Keeping a Mandarin fish??

[Foreverblowingbubbles]

Hi all,
I really want a Mandarin fish. My tank is 5ftx2ftx2ft with about 50kg of live rock. My LFS in their never ending attempts to sell me everything they have tell me the fish will be ok - Im not convinced. I know they are picky eaters and read somewhere about cultivating pods for food. Im not sure what pods are or how to cultivate them so if anyone out there know what this entails or can give me some advice it would really be appreciated. Thanks:D:D

[dollydip]

i have two mandarins and have a very similar set up to yourself the rock came from an existing tank and is around 16 months old in my set up so there is plenty of life in the tank i put one in around the 8 month mark just to be safe hth

[oakwell]

agree with dollydip wait till it gets more established and then it should bve fine

[TerraC]

Hi all,
I really want a Mandarin fish. My tank is 5ftx2ftx2ft with about 50kg of live rock. My LFS in their never ending attempts to sell me everything they have tell me the fish will be ok - Im not convinced. I know they are picky eaters and read somewhere about cultivating pods for food. Im not sure what pods are or how to cultivate them so if anyone out there know what this entails or can give me some advice it would really be appreciated. Thanks:D:D

check out your live rock and sand, particularly after dark. See if you can see any small critters scurrying around. with 50kg of live rock you should be seeing plenty. These are "pods" and make up a mandarin's staple diet. Some mandarins like mine will go after frozen food but they tend to be a break from the norm.

it needs to be your decision based on viewing your own tank as to whether you have enough pod-life to sustain a mandarin. Some places sell pod culture packs which you add to your sump or refuge to boost populations.

They really are a gorgeous and peaceful fish. Most tend to be shy and retiring spending the day grazing the live rock for food.

[moorish]

you need a well established tank to keep a mandarin in,i would wait a little bit longer.derek

[Valentini]

I add coral frenzy twice a week, pods hatching all the time that way

[dduck]

I have a copepod culture going to keep mine well fed, thankfully she's taken a liking to frozen bloodworm too :) . I'm hoping to get a male psychadelic mandarin soon to keep her happy

[Foreverblowingbubbles]

Think I will wait a little longer and look into getting a good population of pods.:). Thanks for the advice.