best way to raise pods

[marinegirl]

hi i want to buy a madarin but first id like to get a few food source's happening for him

after searching ive read a few posts on Feeding them roe ok that dosent sound so hard ive noticed row in the fishmarket often

but id also like to make sure he has plenty of pods to eat
my tank has 80kilio or 176lb of rock and i know there are pods in the tank i see them trapped in my prefilter in the sump when i clean it and scuttling around the rock every so often in the tank

what is the best way for me to raise pods and havest them ..

[der_wille_zur_macht]

A tank your size should have no problem at all keeping a mandarin well fed - I wouldn't worry about it one bit once things are established - i.e. the tank's been running for several months, at least.

[marinegirl]

so what is the best way
Ref in the sump with macros?
ref in the sump with LR ?
Seperate Ref ?
Seperate tank with ??
and whats the best way to get them from there habitat to the tank ?

i know you say i will have plenty but id rather have more than enough

[der_wille_zur_macht]

An above-tank refugium is probably the most effective - as big a tank as you can manage, with a gravity drain back to the main tank. If you have to put it below the main tank, an airlift (instead of a traditional centrifugal pump) would probably ensure a higher survival rate. Otherwise, a regular old in-sump or next-to-sump design is fine. That's probably what 80% of refugium keepers use these days.

If you don't want to bother with a 'fuge, raising brine shrimp is painfully simple. You can gut load them with phyto and they'll be healthier than the run-of-the-mill pods roaming your tank, as well.

[marinegirl]

i feed live brine to my fish weekly now i can buy a bag of them here very cheap i dump the whole lot in at once and the fish go nuts there all gone within 3 minutes so i wonder if the mandarin will even get a look in with brine ... my tangs and chromis clean them up so fast ...

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Here's a trick.

Get one of the little black plastic containers that a roll of film comes in. Punch a few holes in the lid. Fill it with tank water and add your brine, then wedge it into your rock somewhere.

The fish out cruising around will probably not notice it - give them a bit of food to distract if you have to. The brine will slowly pop out of the canister over time, making it more likely that the mandarin eventually finds them.

Where do you get your brine now? Are they gut loaded right before you buy them? Of not, they may not be very healthy.

[thrlride]

Yeah, plain brine shrimp don't have much nutritious value, that's why gut loaded are so much better.

[marinegirl]

the LFS's here on the coast have it down to a fine art they come in a small Sealed Squeez bag not sure what the volume is of brine ( ALOT) from a company called pisces
i dont know if they are gut loaded how can you tell ?
i never notice any dead in the pack either ...

[der_wille_zur_macht]

You'd have to ask if they're loaded - luck is they're not, if they come packaged from somewhere else.

"Gut loading" just means feeding them something healthy an hour (or a few) before dumping them in your tank. You could do it yourself by adding a bit of phyto to the bag they come in, then letting it sit for an hour or so.

[marinegirl]

right ...
and with pods this is not neeeded ?

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Nah - 'pods that live and grow in your tank are more or less healthier than empty brine to begin with, and they're more or less eating all the time anyways.

[marinegirl]

so ok ... i think doing the fuge thing is a good idea with macro..
feed pods some days & brines others...

will my tangs eat pods ?

[der_wille_zur_macht]

They might.

If you're raising 'pods in a fuge, you don't really "feed" them to the tank - they just sorta swim in from time to time, replenishing the population living in your display.

[marinegirl]

ok then ....
so do they prefere rock or algae to live in ?

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Either.

Many people find success with a 'fuge that's got some coarse crushed coral in the bottom - the 'pods seem to love the stuff. Also, some piles of live rock rubble, and some algae - the algae can double as a nutrient export tool.

If you don't have anything like this yet, make some small piles of live rock rubble right in the main tank. That'll help keep the 'pod population high by giving them hiding places.

[AJtheReefer]

Very informative thread. I learned something new today. Thanks!

[Alucrep]

Yeh, it is an interesting thread. I am starting up a 45gallon, and would like one day to have a mandarinfish if i can...my question is now though, do you need a refugium if you can feed them brine shrimp often enough? i've read that many people hatch brine shrimp, and it looks rather simple. I've read too that they are nutritious with the yolk sacks and all...what do you think?

[drjrose]

I have kept two Mandarins (male & female) and two Scooters in a 140 with LOTS of live rock for over a year. All would take live brine, but mostly grazed on pods.

[marinegirl]

what is the best product to gut load the brines with ?

[marinegirl]

the shop told me today they dont gut load and told us to feed them yeast ...

hmmm i said i better ask my buddies at reef central !

[ratziel]

Another little trick to increase your pod population is to take a piece of 1/2 inch pvc pipe, cut it into foot long sections, then super glue them together in bundles of eight or so.Then hide these bundles behind your rock and eventually you will have little pod cities. Its the same principle as the rubble pile and film cannisters, it gives the pods a safe place to reproduce. A refugium is always a good idea as it's not only good for pod production, the plants in the fuge help manage phosphate and nitrate levals.

[ratziel]

I always feed my baby brine shrimp cyclopeeze before feeding to my fish.

[nine9d]

Feed cyclop-eeze and phytoplankton of some sort. It is real easy to hatch brine shrimp and they are the most nutritious when freshly hatched, you should look into doing this if you like to feed brine once a week. The adults have little to no nutritious value at all.

[marinegirl]

yes i think its time to buy a brine shrimp hatcher i give up on my coke bottle one it dosent produce