Mandarin dragonet

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som3 reef3r

Member
is it possible to keep a mandarin in an 8 gallon bio cube? how about with a goby or clown?(thats probably immposible) im close enough to my LFS to get pods whenever i need them and ive got about 10 lbs. of LR and 15-16lbs of LS. if under those conditions its not possible, under what conditions might it be? thanks
 
carlagracie

carlagracie

Member
Anything is possible but 8 gallons is a bit small I think. Im sure someone will chime in and let you know for sure.
 
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som3 reef3r

Member
ok thanks because some people say that as long as you have enough live rock.... 6 months of maturing atleast.... my LFS said he had kept a mated pair in a 20 gal then there are the people who say well you neeed atleast 50 gallon+ per fish so im kinda confused lol
 
marine281

marine281

Member
My concern with a smaller tank is that the pods won't be able to establish their population, 8 gals is a pretty small hunting ground. My 30 gal went from pod filled to empty in a week once I got a mandarin, there is just not enough room for areas to "recover" in between feedings.. But if you can buy bottled pods, or get him to eat frozen food then you may be ok.
 
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som3 reef3r

Member
so a mandarin that excepts frozen foods? is that even possible? lol and yeah im 20 minutes or so (not that far) from my LFS so i can get them whenever i need them
 
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jski711

Member
Unless the mandarin is eating frozen foods there is not a chance it will survive on pods alone that i can guarantee. Now if the fish is eating frozen mysis then yes it will be fine, the reason i say mysis is because frozen brine has little nutritional value at all. i had a spawning pair in a 15g tank but they both were eating anything i threw in the tank. So unless the fish is eating frozen foods don't buy it.
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
som3 reef3r said:
is it possible to keep a mandarin in an 8 gallon bio cube? ...
Click to expand...

Generally no. This fish requires about a 50 gal tank in order for the tank to produce enough pods to support the fish. In addition the tank should not contain other pod eating fishe, such as some species of wrasse.

Yes, there are some mandarins that will fiid on other foods, and some will adapt well, but this is comparatively rare.

I recommend you choose another fish, or set up a much larger tank.
 
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