Simple steps to prepping tank for a Mandarin?

[SharkRacer]

Can someone help me understand the simplest path to success in preparing my 55g for a Mandarin? I know I need copepods, but I am not sure if I can just 'seed' the tank now, and expect them to grow happily until I put in a Mandarin or two...or if there is no way around buying new copepods every month.

I have a sand bottom and about 30lbs of rock that was seasoned for 6 weeks in my friends sump. I think I see a tiny bit of coraline growing. My tank is cycled, has been running for ~2 months, and added 2 clownfish and a firefish 2 weeks ago.

I do not have a refugium or any other tank to grow/breed them in and I'm hoping I can just add a colony, feed them (Phytoplankton?) and after a few months my tank will have a happy family of copepods for my Mandarin (and maybe some other inhabitants?) to graze on.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Pods, seed pods for months. Wait at least 6-12 months from seeding and then try. Mandarins imho are a bit cryptic and have a tendency to not work out in some cases due to being fragile & going on hunger strikes. Or the usual starving out due to not having a sustainable pod population.

 

[blaxsun]

Yes, you can "seed" the tank now - but your mandarin may very well chew through those copepods in short order. It's not the size of the tank for the fish you need to be concerned with - it's the size of the tank that can support the largest amount of rock for copepods to thrive in. The smaller the tank, the less rock - and the easier it is for the mandarin to hunt. This is usually why they come with a "100 gallon or more" requirement unless you plan to augment with copepods.

I looked this up last week and a single adult mandarin can consume a standard bottles worth of copepods in about 19 hours.

 

[Mschmidt]

I'm in about month 4 of having cho in my tank. Seeded pods once and fed phyto feast on and off for 3ish months. He's doubled in size and doing well. No fuge, just algae in the tank. Also not in a lot of competition for food.

 

[Jubei2006]

I have a 500 gallon that long term Im getting a pair of Mandarins. The tank has been running for just shy of a year, and I have put 2 orders of pods in it. I have a 20 gallon refugium attached to the tank, and am still debating when I should put the Mandarins in. After they go in, I am planning on more consistent phyto dosing to increase the pod population to help the fishies out. So I'd research a bit more and plan a bit more before going forward.

 

[useer10202820]

Pod subscription, without a sump you can build a pod corner w rocks and zero ways for mandarin to get in. Can also use the pod hotels.

 

[Mschmidt]

I'm in about month 4 of having cho in my tank. Seeded pods once and fed phyto feast on and off for 3ish months. He's doubled in size and doing well. No fuge, just algae in the tank. Also not in a lot of competition for food.

Also, I should say it's a 40b and long term I plan on seeding pods again every 6 mo or so. But right now it's just him and a firefish, and CUC.

 

[Reeferbadness]

I was a newbee and added a mandarin about 5 months after starting a 180g mixed reef tank. Didn't seed with any pods and only recently added a refugium. Tank is not going on 2+ years and mandarin is thriving and happy. I did start the tank with all well conditioned live rock and saltwater from the ocean (clean ocean water harvested far offshore of SoCal). Can't find any photos of the mandarin but here's the tank as of a few months ago,

 

[SharkRacer]

I'm in about month 4 of having cho in my tank. Seeded pods once and fed phyto feast on and off for 3ish months. He's doubled in size and doing well. No fuge, just algae in the tank. Also not in a lot of competition for food.

That is one healthy looking dude!

 

[SharkRacer]

I was a newbee and added a mandarin about 5 months after starting a 180g mixed reef tank. Didn't seed with any pods and only recently added a refugium. Tank is not going on 2+ years and mandarin is thriving and happy. I did start the tank with all well conditioned live rock and saltwater from the ocean (clean ocean water harvested far offshore of SoCal). Can't find any photos of the mandarin but here's the tank as of a few months ago,

Beautiful tank!

 

[Reeferbadness]

Beautiful tank!

Thanks man. I actually have 2 tanks now - set up a 200G RedSea 750XXL about 1 year ago. I used much more thought in corals, fish selection and placement

 

[Hoodstream]

I simply want a mandarin because the live rock I got came with a colony of copes and now my tank glass and rock is covered in them.

 

[jrill]

Just get a captive bred mandarin that was raised on pellet and frozen food. No need for pods. I've had mine for about a year and a half and he is doing great.

 

[131696]

6 months of pods breeding in your tank then mandarin for 1 and keep adding pods for first year or buy a captive breed that eats pellet blood worms pods might be higher cost but worth it And get it now.

 

[SharkRacer]

Just get a captive bred mandarin that was raised on pellet and frozen food. No need for pods. I've had mine for about a year and a half and he is doing great.

Where would you suggest getting a captive bred pellet eating Mandarin?

 

[Eric R.]

Where would you suggest getting a captive bred pellet eating Mandarin?

Biota sells them. They come VERY small though, so be prepared for that.

 

[Eric R.]

Link here, they sell pairs as well as singles.

Mandarin Fish Pair

Synchiropus splendidus-Biota’s captive-bred mandarins are incredibly beautiful in coloration and readily feed on prepared diets. Wild caught mandarins are poor aquarium inhabitants and an overwhelming number die in the aquarium trade each year even in ideal conditions. Since mandarins are a...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Where would you suggest getting a captive bred pellet eating Mandarin?

Biota.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Where would you suggest getting a captive bred pellet eating Mandarin?

And even though the captive bred ones can cost more than the ones you find in your LFS, the cost of constantly buying pods quickly ends up to be a lot more.

 

[Coralsdaily]

I’d be totally honest with you given how new your tank is, and the relatively small size I urge patience- wait at least another 6-8 months after you have seeded the tank with pods before you add mandarin. Also make sure to not have any weasses in there to compete.
The best way to culture pods quickly is regular dosing of ohytoplankton- food necessary for newly hatched pods.