Would getting a mandarin to thrive be too difficult for me

[Datnerd14]

I am going to set my first reef soon and I have my sights set on a
2 black o clowns
1 golden dwarf moray eel
1 carpenters fairy wrasse
1 mandarin or 1 Randall's prawn goby

So I am setting up a 40g long mixed reef with 50 pounds of rock(dry)

So I was thinking when I get it cycled if I were to get pods in once I introduced the mandarin would he starve from eating all the pods

Also I will have a set of tunnels going through my rock structure for the moray

Finally I should add I have kept freshwater for about 5 years this will be my first saltwater tank though

 

[Mal11224]

If you can get the mandarin to eat other sources of food, which is not impossible, it can survive. Pods usually do better in a fuge where they can safely reproduce and provide food to your tank. A mandarin and goby will likely eat the pods in the tank in no time. Corals will eat them as well. I have two mandarins, but I also have a refugium, which has served me well. I use LRS frozen mysis food to feed my fish once a day and I believe I've seen the mandarins take to it. With that being said, try it and see if you can get it to eat something else besides the pods. They will not eat pellets or flakes.

 

[Datnerd14]

I don't have a large budget for error to fix any problems I caused should I skip out on mandarin or just go for Randall's goby I think that is the safest route for my tank

 

[Mal11224]

May be a good idea until your tank has matured, then perhaps you can revisit the notion. I like them in the tank. Always better to play it safe. You will have the tank hopefully for a long time.

 

[bubbaque]

If you really want the mandarin just wait a little longer for your tank to get established. Buy some pods and phyto and you will have tons of pods in no time.

 

[Datnerd14]

Really the star of the tank is the moray so either way is cool I think I will get randals goby