chatfouz Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 from what i've learned over on the seahorse community brine is a useless food for marine fish. they contain almost no HUFA (highly unsaturated fatty acids). HUFAs are abundant in marine foods like krill mysis etc. switching from brine to gut loaded made a very noticble difference in the seahorse life, lifespan, and health. being as they are marine fish i could guess the same goes for the rest of marine fish in general? does anyone have any experience with this? does anyone regularly feed brine? gutload? or is this something in the way of old knowlege? i've only ever delt with horses but i've been wanting to start researchign for a reef tank with BTAs. ive read quite a bit that people suggest brine as ways to feed the creature. i just saw what looked like mild contradiction.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 You can make brine better for your fish (or sea horses) by soaking it in selcon before feeding. I feed mysid most of the time, supplemented with Dainichi Marine Reef Veggie pellets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 In our experience with brine shrimp all it did was pollute the water, fish will eat it but they all seem to be hungry at all times. About 2 yrs. ago we switch to mysis, all the fish in the main tank seem very happy & healthy....they are so happy that they all eat dry seaweed. As for the seahorses....they eat both PC Mysis and regular mysis. They look big and healthy. One thing I started doing for the past 2 months......I rinse the mysis before I feed. I don't completely squeeze out all of the juices but they get a good rinsing before I feed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Well, heck. I just set up a little 1 gal tank especially for brine. What else could I grow in there that would be beneficial? I could put pods in there I suppose, because someday I'd love to have a mandarin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatfouz Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Well, heck. I just set up a little 1 gal tank especially for brine. What else could I grow in there that would be beneficial? I could put pods in there I suppose, because someday I'd love to have a mandarin. pods are just about as easy to grow and WAY more nutritious!! in what ever container you use (personally i use a 5 gal bucket) fill it with salt water. pour in some live green phyto plankton. put a light above it and bubble it with a bubbler. lightly, slow enough to count the bubbles work. drop in a bottle of pods, 20$ will get you a bottle of tigger pods. drop those in and let it run. the pods will explode in population after a few weeks. keep the water clean and green and you will have a healthy population of pods to feed anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 pods are just about as easy to grow and WAY more nutritious!! in what ever container you use (personally i use a 5 gal bucket) fill it with salt water. pour in some live green phyto plankton. put a light above it and bubble it with a bubbler. lightly, slow enough to count the bubbles work. drop in a bottle of pods, 20$ will get you a bottle of tigger pods. drop those in and let it run. the pods will explode in population after a few weeks. keep the water clean and green and you will have a healthy population of pods to feed anything! OK, I'll do that, then. What I bought was a little $10 one gallon setup with the little plastic tank, light hood, little pump. Would I leave the light on all the time, or just 8 hours or so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Rinsing mysis is always a good idea, as they have gunk on them that is loaded with phosphates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatfouz Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 OK, I'll do that, then. What I bought was a little $10 one gallon setup with the little plastic tank, light hood, little pump. Would I leave the light on all the time, or just 8 hours or so? i turn it on when i wake up and off when i sleep. as long as the light goes off for a while stuff will grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 OK, now here's a silly question: How long will pods last in the 1 gal tank? I currently only have a coral beauty, a tomato clown, a basslet, and a tiny neon goby. I don't really want a pod explosion in my main tank, so I'll only be feeding a small amount daily. With them growing and multiplying in the 1 gal tank, will they start dying because of overpopulation? Should I not use a whole bottle of tigger pods to start with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Karen, you can still use the brine. Just soak them in selcon and they will be plenty nutritious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 OK, cool. I check into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Are you feeding the brine to the fish live? I used to feed f so it gives them something to chase with I think is good for fish. I think it is healthy for fish to have to work for their food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Yes, I feed it live. I have them in the little tank. In the mornings I take a small net and scoop some from the middle level of the tank (to avoid eggshells on the bottom and unhatched eggs on the top) and put them in the big tank. They like it, but if pods are better I might change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatfouz Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 pods are hardy, they can survive almost anything. iand a population explosion in the tank is not really a bad thing. you would not probably even see them. they hide on sand, rock and plants. the size of brine only your fish will probably notice. but they will stay a long time in the bucket. and it is easy enough to pick up some 5 gal buckets from home depo. you can always pick them out with a coffe filter and freeze them. then your own source of frozen foods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Great! I may grab a bucket and start them going until I finish the brine I've already got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 I could put pods in there I suppose, because someday I'd love to have a mandarin. Please please please don't put a mandarin in a tank smaller than 100g with no other pod eaters. I have one in my 125 that is slowly starving. If I could catch him I would get rid of him. I have 3 Wrasses and they out compete him. Even with a Pod "farm" you will not be able to sustain one. I know how hard it is to be patient and follow the recommendations of others. I made some of the same Newbie mistakes when I started. But you really need to do more research before making purchases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatfouz Posted September 18, 2007 Author Share Posted September 18, 2007 somthing to try. i have heard a lot of people who have success with thier mandarin eating roe. sushi grade fish eggs. can be specially purchased. you may want to try it. not every mandarin takes it but it certainly is worth a shot if you uthink its starving to death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 I will try it. The problem is the other fish. They eat everything before it hits the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 I will try it. The problem is the other fish. They eat everything before it hits the bottom. Let me get my pod tank up and going for a few months (I want the water to be THICK with pods), and then I'll take him if you can catch him. If I'm dumping tons of pods everyday into a small 40 gal tank, he's bound to find enough to eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semperfimarine1 Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 true true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Ok i'm intrigued. . . Rinse the Mysis? How? Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Let me get my pod tank up and going for a few months (I want the water to be THICK with pods), and then I'll take him if you can catch him. If I'm dumping tons of pods everyday into a small 40 gal tank, he's bound to find enough to eat. You missed the point of my post. I would never give him to someone with a 40g tank. You CANNOT produce enough pods for one. If you can get one that will eat prepared food great, but that is pretty rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 true true At least that's how my common sense is figuring it. I'm the first one to admit I know next to nothing about all this, I'm kind of learning as I go, but basic stats will tell you that if you're going to add the pods to the tank daily, the smaller the tank, the better chances the fish will find the pods. And if you're depending on the pods to occur naturally, you'd need a larger tank with more hiding places, more food for the pods, etc. I'm certainly not challenging anyone's opinion and like I said, I know next to nothing. I'm just trying to wrap my head around all this and learn. Not everything follows the rules of basic stats, and this may be one that doesn't. But if I don't try and understand it I won't learn it. I'm not even set on getting a mandarin, just trying to understand the whole concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 I understand that it seems logical that you could feed them, but it just doesn't work that way. I will grant that some of the accepted and stated "rules" have changed over the years. However, many of them are still the same. And I hate to see fish being tortured because someone thinks they are the one person that can do it differently. If I had had any idea that the Mandarin in my tank would not be able to get enough food I would never have bought him. But I have had him for over a year and a half. When I bought him I was well within the rules stated for a Mandarin. Problem is there were other factors that weighed into my situation that were not discussed in the research I did. The fish has been very slowly starving. He has lasted over a year and half. For a year I thought everything was fine. You might get one and be in the same situation. It just isn't worth the risk. There are plenty of other fish that are beautiful and appropriate for your size tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 I understand that it seems logical that you could feed them, but it just doesn't work that way. I will grant that some of the accepted and stated "rules" have changed over the years. However, many of them are still the same. And I hate to see fish being tortured because someone thinks they are the one person that can do it differently. If I had had any idea that the Mandarin in my tank would not be able to get enough food I would never have bought him. But I have had him for over a year and a half. When I bought him I was well within the rules stated for a Mandarin. Problem is there were other factors that weighed into my situation that were not discussed in the research I did. The fish has been very slowly starving. He has lasted over a year and half. For a year I thought everything was fine. You might get one and be in the same situation. It just isn't worth the risk. There are plenty of other fish that are beautiful and appropriate for your size tank. I understand what you mean, and what I have learned so far is that every tank is different because of livestock, water conditions, etc. So you're saying that even though your tank is the right size, other things make it to where there's not enough for him to eat, right? Where I'm getting confused, and I'm just too new to totally understand it without some further breakdown, is that if I'm growing pods in a separate 1 gal tank and putting a good amount in the 40 gal tank daily, how could the mandarin not find enough to eat? And by "good amount", I mean enough considering my other fish, too. I guess the main thing I don't understand is, if you're producing the pods in a separate tank, what does the size of the main tank have to do with it? I understand about larger fish needing larger tanks, etc. But I don't understand why a fish as small as a mandarin needs a larger tank if I'm adding the food to the main tank. BTW - Thanks for your time and sharing your knowledge and experiences. Without it us newbies wouldn't learn and there'd be far more mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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