Am I ready for a Mandarin?

Chad Jarnigan · Jul 17, 2020

Hey guys, so my tank just came out of the ugly stage recently and my water is staying a bit hazy. Over the last few days i noticed my diatoms just vanished. Last night i was looking for one of my snails and i noticed a massive copepod bloom in my tank and the rocks and glass are covered. They are also on top of the water and being washed around inside my water column, which is causing the haziness. My refugium is loaded as well. So should I go ahead and get a mandarin now since the copepod community is so large? I know they eat them like crazy. Im my sump i also keep quit a bit of filter floss in socks and i have had to change them about every 3 days due to so much algae getting sucked out of my display. (Diamond Goby, nasarrius snails, and sea urchin constantly keeping it stirred up). I have a reefer 350 (91 gal), and currently housing 2 saddleback clownfish, 1 yellow tang, 1 diamond Goby, 1 sea urchin, 20 trochus snails, 20 nassarius snails, and about 50 ceriths between display and sump. Thanks in advance guys.

Nigel35 · Jul 17, 2020

I would say go for it! Your tank is definitely large enough and if your pod population just hit the roof you should be good. Make sure when you get it that it is fat and healthy and ask the LFS to feed it to make sure that it is eating.

Big G · Jul 17, 2020

Hey Chad, welcome to R2R!

They do eat a lot and will quickly deplete what's in the tank. Do you plan on cultivating pods to keep up with the fish's consumption?

ahiggins · Jul 17, 2020

i would be wary of a "false" explosion. I too had a massive pod bloom right after the cycle but they went away as they competed for food. Your tank is big enough and you have a fuge which is great! I would think that you could get away with it since they have the ability to "hide" in the fuge and make more pods.

Chad Jarnigan · Jul 17, 2020

Thanks guys

Chad Jarnigan · Jul 17, 2020

Big G said:
Hey Chad, welcome to R2R!

They do eat a lot and will quickly deplete what's in the tank. Do you plan on cultivating pods to keep up with the fish's consumption?

Yes as needed

najer · Jul 18, 2020

If you can get live phyto that will help to feed your pods.

Paul B · Jul 18, 2020

I would say no. The tank is to new, not enough food to maintain pods and I doubt that mandarin will live very long. Sorry, but good luck whatever you do

Chad Jarnigan · Jul 18, 2020

Paul B said:
I would say no. The tank is to new, not enough food to maintain pods and I doubt that mandarin will live very long. Sorry, but good luck whatever you do

thanks i wanted honest viewpoints so i appreciate the input

Paul B · Jul 19, 2020

OK, I honestly think, No.

OrionN · Jul 19, 2020

My experiences is the same as @Paul B and @ahiggins. There always is a "false explosion" of pods after the cycle. This will go away fairy quickly. Either they run out of food or a population of mysis developed. Mysis shrimp are predators of copepods among other thing.
You really need to judge your tank during steady state. It is big enough and you don't have any food competitor of mandarin (from your fish list) so you should be fine later.

Jimmyneptune · Jul 19, 2020

Mandarins require special feeding. Some LFS say they train them to eat frozen. Some people buy pods to feed them. Some people cultivate and feed brine shrimp or other live foods. All of the methods To care for a mandarin require effort and resources.
OP your real question should be are you ready to put in the time and or money and or effort to educate yourself to care for a mandarin.

vetteguy53081 · Jul 19, 2020

How long has tank been running in total ??
Im assuming a newer tank and seems stocked quickly. As forementioned, all those pods you see will be gone in a flash by mandarin. You will need to have some on hand or at least accessible , , , even drop-shipped to you bi to tri weekly

OrionN · Jul 19, 2020

Jimmyneptune said:
Mandarins require special feeding. Some LFS say they train them to eat frozen. Some people buy pods to feed them. Some people cultivate and feed brine shrimp or other live foods. All of the methods To care for a mandarin require effort and resources.
OP your real question should be are you ready to put in the time and or money and or effort to educate yourself to care for a mandarin.

If your tank is large enough and you set it up correctly Mandarin is a great fish to have with minimal care, disease free. OP tank is large enough for this IME. It is certainly a "WOW" fish. I love them and always have a pair in my tank. I don't have small tanks normally.

ahiggins · Jul 19, 2020

OrionN said:
If your tank is large enough and you set it up correctly Mandarin is a great fish to have with minimal care, disease free. OP tank is large enough for this IME. It is certainly a "WOW" fish. I love them and always have a pair in my tank. I don't have small tanks normally.

Yours look so fat and happy!