Green Mangerane Goby/Copepods

Mbowens5

Mbowens5

Reefing newb
Why don't I have more copepods?

I really REALLY REALLY want one of these but I so terrified that I don't have enough copepods in my tank and the little guy would starve. I bought some early on in hopes of creating a larger colony sooner. My normal LFS told me about 6 months and I should be good. Then I went to another LFS and they told me a neat trick of waiting until my house was dark and to take a flashlight to the tank and I would be able to see them crawling around. If I saw A BUNCH then I was ready. (Had moonlights in tank on when I looked) That night to my horror I only saw 2. My tank is 8 months old, so why don't I have more of them. Then I have also seen articles that said Mangerane Gobies will eat things other then Copepods. Help Please!
 
You should try and find one that eats frozen food (look into ORA mandarins). That will help some.

I've read in many places that pod populations will look like they exploded and a few months later can look like they've completely disappeared. Are you running a sump or refugium? If so, that will give the pods a place to reproduce and populate your tank your tank.
 
Mandarin Goby's can be trained to eat frozen but its tricky and time consuming. But the reason they say 6 months is because your population will have a boom, then i die off, and then from then on the population will be stable.
Also looking in your tank when the lights are off is good, but they do hide most off the time. You can buy cultures of copepods from places but it can be expensive.


EDIT:
Damn Ninjas!!! :p
 
No, I don't have a refugium or a sump. Forgive me for I am a newbie and 8 months is a long time to wait or at least for me it is. So if I wait how much longer do you think I should wait? Or should I just go for it and see what happens and attempt getting him to eat other things just in case?
 
In my 45g before I broke it down, it was up for a year....i saw no pods....but when I lost a couple of fish, and moved others around, out of nowhere, all these pods were crawling up my glass and were all over the place. They seem to sense when it's safe to come out. Other times, they are there, you just can't see them. Do you have fish in there currently? Chances are, they are eating the pods.

Like brian and waddi said, you can train your MD to eat frozen. Plus just because you get one at the LFS that eats frozen (and you see them eat frozen), doesn't mean they won't regress to eating just live foods once you put the in your tank.
 
I have a few fish and creatures, Fire Hawk, Red Headed Blenny (new comer), Randall Blenny, Clarkii Clowen, Maroon Clown, Fire Shrimp, Fire Scallop, Maxium Clam, Tiger Brittle star, and several corals.
 
i think it helps to have some algae for the pods to eat,i baught some ulva from reefcleaners.com for 3.00 per portion,and its got pods running all over it now and its only been a couple weeks since i got it,my wrasse hasnt made a dent in the population yet
 
I was the same way as you. I was worried I wouldn't have enough copeopods for my my Mandarin. I have a 20g tank and EVERYTHING I read on them said to keep them in a tank no smaller than a 50-55g tank that has been around for a long time so it will have enough copeopods. Luckily when I bought mine he would eat frozen foods and ate what copeopods I have had. I read that they won't last more than a month without enough copeopods. My Mandarin has lived off frozen food for the past 3 months, he is doing great. I am going to start to breed copeopods soon just in case.
 
Mbowens5 said:
No, I don't have a refugium or a sump. Forgive me for I am a newbie and 8 months is a long time to wait or at least for me it is. So if I wait how much longer do you think I should wait? Or should I just go for it and see what happens and attempt getting him to eat other things just in case?
Click to expand...
I bought a clump of chaeto and stuck it in the corner of my tank. The pods can breed and feel safe until they venture out and get snapped up.:D Every once in a while I trim it up so it doesn't look too raggedy.
 

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