Needing Info on New Addition to Mandarin Tank

pinky · Mar 24, 2016

ok guys I need some help making the best choice for a new addition to my tank. I can go one of two ways, make it a full on mandy tank and figure out how many I can support safely of course or get a more active addition to fill the void.

The scene so far:
I have a 29 gallon biocube, been mine for about 5 years have about 1.5-2 inches of fine sand and lots of rocks. I did everything with my mandarin in mind as that was always my goal fish. So with that I planned lots of rocks with caves and I run a nutrient heavy tank to help support her and her natural food pods. I always have algae and I am fine with that I know she uses it as hunting grounds, I have a few different mushrooms thats it for coral, a bunch of feather dusters, a few hermits, and a few snails. and of course my female mandarin, shes small under 2 inches and people shy but she has the whole tank to herself. I have had her for about 14 months now. She was small and skinny but not too bad when I first got her she put on weight after some time and hasnt looked back. I have tons of pods and replenish my tank a few times a year. I hatch bbs almost daily and use Paul B's bbs feeder design which rocks they are by far her favorite food choice next to pods!! I also use a dinner jar that I fill with a mix of cyclopees, red reef plankton, pe mysis, mullet roe I collected and froze, sustainable aquatics hatchery pellets, and just recently LRS nano frenzy. She does eat from the dinner not as much as I would like and always on her time so lots of food goes to the crabs unfortunately but when she does get in there she eats and that makes me happy knowing shes getting the extra nutrition.

SO I was thinking ill be finding either a male for her or a green spot eventually. do we know if they really need to be paired up? like would it be better for her to have a male friend. See truth be told if the tank could support it I would get two each green and spots, but I think that would be too much in my small tank and I dont want to pish my luck. So most likely the tank will have 1 or 2 mandarins.

Ok now that you have all that, I need help deciding who would be best to add if I go this way. I want a fish that will be out in to open a bit the family complains that she never comes out and she hides as soon as you move so my tank always looks empty all the time. But of course it must be peaceful above all else I dont want to hurt my mandarin I would rather add nothing than if thats the case. I would like the new fish to go after the assortment of food I put in the dinner if possible because that always floats around the tank so it doesnt need to go in the dinner just get the food in the water column. I really would like a captive breed fish too.

ideas so far

nothings set in stone)
1 get more mandys and leave it be a species specific tank!

or and really this will be easier on me to please everyone else

1. fire fish either red or purple doesnt matter
- Im reading mixed reviews about their swimming habits are these really a fish that will be out in the open or will it hide in the rocks all the time like my mandarin?
2. rainford goby
- HIGHLY mixed reviews on this one I read easy beginner fish to expert only, some say algae eaters, some say sand fauna, some pods, so whats the real story here?
3. blenny leaning towards harptail or blackline because I can find them captive breed. and they seem to be active swimmers, but I need more info on their diets they seem to just be easy to please but that may not be true.
4. molly miller blenny, I know not really a swimming fish but so cool looking and personality might make up for that, and like I said I have lots of algae so it would be happy. but Im worried it would conflict with the mandarin for living space she does stay in the back and at the bottom but really she cruses all over the rocks and from what i have read the molly miller is a rock dewler.

I would LOVE any input you all have especially if you have had any of these fish, or a similar set up and of course I would welcome and other fish ideas!!

ReeferReefer · Mar 28, 2016

I personally would not add another Mandarin or any fish that hunt's pods. It seems like you overcame the odds and got your Mandarin healthy in a nano and I wouldn't mess that up. A pair of Fire fish would be great. Mine do hide a bit but often swim in the water column.

Maritimer · Mar 28, 2016

I find that firefish are out & about most of the time, though they're not above dashing for cover at a fraction's notice! They do tend to hover in the current though, so they're not going to really "utilize" the open water in your tank.

The other fish on your list, I haven't kept - but will note that blennies, with their broad mouths, will probably score some 'pods while banging away at your algae.

~Bruce

P.S. (edit!) With another fish or two in your water column, the mandarin may overcome some of her shyness. Cichlid guys (freshwater) call them "dither" fish, and find that they help increase the confidence and visibility of shyer denizens.

pinky · Mar 28, 2016

thanks, I totally dont want to mess up life for my mandarin although im pretty confident I could add 1 more with no problem as long as it ate the added foods but I dont have the time at home right now to properly train one so thats out. I was really liking the fire fish because of how small and peaceful they are, but I thought I could only have 1 due to agression issues in the smaller tanks? Do you guys have the red or purple varieties? I was wondering about difference in personality between them.

Really the fire fish was the original fish I wanted but then I was reading all these reports of them hiding and with my mandarin already acting that way I didnt think it would work, thats why I added the blennys to my list they were just another peaceful fish I saw that was captive breed and might work for being out and about to add activity to my tank, but I have been a tad concerned about diets the molly miller seems to be mainly algae eaters and would conflict with my mandarin for hunting grounds on the rock so im weary with it, but the others seem to be water column hunters so i thought maybe that would be better. the goby was just beautiful but i think isnt a good idea with the mandarin.

ngvu1 · Mar 28, 2016

I am amazed you've managed to keep the mandarin in a small tank that long. I love those too at first; they are 1 of the most beautiful fish in the ocean. I would get 2 helfrichi fire fish in that tank if that were mine

eatbreakfast · Mar 29, 2016

I would not add another mandarin, not due to feeding concerns, you seem to have that covered, but more because in tight quarters mandarins can be aggressive toward one another. Males can be aggressive toward females that aren't interested in spawning, and consexuals are naturally wary of one another.

Firefish would be a great choice, but be very careful in trying to get a pr. Not just any 2 will form a pr, so it is vital to get a bonded pr, or else one can kill the other.

Skip the molly miller, while not in direct competition for food, the molly miller will take issue with any fish that spends time near the algae.

pinky · Mar 29, 2016

yeah like I said getting another mandarin isnt really what I want to do or have the time for, that would be the way I went if I decided that no other fish would fit into our tank peacefully.

I liked what Bruce about a "dither" fish to bring her out of her shyness some more, I have never heard of that so Im hopeful I can find something that will fit and maybe make her feel safer.

My problem with the firefish is conflicting information about numbers and behavior. So if I went that way I would only be getting 1 for sure, but just recently I have read they eat pods! From experience with them did any of your firefish go after the pods aggressively (I know most any fish will eat them from time to time thats not what concerns me) and what about general aggression towards other fish? I can not add a fish who will mess with my mandarin at all I know a peaceful tank is vital to her.

Lynn52 · Mar 29, 2016

I have one regular fire fish and it has pretty much been out since I got it a year ago. Never moves much from the spot it claimed on day one, smack in the middle of my 125 in the water column. It only goes into the rocks at night.
Mine eats well and never picks at the rocks.

eatbreakfast · Mar 30, 2016

Firefish lack the physical attributes to effectively pick at pods from the substrate. They are also not aggressive at all, except to other firefish.

pinky · Mar 30, 2016

Lynn52 said:
I have one regular fire fish and it has pretty much been out since I got it a year ago. Never moves much from the spot it claimed on day one, smack in the middle of my 125 in the water column. It only goes into the rocks at night.
Mine eats well and never picks at the rocks.

Thanks for the info thats the behavior I would like form one and never picking at the rocks is perfect thank you for that tidbit!

eatbreakfast said:
Firefish lack the physical attributes to effectively pick at pods from the substrate. They are also not aggressive at all, except to other firefish.

thank you for pointing that out, I feel much better knowing they physically arent set up for pod eating!