crystina18 Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 I just came back from a week out of town and saw that 95% of all the green hair algae is gone. Even the sandbed is spotless (there used to be a mat of the algae before I left). But I noticed that I had so many of those little critters (pods) running around, babies and big ones! What can I get to keep their numbers down? Did the pods get rid of all the algae? Link to comment
666 Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 sell/give them away them to local reefers or on here. there are tons of people in need of more. Link to comment
Steve973 Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 no, *don't* buy a mandarin. That's some of the worst advice that somebody could give to you. Mandarins need a nearly endless supply of pods to survive, and most starve in tanks under 100 gallons. Pod populations only get as big as their food source allows. During a cycle, and afterward, you can expect your tank to be TEEMING with pods. This number will decrease as your tank stabilizes. I'd let nature take its course, and enjoy watching the life in your tank in the meantime. Link to comment
MandarinGal Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Well its not the "worst" advice. If your willing to look after the mandarin you could keep one. You'll just have to spend more on your live rock every so often. I know of people that have them in 20G tanks and tehy're doing fine. Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 it is the worst advice to give without further explanation then. anyway it is just a phase in your tanlk. its not gonna last let your tank mature and the numbers will go down. Link to comment
Kogut Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Okay. I don't know why the hell anyone would want to get rid of pods... But don't buy a mandarin. Okay? Go buy a wrasse. 6-lines love pods as much as any mandarin. They just don't require them. People have mandarins (like me) in small tanks because they feed A LOT of frozen food, have tons of pods and a refugium, and can handle the wasted food w/ a skimmer. Thanks. Link to comment
Steve973 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Originally posted by MandarinGal Well its not the "worst" advice. If your willing to look after the mandarin you could keep one. You'll just have to spend more on your live rock every so often. I know of people that have them in 20G tanks and tehy're doing fine. I'm not sure what you mean by "spend more on your live rock every so often". Spending money on your rock won't supply enough pods. Even a refugium won't supply enough to keep a mandarin alive, unless of course your refugium houses about seventy five to one hundred pounds of live rock. The only hope of keeping a mandarin alive is if it eats prepared foods, and while this isn't unheard of, it's fairly rare, and not worth the risk. Link to comment
crystina18 Posted April 22, 2005 Author Share Posted April 22, 2005 Thank you for all your advice. I am new to nano reefs and I just got alarmed when I came back from vacation and saw so many amphipods running around. I learning to love my pods! It is too early for me to buy any fish anyway... Link to comment
Diatome Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 They will die back some. They can deplete tehir own food and each otehr and nature will do its thing. Leave them alone. Link to comment
RoOk_Reef Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 throw in a scooter blenny Link to comment
drg0nzo1 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 They will even out eventually, just give it a few weeks or a month Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 NO! Jesus! Dont throw in a scooter blenny either. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH PODS. Link to comment
Orange Crush Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 Originally posted by Diatome They will die back some. They can deplete tehir own food and each otehr and nature will do its thing. Leave them alone. x2 Link to comment
bobioden Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 Originally posted by MandarinGal Buy a mandarin fish!!! Worse advise ever. Don't let anyone believe that if they have lots of pods that a Mandarin is a way to go. ??? Link to comment
sihaya Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 SELL THEM TO ME!!!!!! I have a mandarin fish... and I can never get enough pods. Plus, I just love the little guys. I WISH I had your problem. I even have a small tank just dedicated to my precious little pods. By the way... my mandarin also eats live brine shrimp. I know they also need a lot of pods, but it's not the only thing they will eat. I *think* they'll pretty much eat any live food. Link to comment
reef-zone.net Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 mandarins need a ton of pods. They may sometimes accept live/frozen/ prepared foods, but this it is difficult to find one that does. Even if you get the mandarin to eat brine shrimp, that is still not a good enough diet for it. Unless it is is eating other preapred foods, if there are not enough pods, the mandarin will likely starve in a couple weeks. I know they are cheap, and an amazing looking fish, but do all the mandarins a favor and do not buy one unless you have a 125+ tank that has been well established with a refugium. Back to your tank...Pods are good, and it is very common to have a surplus in the tank before the addition of a fish. Link to comment
sihaya Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 Dude... my mandarin has been alive for more than just a couple weeks. I think it's been 5 weeks now. And in fact, it looks better now than when I got it. It's still a bit skinny, but I plan to change that by making sure my refugium has plenty of pods and by feeding it plenty of live brine shrimp too. It was practically half dead when I bought it from the pet store and now it shows no signs of poor health aside from being skinny. I think you just have to be careful if you want a mandarin fish. Mine is also really small which probably helps... i.e. I don't need nearly the same size refurguim or volume of live food a normal sized mandarin would need. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see... Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 dear god don't start on the mandarins. Sihaya....we all wish you luck, but I hope you can get the little guy eating something healthier than brine shrimp. poor little mandarin. Link to comment
DaTrizzle Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 why does everyone think mandarins are so hard, They are just like every other fish they have certain needs,when they arent met the animal dies. its the owners fault for not meeting the needs. I have 5 mandarins in my 150g.I also have 200+ lbs of fiji premium LR in the tank. 1 Male and 4 females, all are psychadelic mandarins. I have a 20g fuge that is thriving with pods and I alos have a 10g tank dedicated to raising pods. The 10 is so thick with pods you can barely see through it. I doubt I even need it though the 150g is teeming with the little critters anyways. Take tangs for example,they have needs but people buy them an put em in 10g and 20g tanks. WRONG! each fish has needs just like humans. Link to comment
reef-zone.net Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 i know, they are not hard fish to keep if they are fed properly. But i was only saying dont expect them to thrive or even survive for any long period of time if you dont have enough food to keep them fed. Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 Fish do have needs just like humans.....and if you were locked in a 6ft cube and given food that you couldn't eat, you'd starve too. The trouble with mandarins is that LFSs sell them to people without telling them what their needs are, and most people aren't prepared to meet those needs if they ever discover what they are. Most mandarins starve to death in the hands of beginners. Tangs are just another creature that shouldn't be kept in a small aquarium, so are anenomes and harlequin shrimp. It's excellent that sihaya is having good luck with his mandarin, but this is the exception, not the rule. Link to comment
sihaya Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 Originally posted by neanderthalman Fish do have needs just like humans.....and if you were locked in a 6ft cube and given food that you couldn't eat, you'd starve too. The trouble with mandarins is that LFSs sell them to people without telling them what their needs are, and most people aren't prepared to meet those needs if they ever discover what they are. Most mandarins starve to death in the hands of beginners. Tangs are just another creature that shouldn't be kept in a small aquarium, so are anenomes and harlequin shrimp. It's excellent that sihaya is having good luck with his mandarin, but this is the exception, not the rule. ANd in reality, if he keeps eating, I'll eventually have to put him in a larger tank. There are some really small anemomes you can put in small tanks.... like those kind that ride on the back of hermit crabs and/or some dwarf anemones. I think they're hard to find though. Link to comment
reef-zone.net Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 wow, you're really set on convincing everyone that a mandarin is OK to have in a 5.5 gallon tank, arent you? along with a damsel in there, i just think there are going to be problems... all I can say is good luck with everything Link to comment
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