Mandarin feeding question

[Neptune 555]

I have a male/female pair of green spotted mandarin in my 100 gallon reef. My male has been thriving for 3 years... the female is a new addition 2-3 months. I am using the Paul B feeding method. I hatch baby brine shrimp (BBS)every 2 - 3 days and add to a feeder that is covered with nylon and place in my tank. The mandarins hover at the feeder and eat the BBS. Here is my dilemna... the BBS are dying in the feeder? I am using nylons and I see some get out so I don't think the holes are to small for them to get out? I think the issue is that the BBS swim down.. and the opening of the nylons is at the top of the container. I have started to place the feeder upside down.... as in the nylons are at the bottom suspended between rocks. BUT the mandarins can't sit on it now.

Suggestions? if BBS always swim down.. how does the feeder work? I am sure I need to supplement the diet of the mandarins with two in the tank and the female is tiny... any advice is appreciated. No mating spotted yet.

 

[Chrisfish]

I cannot help you with the BBS issue but I can tell you that my blue spotted mandarin loves live black worms, so in addition to feeding my tank pods every other month or so she gets live black worms every other day. When I feed them to her it's with a turkey baster and she's right up there waiting for her share.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I have a male/female pair of green spotted mandarin in my 100 gallon reef. My male has been thriving for 3 years... the female is a new addition 2-3 months. I am using the Paul B feeding method. I hatch baby brine shrimp (BBS)every 2 - 3 days and add to a feeder that is covered with nylon and place in my tank. The mandarins hover at the feeder and eat the BBS. Here is my dilemna... the BBS are dying in the feeder? I am using nylons and I see some get out so I don't think the holes are to small for them to get out? I think the issue is that the BBS swim down.. and the opening of the nylons is at the top of the container. I have started to place the feeder upside down.... as in the nylons are at the bottom suspended between rocks. BUT the mandarins can't sit on it now.

Suggestions? if BBS always swim down.. how does the feeder work? I am sure I need to supplement the diet of the mandarins with two in the tank and the female is tiny... any advice is appreciated. No mating spotted yet.

We could ask the expert @Paul B how to dial in the feeder.

 

[mckinleyw]

following... I really want a mandarin. ive read a lot on here and other places on them and ive been running a algae stocked refugium and seeding pods every couple of months since I put tank together early 2014 pod population should be crazy in there. hoping to add mandarin within 2017.

I have a thought on how to maybe solve the bbs going down and having a perch kind of like a bird feeder. and hang it off the edge of your tank however deep seems good. at least it seems like it would work.

 

[laga77]

I have 4 pair of Dragonets. One pair in a 120G reef, one pair in a 120G FOWLR, one pair in a 50G reef, and one pair in a 47G seahorse tank. In a 100G reef all you really need to supplement is the occasional blackworm or white worm. The BBS feeder is a good idea, but I never got mine to work that good. You could try to stretch the nylon tighter to open up the holes. Another idea is to feed LRS fish eggs.

 

[Neptune 555]

@Paul B any ideas on my BBS feeder? The BBS die in the feeder? Mine swim down not up to the light? I hatch them in a diet coke bottle upside down... and after they hatch I turn off the air bubble and wait and the BBS all swim down to the nose of the bottle - even when the light is on top of them? Then I move the BBS to the feeder some get out but most seem to die in the feeder?

Neptune