Green Mandarin - is it worth it?

[Baldguy]

I agree with nereefpat. A 150g tank should be able to sustain an adequate pod population to keep your mandarin happy.

 

[TedsReef]

Im preparing for a mandarin in a 20g and this is what I’m doing:

I bought two packs of Tisbe from PodYourReef. Tisbe pods reproduce faster than others, such as tigger, which is why I chose them. I read newly born take approx 2 weeks to start producing eggs and after that they will produce them every couple of days.

I put one pack in a 2L bottle to cultivate and the other in my tank. They’ve been in the tank for 2 weeks with no predators and the population is exploding.

I feed the 2L bottle a couple of crushed fish pellets and a small amount of phyto every 4 days. I feed more phyto to the tank after lights out and turn the pumps off for 15min.

In addition to normal feeding in your DT this is what I would also suggest: remove a few rocks from your DT and put it in the sump or another tank that doesn’t have any predators in it. Stock it with 1-4 packs of tisbe pods depending on the size of the rocks you want to seed. Give them 4 weeks to become established in those rocks before moving them back to your DT. You can also pick two rocks to rotate between your DT and wherever you’re cultivating pods. You can also have chaeto or sea lettuce growing in your sump where pods will live and give that a shake in your DT after lights out every 2-4 weeks.

 

[Cessna89811]

I have my tiny Biota Mandarin in my refugium. He is eating pods and baby brine shrimp... Precious cute fish.

 

[rmoore311]

The absolute BEST food i've found for them if you can't sustain pods is the Nutramar Ova. I've had mandarins get super fat on it and love it when I can't find a single pod in my tank. Only catch is that Nutramar seems to go broke or stop making their food for months at a time, causing an issue for my tanks. I think they've resurfaced and are now stocked up, so I hope it stays that way!

 

[Oshengems]

How many LB of rocks do you have? I have a 75g with about 120lb of LR distributed among any sump and DT I seeded my tank once with the algaebarn trio pack during the 3rd month my tank was up and my mandarin was added About 6 months after that and I still see a ton of pods, with your tank size given that you have enough rocks and macro algea for your pods to hide and reproduce you should be good, he’s been in my tank about a year and is about 2” probably a lil bigger and still going strong he’s picking at stuff all day I can’t see what he’s picking but I’m guessing it’s pods. Mine doesn’t eat frozen only pods, my return chamber is full of rubble rocks which I had purposely crushed up for pods but I see them everywhere and anywhere not just there as long as they have refuge they will continue breeding and flourishing unnoticed in your tank

 

[4FordFamily]

I would say training it to eat other foods is pretty unlikely, albeit possible. It's still unlikely but comparatively more likely if you're talking about a green target mandarin rather than a green mandarin or red mandarin. Still, not likely. Good luck though, I hope you prove me wrong!

 

[gtrider]

I picked up a tiny mandarin 3mo ago. I’ve added two orders of pods from pod my reef.
1 bag to the refugium and the other to the DT.
I see a ton of pods in the fuge and notice them every once in a while in the DT. The mandarin has grown almost double in size...I assume he’s been eating something!

 

[PDR]

Do you have any fish that eat pods aggressively like a wrasse? If not, I think you should be fine with the size of your tank. I would recommend feeding phyto for a month or so to boost the pod population.

 

[code4]

Check out the Paul B feeder

Paul B feeder to the rescue again. I have 4 mandarins in two tanks. Some I have had for many years. The young ones just over a year and a half. I hatch brine shrimp daily. Then use Paul's feeder to feed them. Very cheap. I use two hatching dishes from brine shrimp direct to hatch them. Bought a small coffee sized can of eggs around 3 years ago. They will stop hatching before I can use them all. As time went by they started to eat everything. But I still use the feeder. Awesome little fish. Males are a lot larger than the females.

Shelley

 

[code4]

Forgot to mention. Tank size are 65 gallon Red Sea, no refugium. And 140 display with a refugium. I have not added pods in at least two years.

Shelley

 

[databox]

You should have no problem sustaining a population of copepods in that size tank. I have a 65 gallon. I bought a ORA blue mandarin raised on frozen food. Paid $75 for him, but I wanted to survive. He has never once eaten frozen food...never. That being said, He has easily tripled in size and is as fat as a little pig. I will put pods in my tank (half in sump/half in DT) two or three times a year. I probably don't even need to do that. One of my LFS just has them on sale quite regularly.

A 150g with sump should have no problem having a self sustaining pod culture barring other pod eaters such as wrasses in your tank.

 

[Kyler]

I have had one in a 45g tank for 2.5 years. He has always done well. 3 months ago I added a Pax bellum with chaeto. My glass late at night and in the morning is coated with pods and I’m going to have to put my mandarin on a diet. Dudes gettin fat

 

[Perkins]

I think it’s worth it I have a 120 and I’ve had a mandarin for 8 months so far. When I got it I added the 5280 pods from algae barn most of them direcectly to my dt and some to my fuge. It has been active and healthy ever since

 

[Perkins]

I think it’s worth it I have a 120 and I’ve had a mandarin for 8 months so far. When I got it I added the 5280 pods from algae barn most of them direcectly to my dt and some to my fuge. It has been active and healthy ever since

 

[Jeff Willetts]

I love mine! Luckily he eats frozen food & pods

 

[Fin-up reefing]

Try frozen blood worms.. that’s how I got my red mandarin on frozen

 

[RudyB]

First, they are beautiful. I have had mine for about 4 years now. You need to make a few changes. One remove the filter socks or floss they often catch tons of pods and then you throw them out. Next, you have to feed your pods Phyto and they will multiply in your tank. I feed my 150G tank every other day. On the plus side you are also feeding your corals. I do introduce pods and rotifers avery 3 months just for diversity. You can never have too much as the levels adjust themselves based on the available food. By the way amphipods are a great part of your cleanup crew and act as food for other fish that you may have. Good luck, stay patient, in a 150G tank it is common for them to disappear for a day or two as there is food everywhere.

 

[OrionN]

They are absolutely worth it. If you get a male, you will see him a lot more. Mine dance in front of the tank every morening and every evening. During the day also but I am not home to watch.
150 gal should be plenty of room for live food for a/ or a pair of Mandarin

 

[davocean]

I agree, 150g should easily be able to keep a mandarin or even a pair, but you need a fuge section in sump, or a HO fuge if you are sumpless.

If you have that all your mandarin food should be free and easy.

Post pics of tank if you can