I've been wanting to get a mandarin but i'm worried it wont survive in the 30 gallon tank. The tank is covered in copepods and tiny shrimp. The reef tank has ton of live rock and corals. Its been going for at least a year and a half. Does anybody think its okay to get a mandarin.
Mandarin in a 30 gallon
- Thread starter Aquajoem
- Start date
No. It will quickly decimate your pod population then slowly starve to death.
humaguy
Premium Member
agree, a bad idea, they need to eat somewhere between 100-200 pods an hour to thrive...in a tank that size, the pods will be gone in a few days..
No. Scooters are cute but will grow and need a larger tank than yours. Sorry, but a scooter or mandarin won't survive.
You could try a bluestripe pipefish, perhaps. Look into them. Very cute wittle things, and I believe they're small enough to live in a 30g provided it's full of pods. You should probably get a second opinion on this, though.
You could try a bluestripe pipefish, perhaps. Look into them. Very cute wittle things, and I believe they're small enough to live in a 30g provided it's full of pods. You should probably get a second opinion on this, though.
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
i wouldn't consider any dragonet for a tank that size. sorry.
The only way this mandarin will do well would be if it was able to eat frozen and if you're dedicated enough to keep up with the feedings. My spotted mandarin pair have been living in my 29g for almost 2 years. I agree with what others have said in this thread about your pod population as an only source of food being depleted in a short time.
IowaReefer
New member
Unless you work from home and are able to spot feed the mandarin throughout the day, it will starve in a 30gal.
Lauracooks
New member
I am trying to keep a scooter goby happy in a 29 bio. I have had him a month without sucessful, observable weaning onto prepared food. He is very small so hard to tell what he is eating. That said he is fat and I still have huge amounts of copapods viasable when my pump is off. I keep watching him closly for weight loss and I plan to rehome him if seen.
If you had to ask if it could be done then its best to forget it. BUT..if you want to buy live pods on a continuous basis and/or train it to accept prepared food every few hours, seven days a week then it can be done. Many other really cool fish out there that will be perfect for your tank.
Mark
p.s. We all want a dragonet of some sort but most of us try to resist.
Mark
p.s. We all want a dragonet of some sort but most of us try to resist.
What happened after 6 months?
Similar threads
