Could a mandarin dragonet live alone in a 15g tank?

[djryan2000]

I have a captive bred one that eats prepared foods. I do not believe my tank has any sort of copepod population anymore - only amphipods. I keep him in my JBJ45 but feeding him Is wrecking havoc on my nutrients, and by extension SPS. Is it feasible to keep him alone in a 15 gal tank or so? I am wondering if I should do something like add macro algae and some some soft corals. My assumption is that this could work since the tank is so small a weekly 5g water change would keep nutrients low enough for a fish and corals like GSP or Xenia. He's still pretty small so I don't think swimming space would be an issue.

 

[Gup]

I had a blue mandarin four decades ago and he was one of my favorite, clearly the most colorful fish in the tank. But it was a 55 gallon. He’d love to eat Live brine shrimp and he was a good eater

As for a 5 gallon, personally, I would not put any fish in a 5 gallon. That’s like putting a person in a closet to live

 

[djryan2000]

I had a blue mandarin four decades ago and he was one of my favorite, clearly the most colorful fish in the tank. But it was a 55 gallon. He’d love to eat Live brine shrimp and he was a good eater

As for a 5 gallon, personally, I would not put any fish in a 5 gallon. That’s like putting a person in a closet to live

15 gallon. Not 5. 5 was pertaining to an amount of water that would be easy to change weekly.
That being said keeping him in the JBJ may be more beneficial and in back to my previous post if I should just run carbon and GFO lol.

 

[Dcal]

I say go for it if its a 15 and eating frozen. Packing it with macros would make an awesome looking tank imo