Begginer Needs Seeking Advice on PODs

[SammySam]

Hi guys. I'm 5 weeks new to the reef hobby and loving it although it's extremely hard work to keep my nano tank in check. But I managed ok. I added coral to my tanks 3 weeks after setup when my 3 primary parimeters proves to stable. What i added as follows:
Week 3, day 1: GSP on live rock added.
Week 3, day 5: some kind of Kenya tree.
All 3 parimeters still good.
Week 4, day 2: 3 Scarlet hermit crabs. Horn coral and another sps that a friend gave me but didn't know what breed.
Week 4, day 7: A combo of 3 different kinds of mushroom coral (still don't know names)
Week 5, day 2: 2 Mandarin Dragonets because i noticed some pods on the glass. They seems to eat the pods rightaway.
Week 5, day 4: flame scallop and a fire fish. (Fire fish started to eat the pods also even while i feed it mysis) I also noticed some blue coral started to exist. Don't know what it is but i live it.
Now the end of week 5 and after my third water change; the pods multiply everyday. My Mandarins still eat them but seem like they can not clean up the pods. My pods count on the glass when lights on is average 10 pods per square inch. Is this bad? If so...what can i do or could have done? I just did three tests again this morning and everything is good. I'm abit concern about the pods.
Also please help with what i have for corals in my tank using pics of my tank. I could not trust the young employees at my LFS since all of the told me different names for same coral.
Any advice, tips or comments will be greatly appreciated. (The blue coral is only 1 week old and started out looking like blue slime)

 

[robgonsailing]

Don't worry about the pods. They are good for your tank and necessary for your mandarins. Their numbers will fluctuate based on nutrient load and soon you will be trying to get more to keep your mandarins fed.

 

[Hal]

Slow down there cowboy. I know you're impatient and want that full reef look ASAP, but that's not the way to long term success.

The experts don't normally recommend any corals in your tank for about 6 months. This is because your tank is going through all sorts of growing pains and algae breakouts that make corals unhappy. Give your tank time to stabilize, which is what corals need to thrive.

Same for mandarins. Usually about 6-12 months before there is enough of a pod population and stable water chemistry so that they can live. It's good that you are seeing pods on your glass, but that's just part of the normal evolution of the tank. It won't be unusual for you to see a pod population die off as the tank continues to mature, and then your poor mandarin is going to have a hard time finding food. How big is your tank?

Flame scallops are considered difficult to keep alive, even by experts. You picked some tricky specimens to begin your tank.

If you can, I'd advise trying to return them both to the store for credit. If not, then just keep an eye on the pod population and do whatever you can to keep it growing. Phytoplankton is one good way to help. Hatching your own baby brine shrimp is another. Please see PaulB's thread here for lots of discussion on feeding mandarins. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1711320&page=168 You can also buy pods and dump them into the tank, but that gets expensive.

Make a few rock piles that the mandarins can't get into, and this will become a breeding ground for your pods. Chaeto is another good home for pods.

I highly recommend a quarantine procedure for your fish too. You'll thank me for it later.

This isn't a judgment on you or your skills. We all make honest mistakes. We just want you to be setup for the maximum success so that you're happy and stick with the hobby. And the welfare of the creatures is maximized too.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

A nano? Mandarins need very large, well established tanks to thrive. You need to return them to the store.

 

[homer1475]

Slow down there cowboy. I know you're impatient and want that full reef look ASAP, but that's not the way to long term success.

The experts don't normally recommend any corals in your tank for about 6 months. This is because your tank is going through all sorts of growing pains and algae breakouts that make corals unhappy. Give your tank time to stabilize, which is what corals need to thrive.

Same for mandarins. Usually about 6-12 months before there is enough of a pod population and stable water chemistry so that they can live. It's good that you are seeing pods on your glass, but that's just part of the normal evolution of the tank. It won't be unusual for you to see a pod population die off as the tank continues to mature, and then your poor mandarin is going to have a hard time finding food. How big is your tank?

Flame scallops are considered difficult to keep alive, even by experts. You picked some tricky specimens to begin your tank.

If you can, I'd advise trying to return them both to the store for credit. If not, then just keep an eye on the pod population and do whatever you can to keep it growing. Phytoplankton is one good way to help. Hatching your own baby brine shrimp is another. Please see PaulB's thread here for lots of discussion on feeding mandarins. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1711320&page=168 You can also buy pods and dump them into the tank, but that gets expensive.

Make a few rock piles that the mandarins can't get into, and this will become a breeding ground for your pods. Chaeto is another good home for pods.

I highly recommend a quarantine procedure for your fish too. You'll thank me for it later.

This isn't a judgment on you or your skills. We all make honest mistakes. We just want you to be setup for the maximum success so that you're happy and stick with the hobby. And the welfare of the creatures is maximized too.

+1
Everything said in this post is spot on. Unfortunately unless you start supplementing pods in your tank, those mandys(2?) will starve and die. I may have missed the actual tank size, but nano usually means under 30G, if that's the case, your tank isn't large enough to support 1 mandarin let alone a pair.

 

[SammySam]

+1
Everything said in this post is spot on. Unfortunately unless you start supplementing pods in your tank, those mandys(2?) will starve and die. I may have missed the actual tank size, but nano usually means under 30G, if that's the case, your tank isn't large enough to support 1 mandarin let alone a pair.

 

[Sk8r]

The pair of mandarins will die in a 55, let alone a nano. They should be scoring a hit of food every 4 seconds. If not, they are in trouble. A 55 with a very large year-old fuge has trouble supporting one mandy.

 

[MondoBongo]

I'll keep close eyes in my nano especially the Mandarins. Will definitely consider return them when food proves to be a challenge for them. I will move them to the big 72gal in about a month if i can keep the water in it stable for more than 2 weeks. It stuble me that the 10gal nano water is more stable with live stock and is thriving compare to the big 72gal with thousands of $$$ of equipments such as big sump, pump, reactor, skimmer and lighting. I will value all your advices and practice them honestly. Thank you so much

one of the big problems with dragonets of any type, is that by the time they begin showing the signs of stress and/or starvation, they are already far down a dangerous road.

i will again echo other posters in this thread, and this holds doubly true for new keepers, you realistically need at least 70 gallons per dragonet. yes, there are experienced keepers who may not follow that guideline, but for n00bs, especially ones that are lacking some seriously fundamental knowledge on keeping these species such as yourself, you are setting yourself up for failure.

if you're struggling with basic water quality and stability concerns, that bodes extremely ill for any fish in your care, but is especially concerning for nearly obligate feeders who tend to be considerably more delicate than your average clown fish.

i will state plainly that i made mistakes in my first year that would have killed a mandarin, had i had one at the time. that says nothing towards tank size or food supply concerns. you will make similar mistakes, we all do, that's why it is always a good idea to take it slow, and choose your stock list with care. it will ultimately end up better for you, and for the fish.

 

[Hal]

P.S. Mushrooms and Kenya tree are very good corals to start with. Mushrooms tend to like lower light levels. The Kenya tree will grow easily, and will probably grow so fast that you'll need to prune it frequently to prevent it from taking over the tank. They're hard to kill, which is both good and bad. Find an LFS that will take it from you for store credit and you'll have hit a gold mine.