TDO feeding amount for 2 mandarins?

[JayFish4004]

I recently bought some TDO pellets (x-small) and realize I have been making a mistake not doing this sooner. The Biota mandarins eat them right up and they will sit on the rock work until they come by to feast.

I had been doing Hikari frozen brine and frozen can o cyclops and the challenge with this is the pieces are so small they suspend in the water and I don’t think the mandarins have a chance to get too much. I have a feeling this tiny food ends up creating a ton of nitrates in the tank too since its so inefficient and probably gets clogged everywhere.

Now my question - how the heck do I figure out how many daily pellets of these super tiny 400 micron things so they get enough but I don’t blast the nitrates?

Also - should I retire the hikari baby brine and can o cyclops or just severely limit it? I also do monthly pods so the mandarins are super fed.

 

[blaxsun]

Probably a dozen or so pellets twice a day.

 

[JayFish4004]

Probably a dozen or so pellets twice a day.

Should I put them on the same rock every time and hope to train them to go there to find it or spread around? The other challenge is I have 10 other fish but if its sitting on rocks the other fish dont usually touch it, might just mean if I spread it around I’d need more.

 

[blaxsun]

Should I put them on the same rock every time and hope to train them to go there to find it or spread around? The other challenge is I have 10 other fish but if its sitting on rocks the other fish dont usually touch it, might just mean if I spread it around I’d need more.

I found a feeder works best to target feed my mandarins.

 

[JayFish4004]

I found a feeder works best to target feed my mandarins.

What do you mean by feeder? Like a pipette or a specific device?

 

[blaxsun]

What do you mean by feeder? Like a pipette or a specific device?

Pipette, baster, etc. Even a syringe if the tip is wise enough. The longer the tube the easier it is to get it nearer to the fish without startling it.

 

[JayFish4004]

Pipette, baster, etc. Even a syringe if the tip is wise enough. The longer the tube the easier it is to get it nearer to the fish without startling it.

Here’s a video of them eating