Mandarin and copepods

[Mele__Reef]

Hey guys ,

I would really love to add a mandarin in my 3 gallon pico. I no they strictly feed on copepods but if I add copepods and add chaeto algae for my Aquaclear reigium. How soon can I add the mandarin? How fast do the copepods populate?

Thanks

 

[Pdandy]

Mandarins should only be in larger (75 gallon +) tanks with a mature refugium. They will clear a 3 gallon tank of pods in a day.

 

[Wilsoni]

You would need an incredibly large pod population to sustain a Mandarin in a pico. The pods wouldn't have adequate space to populate and Mandarins grow rather large so I'd say wait on one until you have a larger, established tank.

 

[eatbreakfast]

A mandarin eats a pod every few seconds. That can be anywhere from 10-25,000 pods a day. A three gallon is not gonna cut it unless the refugia is about 50g.

 

[Mele__Reef]

Gotcha! I was thinking of keeping the pico for about a year, just because it would be a challenge and wanted to learn water parameters the hard way. I'm so limited on species I can add and space. I think I'm going to have to lean towards a 45 jbj rimless. Thanks for the advice guys!!