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#1
02-03-2010, 11:48 PM
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Ive been designing my system to be adequate for a mandarin since day 1 with refugium, lots of live rock and the availability of pods and I think I will be able to make it work. I'll try to find one that accepts live food, but if not I'll do my due diligence to make sure the little guy is taken care of. Dont worry.
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#2
02-04-2010, 06:22 AM
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I am still in the go for it camp. As you've mentioned the rock you have comes largely from previously established systems and there should be plenty of food for a small mandarin. I've never been able to see the pods my mandarins peck at they are so small, so I also see no point in observing what's crawling around after lights out. Sure there are risks, any new fish can become a casualty for one reason or another. I've tried to back up my reasoning with personal experience and I see there are at least two other posters with positive first hand experiences as well. I have two healthy mandarins in a 77 gallon sumpless tank and you have a 165 with refugium and sump! That's more than twice the size of my system. I've not needed to supercharge the pod population nor have I set up any pod condos. None of the posters advising against getting one have validated their advice with personal experience. I may be wrong and if I am, apologize, but it appears some of this advice is based on second or third party information.
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Mike 77g sumpless SW DIY 10 watt multi-chip LED build  http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=82206
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#3
02-04-2010, 01:27 PM
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Quote:
 as for looking to see whats running around at nigh.. thats a waist of time, if you can see pods during the day you should figure out how to get more in your tank. it isn't the big ones they eat, but rather the babbys and different types.. but seeing pods scurring about your tank is a good indacator of the overall helth of your tanks bug population. now alot of poeple saying go for it are not qualntifying there answers, are you listing what you had for a tank, what fish were in it? did you have 4 other fish that are direct competers for food in the tank? ok enough of that. what can you do to improve you chances.. 1, get rid of the golbies. but not a good solution for most. 2, build pod piles, very easy to do and cheep. just break down old live rock into 1-2" chunks and make big piles of this rubble behind your rocks. the size of the rocks has to be big enough that there is lots of nooks and crannys but small enough that preditory fish can not get in the structure. this gives the pods a safe haven breading ground. I had 4 of these about 2" wide, 6 inches long and 8" high behind the rock in my 94gal. other than the food issue I find mandrins a very hardy fish and I will always have one in my tanks over 50 gal, but the tanks needs to be able to provide for them unless you have the holy grail of mandrins like Marie. Steve
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 *everything said above is just my opinion, and may or may not reflect the views of this BBS, its Operators, and its Members. If cornered on any “opinion” I post I will totally deny having ever said this in a Court of Law…Unless I am the right one*Some strive to be perfect.... I just strive.
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#4
02-04-2010, 01:39 PM
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People tend to overreact with certain fish, they themselves will keep such fish without a problem but advise others to avoid them or take extreme precautions which are mostly unnecessary. It's for this reason another larger site had to build primer threads so people could simply post personal experience which others could use, this avoids similar threads to this which cause over-reactions.
Eb, you seem like a smart guy and I don't think you're a fish terrorist so I'm sure you can see through some of the BS out there and do what you believe to be right.
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#5
02-04-2010, 06:41 PM
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I have taken in the advice from this thread but Ive also done my hw by reading articles and I think my tank is well on the way to providing for a mandarin and already can. Eventually I'll be getting two, but just so you all know I picked up one from a reefer last night.
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#8
02-04-2010, 07:11 PM
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There name definitely suits their disposition (they are like a Zen garden -lol if that makes any sense)
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#9
02-04-2010, 07:48 PM
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Steve
__________________
*everything said above is just my opinion, and may or may not reflect the views of this BBS, its Operators, and its Members. If cornered on any “opinion” I post I will totally deny having ever said this in a Court of Law…Unless I am the right one*Some strive to be perfect.... I just strive.
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#10
02-04-2010, 07:40 PM
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My mandarin is not eating what do I feed it? My mandarin is emaciated what could be the problem? and than My mandarin is missing? You posted that "there are risks, any new fish can become a casualty for one reason or another". Starvation is an avoidable risk.
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