will a mandarin eat baby snails?

[awholelota]

my 50g is sick with baby snails. i've always wanted a mandarin but was afraid that my young (1 year old) tank doesn't produce enough pods for it. i have about 100lbs of rock, and a fudge that does have pods. i see pods all the time. i also have a 90g in my garage that will be up in a month or two with another 50lbs of rock that's cooking right now. i know most of you will say that a mandarin needs at least a million gallons to be happy, but does anyone think it'd be safe? will it help with the snails, or will he just ignore them and die if my rocks and fudge doesn't make enough pods?

 

[tanker]

I do not think it will eat snails. You can always buy some PODS online.

 

[awholelota]

hum.. but the snails are tiny.. smaller than most pods are.

 

[Amazon4]

it's the little tiny copepods they eat, not the larger amphipods.

I don't think they'd eat the snails.

 

[awholelota]

oh. i though they would also eat the bigger trigger pods.

 

[Akaash]

Tigger pods, yes they will eat them, also.

 

[rivoth]

My Mandarin definitely eats Amphipods. They used to be crawling all over before my Mandarin joined the tank, now the Amphipods play hide and seek, and there are a lot more empty amphipod shells floating around the water column. He also decimated my live mysid population in a hurry.

I think you are out of luck on baby snails though. My recommendation would be to hold off on the Madarin until you have the 90 gallon running, and you see pods crawling over the rocks wherever you look.

A 50 gallon might work, but only if you have really learned how to cultivate your pod population, or know how to train the Mandarin to eat pellets or frozen foods.

 

[jubjub]

i can say no...i have a mandarin, and honestly they havent gotten any less so i would say no

 

[awholelota]

thanks for the help everyone. i'll hold off on the madarin until my 90 is a year old or so...

what will happen with all of the baby snails? there are at least... 300+ maybe 500. they're everywhere at night.

 

[Sk8r]

Sell them. Some species are 1.00 a pop.

 

[seapug]

Anybody want 10,000 Collonista snails? I'll give you a deal at 50 cents each.:rollface:

 

[wiscsaltwater]

people might not like this but with your live rock and being a year old and the fact that your seeing pods everywhere i think your ready for a mandarin now, people are generally scared of them but in all reality they arent THAT difficult to care for a year old with pods is plenty.