mandarin goby/dragonet

[darkreef]

hey i bought a new little guy for my tank, he looks super healthy and full.
i was wondering if anyone had any tips on feeding them frozen food instead of pods there are tonnes in my tank but im sure he'll clean house. hes is currently my only fish besides my clean up crew so hes not competing.

Tank habbits

Mandarin dragonet

Clean up crew

two blue legged hermits
two tiny snails (unknown)
Black slug ( looks like the night sky (hitchhiker)
sifting star fish ( chocolate chip)

Water conditions

salinity 1.025
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0 - .5

[Bblinks]

How big is your tank?

[darkreef]

40 gallon with sump

[darkreef]

do they eat amphipods... i have thousands in my tank... there kinda getting out of control

[WarDog]

They love Pods! But may starve once they decimate the supply. Be cautious.

[Bblinks]

Feeding is a big thing, once you get them to eat pellets or frozen you will be set. I had one in my 55 gallon reef set up and it thrived for years. Also having a refugium really do help out with extra pod for them to snack on.

[darkreef]

I'm going to buy a 10-15 gallon tank and set it up just for pods tomorrow

[darkreef]

But until then il keep buggin him with brine shrimp when the pods get low then redose pods

[naesco]

I'm going to buy a 10-15 gallon tank and set it up just for pods tomorrow

I would re-home the mandarin because he is likely to starve in a new small aquarium.
Your aquarium is way way to small for your star and it will compete with the mandarin for food. I would recommend you re-home it or return it to the LFS.
Sorry

[Myka]

Most mandarins are quite easy to wean onto frozen food, but it does take daily diligence. I have a breeding pair of Mandarins in a 20-gallon tank for over a year now. They are fat.

I wean mine all the same way. They seem to go for plain (not the Omega-3 or the spirulina) Brine Shrimp best. I place a small jar like a baby food jar or a small vase into the tank laying on its side somewhere out of flow where you can observe. Every morning add 2 little brine shrimp to the jar. In the evening siphon the brine shrimp out. Keep doing this everyday. It will take 1-3 weeks before the Mandarin will start to take the Brine Shrimp. You will notice the Brine Shrimp will start to disappear and then you will notice the Mandarin will start hanging out in the jar (they are pigs). When this happens you can start feeding him more.

You do need a very fat one in order for it to survive weaning because they need to become hungry, but not skinny in order to seek out "alternative" food stuffs. If they are already skinny they are often unwilling to seek alternative foods almost like they are in a state of panic.

[toytech]

Ive got 2 to eat frozen blood worms , turn the pumps off and shoot some at him with a pipet .

[darkreef]

thanks everyone i just picked up a small glass jam bottle to put food in that hed fit cozy in like a cave. going to put brine shrimp eggs and frozen baby brine and keep trying different stuff like black worms and such

[darkreef]

my chocolate chip star fish is leaving neon orange patchs on my live rock.. think im going to get rid of him. that was a boyfriend impulse buy lol

[Myka]

thanks everyone i just picked up a small glass jam bottle to put food in that hed fit cozy in like a cave. going to put brine shrimp eggs and frozen baby brine and keep trying different stuff like black worms and such

Use frozen adult brine shrimp. Then after he's eating that wean him onto healthier fare like Spirulina brine shrimp or small mysis shrimp. If you use a drop of garlic extract that helps too.

Like this:
http://0.tqn.com/d/saltaquarium/1/0/U/O/1/SanFranciscoBrandBrineShrimp.jpg

[darkreef]

so dropped a few frozen brine shrimp in and i saw him eat atleast 4. now i know hes willing to eat different things! thanks for everything guys!