Also make sure you get a properly sized tank, because in QT the pods dont usually have anywhere to hide, so make sure you stock the 8 gallon with pods constantly. YOu can even add a piece of live rock from the DT so the pods have a place to hide. Choose a rock with lots of little hidey-holes. Good luck !
Awesome! Just remember that a tank with no predators means the pod population has a chance to increase at a slow rate. Now with a mandarin, the population will need to grow at a higher rate, under the same conditions (unless you add a refugium) now that your tank has a predator...keep us posted!
May I ask what is the tank mate?
Oh wow ur tank is stocked. I think you should be good to leave her in the tank. Just check a lot to make sure the burn isnt getting worse, and make sure shes constantly feeding, and maybe even call your LFS or someone/place that knows a lot about fish diseases and illnesses. Also I just got a new book with all fish diseases, bacteria and environmental issues. Is the colour fading from the fish or whats going one with the skin exactly?
Probably it is a secondary bacterial infection in a mechanical damage cause by either your activities or that he/she had try to go down in the rock works.
good luck with your mandarin and I hope it recovers!!!
Hi! A mesh bag full of cheato worked really well for me. I have it floating in my DT (AIO tank) but you could definitely put it in the sump with basically any light as well. It’s a good breeding ground for the pods because the mandarin can’t get in it. Just give it a good shake every week or so and you’ll see all kinds of pods just swarming out.
+1 on this. Someone else on this forum equated them to hummingbirds. They need to feed constantly (not just once or twice a day like a lot of other fish). I also read these guys need a minimum of 30g to keep them successfully but maybe someone with experience can comment. I really want one of these guys but the 30g puts them out of my reach for now (plus the feeding). Some fish, even if small, have huge territories in the wild so they need that space. Obviously there are fish we would all like to keep but if we can't provide at least the minimum then we either don't get them or we rehome them. I have freshwater tanks and really wanted a pea puffer (which is literally the size of a pea) but they need a minimum of 30g because of the territory they keep in the wild. Looking at them I would never have thought this so I'm glad I researched them. Plus they also feed quite heavily. That put them out of my reach.
I’ve got it in the bottom of my 20 gallon, behind the rock work. I put a small piece of live rock in it so it sinks. Can’t even see it from the display side.
I’m aware. She’s still super tiny rught now. Once she gets bigger we might rehome her if she outgrows, but for now, I want to raise her. She seems really happy and we just have to pay attention to her actions. I really love her so, I always try and add copepods when there is t much left. She’s not decimating the pods like crazy and the pods on the back wall never run out. There’s still tons of pods. And I might try to teach her to eat frozen. We’ll see. Thanks so much!
I’ve got it in the bottom of my 20 gallon, behind the rock work. I put a small piece of live rock in it so it sinks. Can’t even see it from the display side.
Mandarins dont need big tanks, they are very small fish. Its the pods that one needs to worry about. If you can provide a good amount of pods for the mando you should be good to put one in a 20g or so, I wouldnt go lower.
The mando wont outgrow your tank XDD The biggest ive seen these guys get is like 3 inches, but the one I saw was about the size of a full grown clownfish (female)
