Spotted Mandarin in same tank with a green or red?

[reeffreak]

I'm leary of those claims to Amanda.What are pods suppose to feed on in an algae scrubber?The algae on the screen,how would they hang on and if the screen is cleaned weekly what happens to the pods.

Even if Santa Monica had said this I would still be skeptical.

 

[Gigaah]

Well today I purchased a female spotted mandarin. Her name is Girlfriend lol. Its Fatboy's girlfriend(I renamed target to fatboy..pictures show why)

It was a little touch and go at the begining of the day but I'm pretty sure they are happy with each other now. I had to rescue her from the store she is soooooo skinny. They actually had 4 really skinny spotted mandarins. I said to myself..if one of them is female..I'm going to rescue it from sure starvation. Here are pictures of Fatboy and Girlfriend. They still both get along with Littlegirl(my green mandarin).

Fatboy is THE FATTEST mandarin I've ever seen. When I got him he was average sized.

 

[Bifferwine]

Damn, Fatboy is OBESE!! What do you feed him, Denny's?!?!

 

[sen5241b]

My MD is fat as pig. I'm actually thinking he might need to go on a diet.

 

[yote]

Fatboy says he aint fat.Thats just his tool shed.:D

 

[Gigaah]

I'm leary of those claims to Amanda.What are pods suppose to feed on in an algae scrubber?The algae on the screen,how would they hang on and if the screen is cleaned weekly what happens to the pods.

Even if Santa Monica had said this I would still be skeptical.

Pods eat algae.
Yes they hang on the screen.
One of the main reasons to clean the screen weekly is so the pods do not grow out of control on the screen and consume the algae thus releasing the nitrates back into the water.
There are plenty of microscopic pods in the water with a scrubber. Once cleaned for the week the pods will immediately begin to start growing on the screen again.
If there is any standing water in the scrubber design they will take up residence there as well by the thousands.

Santa Monica did indeed say this. I know first hand these are facts. He actually claimed very tiny dust sized pods however tiny pods as well as more mature pods presented in the picture.

Let me lay proof to the claims. I have pictures of just before I cleaned my screen. I wasn't sure if they would turn out but my camera has a pretty decent macro function. The pods look a little surreal when zoomed in on so much but I promise these are not doctored photos. I have 3 mandarins and a scooter blenny in a 55g all happy and fat.

I hope this clears up any doubts.

 

[reeffreak]

I'm still skeptical.I can't see pods in those pictures.

As a nitrate reduction,I have no doubts about an algae scrubber.But a breeding grounds for pods when the screen must be clean weekly.I may do a AS in my new build but no way would I give up my skimmer and fuge to run one alone.

 

[Gigaah]

I'm still skeptical.I can't see pods in those pictures.

As a nitrate reduction,I have no doubts about an algae scrubber.But a breeding grounds for pods when the screen must be clean weekly.I may do a AS in my new build but no way would I give up my skimmer and fuge to run one alone.

I circled the pods this time.
Please do include an ATS in your new build. Please I beg you, as a friend.
I completely understand how difficult it is to believe that there is absolutely no use for a skimmer and no particular need for a fuge with a properly sized and built scrubber. But when I demonstrate how bullet proof my system is to people they really cannot believe their eyes.
I actually let my friend feed my tank 5 cubes a day for a week and let him test the water before he'd believe what I was saying. He thought for sure with my bio load and quantity of rock that it wouldn't take much to make the tank crash.

 

[reeffreak]

I see them.

What do you do with them,shake the screen before removing it?Like I mentioned,I will do one but I just can't give up my skimmer/fuge.

 

[Gigaah]

When you remove the screen from the scrubber to clean it each week. Dip the screen in the main tank and swish it around good before you clean it. Not hard enough obviously to dislodge a bunch of algae into the tank. Doing this shakes off a bunch of pods into the tank to help further boost the pop population in the main tank. But I'd say that unless you got a mandarin in your tank that looks skinny or have several dragonets like I do it isn't really needed. It may not be even needed at all but I do it for piece of mind because I know I have a heavy pod eating population in my tank.