Time for a Mandarin?

[Huff747]

I have a 125 gallon tank with a refugium with chaeto and a couple pieces of rock rubble and the return section of the sump has more rock rubble. Tank has been up and running since early May, first fish added in early/mid July. I've seeded with various pods (tisbe and trigger) from different sources a couple of times. I definitely see what I think are Munnid Isopods at night scurrying around on the rocks and sand but I'm not sure I see a lot of the other pods but they're also smaller than the munnids.

Should I keep seeding some more pods (some arrive today actually) or should I be close to ready for a mandarin? Should I see pods during the day much? The only other potential pod eater I think I have is a Yellow Coris Wrasse.

Thanks for any info.

 

[reef lover]

If you have a corris wrasse id say no...mine has stripped me of pods and inverts. Id think its too much competition for the mandy.

 

[Huff747]

One additional follow up. If I got a captive bred mandarin that allegedly is eating frozen would that increase my odds of success? Or is the wrasse still going to keep my pod population too low for the mandarin to thrive.

 

[Oshengems]

How old is the system and how much LR you have ? I have one in my 75g with about 120lb of LR distributed among my sump and DT my mandarin has been in my tank for about a year now with a leopard wrasse who is constantly on the hunt, I only seeded my tank on its 3rd month with a trio pack of pods from algeabarn, my tank it’s still full of pods if your tank is old enough the population will settle and 120 gallon should be more than enough given that you have enough LR for pods to hide to maintain a mandarine, my mandarine is big actually one of the biggest I seen about 2” and is picking at something all day, btw I also had a ruby red dragonet for about 6 months before he dove out and a melanarus wrasse as well which was also alway on the hunt. In my sump I have my return chamber and drain chamber full of LR

 

[rmoore311]

I'd say go for it. If you can see them around your rocks and even on your glass at night, you should be fine. You can always supplement more if needed, and feed your mandarin Nutramar Ova on top of that. It's by far the best food for them that i've found, and I'd rather over feed them than not. Good luck!

 

[Huff747]

Mine is about 5 months old and I've seeded pods at least 5 times (that I can remember). First time before there were any fish in the tank in mid June with 5280 pods from AlgaeBarn. Then again in August with an order of Apocalypse pods from AlgaeBarn and 2 bottles of Tigger Pods from a forum member. And then again yesterday with another order of 5280 pods. And I know at least once I got pods from a LFS, not sure what kind, but they culture their own and call it a bottle of bugs.

I don't know the weight on the liverock. I probably have 300 lbs around the house but would be lying if I said I knew how much went in the tank. Here's a tank shot and you can't see it well but the Fuge and return sections below have a good amount of rubble, basically every small pieces in the bottom of my tubs that I could fit.

 

[4FordFamily]

One additional follow up. If I got a captive bred mandarin that allegedly is eating frozen would that increase my odds of success? Or is the wrasse still going to keep my pod population too low for the mandarin to thrive.

Yes but I agree a yellow coris wrasse will decimate pod populations. I don't have any experience with Mandy's eating anything other than pods, and because of the difficulty of properly QT'ing them (they're common "Typhoid Mary's" of parasites due to their thick slime coat and strong resistance to them -- they don't show symptoms but often still harbor them in their gills) I do not keep them any longer.

 

[Huff747]

I'd say go for it. If you can see them around your rocks and even on your glass at night, you should be fine. You can always supplement more if needed, and feed your mandarin Nutramar Ova on top of that. It's by far the best food for them that i've found, and I'd rather over feed them than not. Good luck!

I've looked for that but it seems to currently be out everywhere I have looked. Some sites say mid to late Nov they expect it back.

 

[Huff747]

Yes but I agree a yellow coris wrasse will decimate pod populations. I don't have any experience with Mandy's eating anything other than pods, and because of the difficulty of properly QT'ing them (they're common "Typhoid Mary's" of parasites due to their thick slime coat and strong resistance to them -- they don't show symptoms but often still harbor them in their gills).

Thanks. That's another reason I was looking at captive bred ones, realizing that doesn't mean I don't need to QT, but I have 3 black mollies in one of my QT tanks (and about 30 of their babies spread across a couple tanks if anybody in the area wants some baby mollies...) and thought maybe I could put the mandarin in with them and see how things went and load pods in through a feeder for a while.

But sounds like perhaps it's not meant to be if the coris is going to take all the pods. Like him too and not sure I could catch him if I had to so maybe the mandarin just stays on my want list longer.

 

[SeaJay]

I have a mandarin in a tank with a red coris wrasse. The wrasse eats frozen shrimp and other foods just fine, I never see him hunting for pods, but I’m still having trouble keeping the pod population up. My mandarin is starting to look a little skinny and I’m spending a ton on pods just trying to keep him fed. Some people have successfully gotten them to eat frozen brine and pellets, but mine doesn’t seem to be interested. I’ve seeded with pods from aquarium depot(they’re HUGE!) and the same 5280 you got from algae barn as well as some other bottled. Also got some cultured at a lfs not commercially packaged and I’m pretty sure this was the source of my ich introduction. Can’t exactly quarantine pods or keep from getting some lfs water in my tank when introducing pods.

I’m gonna try this. there’s a thread around here somewhere where people have had some success with it.

https://reefnutrition.com/product_tdo_chroma_boost.php

 

[4FordFamily]

I have a mandarin in a tank with a red coris wrasse. The wrasse eats frozen shrimp and other foods just fine, I never see him hunting for pods, but I’m still having trouble keeping the pod population up. My mandarin is starting to look a little skinny and I’m spending a ton on pods just trying to keep him fed. Some people have successfully gotten them to eat frozen brine and pellets, but mine doesn’t seem to be interested. I’ve seeded with pods from aquarium depot(they’re HUGE!) and the same 5280 you got from algae barn as well as some other bottled. Also got some cultured at a lfs not commercially packaged and I’m pretty sure this was the source of my ich introduction. Can’t exactly quarantine pods or keep from getting some lfs water in my stomach.

I’m gonna try this. there’s a thread around here somewhere where people have had some success with it.

https://reefnutrition.com/product_tdo_chroma_boost.php

Red coris will eat pods but tend to focus more on larger fare.

Thanks. That's another reason I was looking at captive bred ones, realizing that doesn't mean I don't need to QT, but I have 3 black mollies in one of my QT tanks (and about 30 of their babies spread across a couple tanks if anybody in the area wants some baby mollies...) and thought maybe I could put the mandarin in with them and see how things went and load pods in through a feeder for a while.

But sounds like perhaps it's not meant to be if the coris is going to take all the pods. Like him too and not sure I could catch him if I had to so maybe the mandarin just stays on my want list longer.

The issue with the pod-eating wrasse (most smaller wrasse, even juveniles of "larger species" of wrasse) is not just that they will deplete the populations, but they're much faster, more aggressive eaters and even if you stock pods continually they will have access to comparatively fewer of them.

 

[Huff747]

The issue with the pod-eating wrasse (most smaller wrasse, even juveniles of "larger species" of wrasse) is not just that they will deplete the populations, but they're much faster, more aggressive eaters and even if you stock pods continually they will have access to comparatively fewer of them.

Well I guess I can stop spending money on pods then. And since I won't be spending $80 on a captive mandarin or buying more pods now I just gotta think up what fish to spend that $ on I suppose...Potters angel was on DD for a few minutes yesterday but I missed that one.

 

[Oshengems]

300LB should be way more than enough to maintain a nice pod population, 5 months is probably still young for a stable pod population but your halfway there if you added pods 5 times already he should be fine for now look at your tank at night to see if you pods out they all about the night life lol I don’t run a filter sock btw I used to see tons of pods in there and felt that was a waste, I also have some anthias that are constantly catching things of the water column so no more polished water for me

 

[Oshengems]

Btw I have a leopard wrasse which is always on the hunt also I had a ruby red dragonet and a melanauras wrase for about 6-7 months and they hunt but im guessing bigger pods but are always on the lookout I also added a potters angel about 3 months ago he’s always picking At something but mostly grazing algea pods still thriving might add some to my sump this weekend just because of this post

 

[falc]

I have had a pair of Ruby Red Dragonet's for a little over a year in my wifes tank and even with a good pod population we supplement with live baby brine shrimp and they love them. Sometime I think they would rather have the little brine shrimp. Making up a batch of brine shrimp is much cheaper than buying pods to supplement!

 

[408Dartfish]

I bought a captive bred mandarin from algae barn 1 month ago and she eats pods and a ton of them. I’ve seen it try the cyclops they say they feed there and she spits it out. I’ll keep trying all other frozen foods.

 

[Huff747]

Appreciate everybody's input. I think for now my wisest plan will be to forgo the mandarin for the time being. When I look at night I see lots of munnid isopods on the rock/sand but I'm not seeing the other pods much. Maybe my eyes stink, maybe because they're even smaller than the isopods, but I'm guessing the yellow Coris is taking a toll on them even though I've stocked up a few times. I knew it would eat them when I got him but I didn't realize how much he'd eat them.

I don't want a mandarin to waste away and I don't really want to have to constantly supplement with more pods nor do I really want to set up a brine hatchery or grow my own pods at this time, at least not until I can take down some of my QT tanks. Right now that would just be one more thing to take care of and I already have 2 QT tanks going, 2 displays (although I'm thinking about taking down my smaller one), and then another tank overflowing with baby mollies.

For anybody reading that may be familiar with Damsels, I realize some can be jerks but I already have a few bigger fish in this tank so looking for smaller fish to finish it off. If I'm not going with a mandarin was thinking about a trio of Rolland's damsels. Do I need to buy them as a trio or can I purchase 3? DD has had a couple trios in the past but nothing at the moment as a trio.

 

[Maritimer]

I think that with the DD trios you get... 3. My Rolland's turned out to be one male and two females. The three of them keep a rock covered with eggs - which is the source of their only aggression. When the tangs or the parrotfish get anywhere close to those eggs, the male gets snippy with 'em. He generally runs the tangs off, but the parrotfish will come back at him - clumsily. It's a bit like watching an F-15 dogfighting with a Boeing 747.

~Bruce

 

[Huff747]

I think that with the DD trios you get... 3. My Rolland's turned out to be one male and two females. The three of them keep a rock covered with eggs - which is the source of their only aggression. When the tangs or the parrotfish get anywhere close to those eggs, the male gets snippy with 'em. He generally runs the tangs off, but the parrotfish will come back at him - clumsily. It's a bit like watching an F-15 dogfighting with a Boeing 747.

~Bruce

That's kind of what I wondered. I wasn't sure if getting a trio from DD would mean they got along better than if I just buy 3 of LA. Or if they just put three together and call them a trio.

 

[Huff747]

Well I figured I’d try my shot at 3 and hope they form a pair or at least done terrorize each other. I can split them between 2 tanks if they’re too fiesty. Debated Rolland’s and Azure, almost ended up with both but talked myself into only the Rolland’s.