I am also not sure what the debate is about. But I have a Reverse undergravel filter that is always mobbed with pods because it is oxygenated all the way through so the pods breed in the entire thing and my mandarins and pipefish require no extra food.
I moved to this new house over three months ago and still have not put my feeder in yet. My 8 year old mandarin just signed up for Jenny Craig because he is so fat and my pipefish are spawning so much that they are looking into an adoption center to take the fry. (he could be 10 or 12 as I lost his birth certificate)
You just need a place for the pods to hatch and whatever you do, don't have a sterile tank. You need some growth on those rocks. Throw some sinking pellets behind the rocks to feed the pods.
You want healthy fish, stop cleaning everything. Your pods probably hate you.
Put on a Speedo and jump in the ocean, look at the bottom. Is it clean? If it is, you are in your bath tub. And I bet you don't see any mandarins in there. If you do, move. They may be roaches!! :eek:
Female mandarins should always be pregnant. Just don't let her hear you say she is fat.
I took this off a remote Island in Hawaii. How clean does it look? (there is a moray eel hiding in there)
All pod eaters should always be full of eggs with no help from us. They just need the proper tank set up.
I realize everyone here and even some people in Tibet hate reverse undergravel filters, but they solve all these problems with lack of pods, problems feeding tiny fish and vacuuming detritus because you don't get any with a UG filter (run the right way).
Fish come here to the Florida Keys to spawn, and maybe sample the Pina Colada's. They don't spawn on your kitchen floor. They need growth on the rocks to grow pods.
You never have to buy pods. I never bought one. But if I did, I would have them shipped in bulk.
This stuff is very easy if we keep it natural and don't listen to old wives tales. Just talk to young wives but disregard the stuff about diapers, stretch marks and hair coloring. :confused:
To get back to the original thread question. Yes, you can keep a mandarin in a 10 gallon tank. With a lot of work.