Green Mandarin for 40 breeder?

[Yates273]

40 breeder here with a green Mandarin and a red scooter Blenny. They are both fat and appear happy. I was able to get both to eat anything. I started them off with white worms and slowly mixed other things in and before I knew it they were eating everything. They are slow eaters so I squirt food right near them to make sure but it can be done if you put the time in. You can put in a smaller floating acclimation tank and try to train them to eat other foods. I believe once they get the taste of food other than pods they’re good to go. Heres my red scooter with a mouth full of fresh clams. She’s a pig! Like others have said though if you plan on just pods your tank is going to need to be established or they will wipe out whatever bottle you dump on fast.

 

[Bridgerdean]

Just as an experiment you could connect a 10 gallon fuge and start with "ultimate refugium starter pack" to see if you can get a nice population of pods going.

The Ultimate Refugium Starter Pack by AlgaeBarn

The Ultimate Refugium Starter Pack comes with everything you need to cycle, set up, and seed your refugium. Free Shipping & 100% Alive On Arrival Guarantee!

www.algaebarn.com

 

[SlugSnorter]

Hey guys! I was wondering if I could have a green mandarin in my tank. I am new to the hobby and have a 40 breeder. Some people say they are easy to keep and others disagree saying they are very difficult. As a beginner, do you think this fish would be right for me? Thanks!

if you go with the puffer its a no, they do best in well established reef tanks that have refugiums in order to maintain a large copepod population

 

[Reef.Blue]

if you go with the puffer its a no, they do best in well established reef tanks that have refugiums in order to maintain a large copepod population

Thank you

 

[Reef.Blue]

Just as an experiment you could connect a 10 gallon fuge and start with "ultimate refugium starter pack" to see if you can get a nice population of pods going.

The Ultimate Refugium Starter Pack by AlgaeBarn

The Ultimate Refugium Starter Pack comes with everything you need to cycle, set up, and seed your refugium. Free Shipping & 100% Alive On Arrival Guarantee!

www.algaebarn.com

Thank you!

 

[Reef.Blue]

40 breeder here with a green Mandarin and a red scooter Blenny. They are both fat and appear happy. I was able to get both to eat anything. I started them off with white worms and slowly mixed other things in and before I knew it they were eating everything. They are slow eaters so I squirt food right near them to make sure but it can be done if you put the time in. You can put in a smaller floating acclimation tank and try to train them to eat other foods. I believe once they get the taste of food other than pods they’re good to go. Heres my red scooter with a mouth full of fresh clams. She’s a pig! Like others have said though if you plan on just pods your tank is going to need to be established or they will wipe out whatever bottle you dump on fast.

Thank you!

 

[Bridgerdean]

Take your time and spend at least 6 months developing your pod population before you get a Mandi.

 

[Reef.Blue]

Well let's step back for a moment and if you can help me understand where your at everyone here can help give you a hand on getting where you want to be.

-I've seen you post that you have some clowns in quarantine. Great starter fish for new tanks, they are hardy and pretty forgiving.
-your 40gallon is finishing itc cycle from what I've seen you post. Whats your equipment like? Live rock or dry rock?Plans for lighting skimmer and filtration?
-what are your goals? Where do you want to be in 6months or a year? I see you want to add corals around the 8 month mark and thats great adding things early can result in high mortality and it gets really depressing watching things fade and melt not just because its a lost investment. But what type of corals are you interested in? Soft corals are easy, lps are a little more difficult and demanding and most see sps as the most difficult corals to keep .

I apologize for the way some of my comments may have read on your end. Scattering things about in different posts can make it very difficult to understand where your at or where your going.

As for resources.
Check out liveaquaria.com
- they have tons of fish with a good quick description, minimum tank size, how difficult they may be to keep and what they may or may not be compatible with.

Bulkreefsupply.com
-they have tons of videos where they break down a lot of the things you have asked today and they explain it in a way thats easy to understand.

Asking these questions like you are and excuse the "rapid fire" description will get you answers but the answers you get may not be relevant to where your at right now. I highly suggest you start a build thread and take it one step at a time. When we have the information about your system and goals we can give much better recommendations that are more likely to work for you and make you successful rather then the onslaught of random information about everything under the sun and you having to decipher it all.

I totally understand. I am just gathering my equipment for my 40 breeder. All the equipment I have right now is a 1600gph hygger powerhead (getting another one), a fluval 407 canister filter, a light (not sure what brand), and 2 150w heaters. I also have all of the other stuff like refractometers, test kits etc. I am going to use 40lbs of live sand that I have. I am using 40lbs of caribsea live rock. I am planning to get a skimmer and a sump in the near future which is about 4-6 months. My goal is just to have a successful reef tank that is fun and enjoyable for me. Where I want to be in a year is having all of my equipment in the tank which is the sump and skimmer, also I would like to have most of my fish and probably some corals. I am just going to wait on the sump and skimmer because I know they can be a little pricey for a good one. I would like to get a quality sump and not a cheap one. Im interested in getting some soft corals, I would like to get a torch anemone or some kind of anemone for my clownfish first. I also love zoanthus, but don't know if they are hard to keep.

 

[Tamberav]

Thank you! I heard you can buy them bottled, but they are expensive. Would I be able to do this?

In a 6 month old 40 with a canister and filtration... you have to keep buying bottles to the point it will become your most expensive pet.

You can culture worms, pods, and live baby brine and target feed a few times a day but they live 10+ years so if you vacation or have a life... it may get old to be married to a fish.

 

[Unitylover]

as long as you have a stable population of pods, go for it!

 

[Tamberav]

Also you don't need an expensive sump. You can buy a glass tank at Petco sale and add glass baffles. A sump is just something to hold water with some baffles. A $400 sump will not give you any sort of advantage. Better to put that money towards dosers or lighting or such.

 

[Bridgerdean]

Would you consider a 40 gallon breeder display and 40 gallon breeder made into a sump below. Thus will will have 80 gallons in volume. This increased volume will make things easier for you.

I would recommend that you complete your tank with all equipment before you start adding corals or fish. Then cycle your tank to show that you can maintain stable water chem. get through the ugly stage etc...

 

[SaltyPotato]

Not sure why anyone didn’t just recommend a BIOTA mandarin.. pay the extra $80 upfront and you’ll save more in the long run buying pods

 

[ffmurray]

What’s a good way to really know how many pods you have? I use a jewelers magnifying glass and look at the tank, but not sure what’s considered enough. Aren’t most of them on the rocks and sand?

 

[homer1475]

Not sure why anyone didn’t just recommend a BIOTA mandarin.. pay the extra $80 upfront and you’ll save more in the long run buying pods

My biota mandy started eating everything, after a few months of being in a pod rich environment, it has reverted to only pods. It's not a guarantee that they will eat prepared foods.

 

[SaltyPotato]

My biota mandy started eating everything, after a few months of being in a pod rich environment, it has reverted to only pods. It's not a guarantee that they will eat prepared foods.

I figured that would happen if you have a sustainable population of pods, doesn’t seem this person will have that issue in a 40 without a sump though