Can I?

[Kuli_Loach]

Get one of these to go in my 29g reef?[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I am LOADED with bugs so would it be fine?

[Drumachine09]

Chances are, it would exhaust your cocepods within a few months, and then slowly starve to death.


The are really only good for HUGE tanks, and even those need to be stocked with cocepods every now and then.


I would love to have one too, but I just don't have the means to provide for it. There is this aquarium in Jenks, Oklahoma and they have all of these saltwater tanks and thats where I first saw one of those. They are so cool looking, I wish they were easier to keep.

[unleashed]

definately not. It is not the size of the tank which is the deciding factor for a mandarin. A mandarin can live quite happily in a 2g tank all by itself. However, the deciding factor is how much rock you have in your tank and how old this rock is. mandarins need about 30-40kgs minimum of at least 6 month old LR PER SPECIMEN.

[Kuli_Loach]

It's close to 6 month old LR and it has 35 lbs in it.

[gm72]

LORD what a beautiful fish! WOW!

[Kuli_Loach]

I know someone who has one and yes they are BEAUTIFUL!!! It has been in a 30g for over a year now.

[2manyfish]

EDIT: After I reread this I realised you haven't gotten it yet. So the very best thing would be to wait until you get a bigger tank. That will give the fish the best chance at survival.

The mandarin will decimate the pod population within the month. You need like 75 lbs of rock just for one. Here is a link to a mandarin diner. Some people have reported success with this! Although the article talks about his fish accepting pellets, you need to start with something like mysis shrimp (buy this at the LFS). You might want to start a culture of brine shrimp too. The mandarin may or may not take newly hatched brine, but they will take the adults. Bad news is that the adults have very little nutrition. So to help things along you need to feed the adult brine with something like DT's or Kents phytoplankton. Another couple of tips. Make some pod piles within the tank. These are small mounds of rock that are fitted tightly together. The theory is that these mounds will provide the copepods some place they can breed without being eaten. Also, take some sponges - the kind you use in filters - and just shove them in the back corner of the tank. Use a small rock to hold it down. Pods just LOVE these things!!

Here's that link!

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Good luck!

[Kuli_Loach]

Hmm, I think I will make a corner with sponges to keep pods growing in there. The only other fish are a false clown, firefish, and a clown goby.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

how can u tell if u have pods growing and what exactly are they?

(sorry to jack your thread for a moment kuli)

[Kuli_Loach]

They are little bug things all over the tank.

[cocoa_pleco]

im thinking of one too, however my tank is too young but i have about 2lbs/g LR,.

I think theyre recommended for 55g+ tanks though