Mandarin dragonette

[ralph82396]

Hi all,

I have this 180 gallon with about 200lbs of live rock between DT and sump, as well as bio blocks and bio balls plus a 15 gallon cheato chamber and a 25 gallon calupera chamber. my current stock list is as follows,

• CBB
• Purple tang
• 2 Maroon clowns3
• Blue hippo
• Sailfin
• Royal gramma
• Orange shoulder
• Fox face
• Cleaner Goby
• Tomini tang

I want to add a Mandarin to the tank but was wondering if this is enough rock to support a sustainable POD population? I'm at the point where if I look at a clean glass I see a couple pods but if i let the tank sit for a week without cleaning the glass pods are everywhere, the only two fish i have that are constantly hunting pods are a CBB and the royal gramma. should I add more rock to the DT or should I be ok as is? this is not a new tank and has been established for just over a year now, most of the rock was in a 75 for two years started off as dry rock but I aged it in the ocean behind my aunts house in the Florida keys for a few months prior to that. ( I always keep a laundry basket full of rock behind her house for when ever I want to start a new tank)

thanks in advance.

 

[shred5]

You should be fine.
To me it is not just about the size of the tank. If you have a large tank and a bunch of fish that compete against the Mandarin goby that is not good either.

The only fish you have that might compete is the Royal Gramma. You should be fine. You can always add some tisbe copepods from time to time.

 

[OrionN]

You can put a pair of Mandarin in your tank and they will be just fine. I do not recommend a female alone, as without a male, female often get egg bind and often died prematurely. In order to have a pair, the male must be larger than the female or else she will not accept him and they will fight.