Fish List Addition - Adding a Mandarin Dragonet

ScoobyJ

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Hi all,

I'm hoping to add a mandarin dragonet to my tank. I'll probably look for the captive-bred (ORA/BIOTA) but also will provide a pod refugium for their diet if needed. I'd like some feedback on my fish list and if anyone sees any red flags.

I have a NUVO 40 Fusion Pro (40gal) AIO and currently have:

2x Black Clowns
1x Blue/Green Chromis
1x Sixline Wrasse
1x Yellow Watchman Goby
------------------------
1x Piston Shrimp
1x Emerald Crab
. . . Snails

I don't think I have any problems, except maybe the Sixline wrasse. He's been very calm and has been eating pellets/flakes right now as I'm not supplementing pods yet. I'm willing to support any dietary needs (pod supplementing) it's more about any aggression.

I guess my follow-up, if I do get a captive-bred mandarin, should I start pod seeding the tank early on or see if I can get the mandarin to eat frozen/adjusted diet.

Thanks so much for any feedback, always appreciated.
 

Angel_Anthias lover

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To feed my mandarin frozen fare all pumps have to be turned off, to ensure he can get food, so unless you plan on doing that about 5 times a day , you will most definitely need to suppliment pods,and you would need to anyways, as they are constantly picking and grazing the rocks. Whether they are CB or.not wont change their need to constantly hunt to sustain themselves. Good luck, i hope the 6 line poses no issues with the mandarin, i wish i.could be certain it wouldnt.
 

Big G

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Huff747

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Don't have a lot to add to what the others have said but here's my experience for what it's worth. I got a target mandarin because they supposedly were most likely to also take frozen. Started off in a 20 gallon long observation/QT tank that was loaded with pods because it was just constantly running often with no fish to eat them. He did take frozen so I added him to a 160 gallon display that also had pods. He nearly starved to death in that tank. They are such slow and deliberate eaters (or at least mine is) that even though he'd eat frozen with the other fish in that tank he never got to. Food would fall in front of his face, he'd look at it, think about it, look at it some more, think about it some more, finally decide to eat it and somebody else would snap it up because he sat there forever. I also think having 2 wrasses in that tank reduced the pods available to him. Nobody messed with him but I think they were picking and he was picking and since he's so slow they just out competed him.

So I pulled him out of that big tank and put him in what is probably ~40 gallons of water in a frag tank. He's very fat and happy there despite it being bare bottom because he's the only pod eater in that tank. So I think it can work in a tank the size you have but maybe I'd nix the 6 line if you can catch him as he's probably going to be eating pods too. I do also hatch baby brine shrimp but as he's settled in he seems to be doing well without me adding them often so I've been slacking on how often I add them and he remains fat and happy. I do dose phyto in hopes it helps with the pod population but I haven't been adding pods.
 
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ScoobyJ

ScoobyJ

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Thank you all so much for your comments, you guys are all great. I do have a separate 10gal which may be a good pod system set up. So I'll start with that, continue to seed my tank, and see how things look in a few months. If the pod tank looks thriving then I'll think about it again, I'm not gonna put a little guy in jeopardy. And if not, I'll just be a pod farmer :)

Thanks!
 

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