Swarms of Mysid.

[FutureInterest]

The last few nights in a row at around 2 am I've had the pleasure of seeing swarms of baby mysid shrimp float around my tank... They don't last long as they are soon eaten by all the corals, but its a cool sight to behold. Even the zoas that won't accept any of my prepared foods were gulping these things down. It seems I've been wasting my time hand feeding the corals!

Anyways, I don't stare at my tank all night... But its my favorite pasttime when feeding the baby . I think she enjoys it too... heh.

 

[scubagirl12]

i bet you do stare at your tank all night. i stare at mine too much.

 

[sshindell]

Anthony Calfo had a great design for a tank - place an LED underneath the tank, and then fill your tank with sand but make that area a grotto with rocks. At night that area becomes the only lit area and the mysis gather there in swarms, making it easy prey for the mandarin or other fish, and it can be in an area you can watch.

 

[mufret]

That is a great idea! I'm going to try to incorporate that into my new setup.

 

[cameron]

You could even use one of those submersible LEDs for an addition after the fact.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15550&Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=0&Ntt=underwater%20led&Np=1">http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15550&Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=0&Ntt=underwater%20led&Np=1</a>

Not as cool as the sand trick, but should work well enough.

 

[FutureInterest]

I'm not so sure mysids are a viable food source for the mandarins. It seems that the mysids are not active at all during the day. At least in my tank they only move around during the night. Even in my fuge that has no predators the mysids are only actively moving around when its dark. Pods on the other hand generally don't seem to be smart enough to care whether its light or dark.

 

[cameron]

My mandarin seem to eat frozen mysis so I am guessing there are a lot of mandarins that will eat the live thing. At any rate, swarming mysis could be a nice fun to watch touch.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

The mysis that I grow in my tank are active all day and night. Great food for the rest of the tank when they make their way up that far. That Calfo is one crafty fellow. Dare I say, the Martha Stewart of fish tanks. That is a neat idea!