?s about Copepods and Clowns

Hello all, I have questions about two seperate issues. We've had our 29 gallon Biocube for about two years now, and have been fairly successful so far (a few casualties). Recently we picked up a Mandarin Goby, and it has completely depleted our copepod population, so I went and bought a bottle of them. Is it possible to build a LR structure within the tank where they can breed? I bought them some phytoplankton as well. My Mandarin really needs some food, so it's a bit urgent.
The next question has to do with my clownfish. We have an orange ocellaris and a black one, and it seems they've gotten friendly ;D. So friendly that the larger of the two (the orange) laid some eggs last night. I realize that we may be unable to keep them alive, or even any future love children, but we'd like to try anyway. I have an airstone, small airpump, and ten gallon tank to move them too. We've been researching, and it says the food of choice for fry is rotifers, but all I could find was frozen. Will they eat that? Any tips of the "Idiot's Guide" variety?
Thanks to anyone who reads.

 

On your first question, a 29 gallon is a small tank for a mandarin to thrive, due to the problem that you are having now. It will decimate a pod population very quickly. One option you have is to buy pods weekly for it...that gets very expensive. Another, possibly cheaper, and more beneficial in the long run to you would be to create a remote refugium to get a population going. I did this with a 5.5 gallon tank, some phyto, rock rubble and a shower "poof". I ordered multiple species of copepods and amphipods to "grow". Everyday, after lights out, I would grab the poof out of the fuge, and float it into the DT. This seemed to continue to add pods to the DT, and with the fuge away from predation, the pods thrived. Yet another option would be to return the mandarin you got to a LFS, and order an ORA Mandarin. ORA Mandarins are trained to eat pellets.

As for your second question, I have no experience with breeding, but from what I've read, live rotifers are needed. You can order them online at certain retailers, but you'd have to set up a hatchery for them to reproduce.

 

You're really gonna take a whooping on here. Basically everyone will tell you a mandarine needs 100 pounds of live rock in order to produce the required amount of copepods to feed him. I only had a mandarine once for about two weeks in a 130 gallon tank, and he got hit by a pistol shrimp, so what I'm telling you is only hearsay.

 

Thanks for the suggestions on food supply, and the warning. I did read a few things about breeding copepods in a smaller tank. I need to find a better pet store.

 

well heres were i come in. I have had 4 mandarins over my time all sold to friends. The other option you have is get the mandarin to eat frozen. I have done it with all 4 of mine. It takes time and patience. Then also feeding them many times a day. Thats another option you have. All mine first took to bloodworm then pe mysis very easy. then i would work towards flake and pellet. made ours alot more social too.

 

hasek, how did you train yours to eat frozen food? We do feed our coral some frozen shrimp, but wasn't sure if the mandarin would go for it?

 

i started my mandarin by putting near it some blood worm and watching. its not instant. but they seemed take to it pretty quick then i would slowly work in pe mysis and slowly switch over to only that. but what always worked to start for me was bloodworm

 

Thanks, I'll try it.

 

There are few members on here that raise clown fish fry. It gets a little complicated with feeding initially the first couple weeks. So the short answer is I guess no you can not raise the fry on your basic food you buy at the store, there are however specific foods you can buy on the net now for clown fish fry.

Oh and clown fish eat pods as well so you have some competition going on for food.

 

please let me know how it goes for you with getting your mandarin to eat frozen