Paddy's Mandarin Paradise

[paddyob]

Originally Posted by Reef Tank Engineer

Dont use the hob overflow. Drill the tank and put a bulkhead in, it will save tou the worry of wondering if the siphon fails

Thanks, but this has been running for about a year now.... with Mandarin.

And it is a HOB refugium, not overflow. CPR HOB Fuge with Koralia pump.


But yes, HOB overflows are the devil. Prone to siphon loss and hard to dial in.

Thanks.


Here is my Fuge video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL4DAwEs-D4

[paddyob]

Originally Posted by toytech

im trying to get her to eat out of a diner (small jar ) so i dont have to find her and get a bunch of food in the rocks around her . Im hoping once she eats in the diner on a regular basis i can put other foods in there like flake or pellets and she will eat those too .

Please give me an update on how this goes. Seems like a good idea.

[toytech]

I have had bloodworms in the jar for 2 days now and feeding in the area around the jar (its flat sand in the back of my tank ) she found the blood worms in the sand , and now hangs out in that area alot more.She swam in the jar and ate all the worms today and then came back and hung out in it a few times.

[abcha0s]

I love my mandarin. She is also by far my most expensive fish ever.

[paddyob]

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

That sounds REALLY cool... I love Mandarins!

I would definitely do a HOB refugium, like a modded AC110. 2 Mandarins will decimate the pod population in a 20 gallon in no time flat so having lots of inaccessable places for the pods to reproduce is absolutely key

Refugium. Done.

[Funky_Fish14]

Sounds cool Pat!

"pod piles"... shells turned upside down with holes in them... cheato balls... These areas in my fuge are where I see the clouds of copepods swimming about (I know they are copepods, i've checked them out under microscope). Low flow will help. High nutrients is also just fine. (will help/allow algae and phyto to grow... phyto being a copepod food source).

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Cheers,

Chris

[Funky_Fish14]

PS. My fuge is 71gal dedicated fuge, with caulerpas (2 types), cheato, and mangroves... a sandbed, rock... There IS a large clownfish that motors around in there hunting the larger pods (amphipods and Isopods)... And a bullet goby (gobiosoma macrodon), who is fatter than fat from eating copepods... and my copepod population is still through the roof. Low flow, good light/(old lights too), sandbed... miracle mud, algaes, areas for the pods to be 'safe', these will definitely help.

If you can try to do larger size!

Plus im sure you can find, or train, the mandarins to eat prepared foods. If you manage this... then no worries at all! Should be able to buy some already eating it.

Cheers,

Chris

[bignose]

Are you going with a drilled tank and refugium?