foods I've offered, tobiko is the only food I've seen these particular, very picky fish snapping up as quickly as they do live pods. Whether mandarins in general 'should' eat them... I can't say. I can tell you that mine do, with great enthusiasm. In addition to whatever else we can get them to ingest, there are folks who believe that mandarins MUST also have live pods in their diets to survive long term. I don't know whether that is true, and I'm not suggesting tobiko INSTEAD OF live pods (I still make sure my reef is teaming with critters, which is difficult considering the population I keep) but I know my fish are as fat as little pumpkins on tobiko right now... and I thought I'd share my findings.

Take a walk over to my place and I'll give you a live demo. You're a neighbor, right?

b

[SMS76]

Bec,
Thanks for sharing this info.
Thanks
Shoeib

[moe_k]

Hey Bec, (and ScavDog, I think):
Are lepoards know to be jumpers? They're pretty fish, and I might put them on my wish list. Gotta have a couple wrasses.

[ScavDog]

Bec, How do you store it?

[sunrider]

interesting, unfortunately i don't know much about flying fish....are they marine or fresh water fish?

might have to look it up, i've got a mandarin that picks at bloodworms when fed but goes primarily for the pods in the tank, i haven't been able to try mysis on her yet. sounds like it's worth a shot.

where would you get it???

[reefnroll]

No problem Shoeib - Good luck.

One thing I'd like to reiterate is that I have a separate tank to acclimate and wean picky eaters BEFORE putting them into the reef. I think it's irresponsible for any of us to purchase these fish and toss them into a reef to starve to death without first giving them a chance to 'learn' how and what to eat before they're expected to compete for it.
Please consider that before buying, or even before feeding tobiko!

bec

[Marco67]

Hey bec thanks,
It will be nice to have something that the manderin will take, Not that I have a problem with mine(I call him the "swimming thumb") but I'm always parinoid about him getting enough live food. It will also be nice to have a way to get him some selcon.

[reefnroll]

sunrider -
My first post will answer all your questions, other than details about Flying Fish. I believe they are from the oceans near Japan, but the origin of the fish is irrelevant to the use of thier roe (eggs) as food for mandarins.

Moe -
I would not categorize Leopards in general as jumpers... though they are very easily spooked when first introduced to the tank... so some fright jumps may occur. I haven't had a single leopard jump, but I've lost all 3 lineatus wrasses I've owned to jumping, so there you go.
Leopards tend to disappear into the sand, causing reefkeeper ulcers in the ensuing days. Cant' beat that for excitement.

Joe - You will find tobiko in the refrigerated section of any asian market. Mine seems to keep in the fridge forever... meaning, I use it up before it turns colors or smells funky (it has no smell when purchased)... so I assume that means it has 'kept.' One package (a few $) goes a very long way... so don't buy more than one at a time.

b

[redpaulhus]

Any suggestions on which stores in the Boston area have Tobiko ? Last time I was at the Super 88 (South Bay) I was looking for fish roe and didn't see any (but I got lots of nori !)... I know the smaller asian market near my house in Randolph doesn't have any either...

[Sea Serpent]

Hi bec . .I am very interested in finding some of this product but I am not near an asian market very often. Can you suggest a place to find it?

[reefnroll]

I'm spolied. I live and work near Porter Square (Cambridge). There's a building called the Porter Exchange (the old Sears building) filled with nothing but Asian restaurants, clothing shops and the Gap (of all crazy things).
The best Asian market I've seen is right there, and they always have tobiko in the fresh fish section.

Paula -
Do you think your horses will eat tobiko? I was wondering... but I don't know enough about their feeding habits to make the leap.

b

[Sea Serpent]

Ah, that is exactly what I was wondering - the horses and pipefish .. . . as well as mandarin. Maybe I will take a trip into Porter Square and check out the Asian Markets . .. Thanks so much for the tip.

[reefnroll]

Hey Marco -

Sorry... missed responding to your post. I'm not sure how much selcon and or/garlic the tobiko actually absorbs.. but I assume some. Does your guy not accept selcon/garlic soaked mysis as well?

b

[reefnroll]

Paula -

If you come into the Square sometime, please let me know. I'm minutes away and would love to have lunch with you at Porter. Great sushi!

b

[Marco67]

nope strictly natural

[reefnroll]

If he's fat, there must be plenty of pods for him to eat without searching for supplements, which is always good news.. but I'll bet he goes for tobiko right off the sandbed.
Give it a shot if you can and let me know.

b

[karl wagner]

nice work Bec.

Moe: with the wish list: I recommend one wrasse per tank.

[Keith Sheridan]

Yeah Bec, I was refering to mandarins in general. I would love to have one, but fear there wouldn't be enough to eat as far as pods.

I like your recco about having a QT or more important an acclimation tank to wean them onto other foods. I think I am going to still wait a while before messing with a mandarin though.

[reefnroll]

Good idea Keith. I hate seeing people buy these little guys and then wonder why they 'disappeared' after just a few weeks/days. If you ever want help with one, please let me know... and the offer still stands for the live neighborhood demo.

b

[crimson156]

i'm not near any asian markets either, anyone know of any other stores?

[crimson156]

1 more thing, how much does tobiko cost?

[Keith Sheridan]

Yeah, I really should get over there, as you are the closest reefer I know of. Closer than Brandon even.

[Keith Sheridan]

About 8 bucks for a small container. I got some for free tonight, but had the price on it. My guess is it would last a long time. I also scored some Cod roe and I will let you know how that goes.

[reefnroll]

Mine was $2.75 .. fresh... at the market in Porter Square... which has lasted me many, many weeks,and I'm still not half way through. If you could ball it up into three small balls... they would be the sizes of three ping pong balls. Only somethign liek a tenth of a pound... but the stuff is zillions of eggs. I really wouldn't buy any more than that, considering our not knowing how long it will say edible/fresh in the fridge. Just my opinion.

Keith... I think I can see your actinic lights from here. C'mon over.

b

[Keith Sheridan]

Only about a year ago that I planned on going over.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158694&highlight=MEDFORD

[reefnroll]

Are your sure you're walking in the right direction? :)

b