Ready for a mandarin?

[steve_karen]

This morning my tank had Pods crawling everywhere. Does this mean my tank is ready for a Mandarin?

This evening the Pods are gone. Did they go into the rock?

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

What size tank, how much live rock, how long has the tank been setup, what other fish and inverts are in the tank?

 

[Salty Brother]

all of the above, and even if your tank is crawing with pods, still try to find a mandarin that is eating frozen.

 

[steve_karen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8105760#post8105760 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LobsterOfJustice
What size tank, how much live rock, how long has the tank been setup, what other fish and inverts are in the tank?

55gal
about 70 lbs LR
6 months
Green Chromis, Yellow Tail Damsel
6 small colonies of Zoo's
Green star polyps
5 Hermit Crabs
Nassarius and Cerinth snails

 

[Gisho]

Don't underestimate how fast a mandarin can desemate a tank of it's population of pods. IMO, a 55 gallon tank is pushing the limit, unless you have a relatively large refugium (30+ gallons) to serve as a "pod factory" so-to-say. Do you have a refugium?

 

[steve_karen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8105925#post8105925 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gisho
Don't underestimate how fast a mandarin can desemate a tank of it's population of pods. IMO, a 55 gallon tank is pushing the limit, unless you have a relatively large refugium (30+ gallons) to serve as a "pod factory" so-to-say. Do you have a refugium?

Yes. I'm using a 20gal long. Intake - fuge - return

 

[Gisho]

Personally, I'd wait a few more months, but you may be ready. Keep an eye on the pod population and make sure they keep up with his/her appetite! You obviously are informed and concerned about his/her well-being, so I think your chances (well really, the chances of the fish) are good.

Good luck!

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Just to be safe, I would wait a few more months, and dose phytoplankton in that time. I had a 75 gallon with 100 lbs live rock, 30 gallon fuge, I bought the rock cured and it sat fishless for about 6 months (dosed phyto), then I added a mandarin. He did fine for a while, but after about a year and a half he began to look skinny and I knew he had run out of pods. Luckily I used melevs mandarin diner and he fattened back up.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but just emphasizing the point that they need a lot of pods. All they do all day is scoot around and eat. Also, we are not talking about amphipods here, which are a few millimeters long, but copepods, which are smaller than the period at the end of this sentence.

 

[steve_karen]

Thanks, I think I will wait.

 

[Reeses]

You can also purchase pods, if necessary.

http://www.essentiallivefeeds.com/index.html

Just a thought.