I've heard way too many mixed stories here and I just need a general rule of thumb. I now have had 3 shop owners nearby, all very successful say go ahead and buy Apocalypse pods because they breed better from algae barn, throw them in your tank and let them be alone for a month. You can then add your mandarin to the 45G AIO and it should be a sufficient population that is too high for him/her to ever kill off.
Yet some people rant on here that you can never have a mandarin in a small tank without a big refugium. I am not interested in the eye sore. Does anyone really debate what these three separate shops are telling me as some of the largest retailers in all of California? Or am I safe to assume they are correct if I let them breed for a month first. I do already feed mysis and other frozen foods so it is possible they would get some of that as well.
Yet some people rant on here that you can never have a mandarin in a small tank without a big refugium. I am not interested in the eye sore. Does anyone really debate what these three separate shops are telling me as some of the largest retailers in all of California? Or am I safe to assume they are correct if I let them breed for a month first. I do already feed mysis and other frozen foods so it is possible they would get some of that as well.