mardarin in a 20gal?

[JasonJ]

just wondering if i can have one in my 20.
its been runnin for 3 months. with no problems so far.

35lbs LR
30lbs LS
prism skimmer
AC power filter.
2 false percs
some zoos
ricordeas
one open brain.
i do 25% water change every 2 weeks.
im not runnin a fuge. although i see a bunch of pods runnin around.

b4 i get one. is there anythin i need to know.
feeding? any specialized care?

[Pan]

Originally Posted by JasonJ

just wondering if i can have one in my 20.
its been runnin for 3 months. with no problems so far.

35lbs LR
30lbs LS
prism skimmer
AC power filter.
2 false percs
some zoos
ricordeas
one open brain.
i do 25% water change every 2 weeks.
im not runnin a fuge. although i see a bunch of pods runnin around.

feeding? any specialized care?

^ - You won't with a mandarin
as long as you find one that eats frozen foods as well you should be okay...bigger is better, i've had friends who've had a pair of mandarins in a 20 for 4 years they even mated....(though not until a 40 gallon sump was added) weird setup...
b4 i get one. is there anythin i need to know. Finding a place where you can buy pods or setup something to raiase them would be a good idea though.

[Bob I]

I would advise against trying it. Mandarins usually don't eat prepared foods. They tend to live on things they find on live rock. Therefore it takes a lot of Live Rock to keep a Mandarin fed. You can't put enough lr in a 20 gallon tank to sustain a mandarin. Having said that I am sure some would argue that their Mandarin eats frozen food. I agree that some do, but it is the exception rather rhan the rule.

[KrazyKuch]

You should be fine as long as you can keep your pod count high!!!

[Ruth]

Oh please don't. Although there might be the exception a 20g is not going to give you enough pods to keep a Mandarin alive and healthy. Some will accept frozen or prepared food but IMO they still need pods in order to thrive. Without a large refugium where pods can multiply a 20 is just not enough. Do a google search or if you can search RC - there is plenty of information on that site.
I have 2 Mandarin fish in my 230g with a 77g fuge/sump and still worry that there is not enough for them to eat. Neither one of mine eat frozen or prepared food that I have ever observed.

[st4tic]

No
your tank is not mature 3 months
your tank is too small 20g
madarins need aquapods to survive and be healthy.
even if it eats brine shrimp it wont be healthy it will slowly wither away.
if you want ur madarin to die/ be unhealthy then you'll keep it in your tank.

sorry to be so frank

[mark]

Was on Wetwebmedia today and came across a post suggesting 4 sqft of sand with LR cover to generate enough pods to support one.

Wonder size of "Marie" tank, recent post of keeping one for 4 years.

[Skimmer Juice]

I read in reef keepers anual you need 75 pounds of live rock to succesfully keep a mandrin.Also should have your tank running for at least 7 months.I have about 70 pounds of rock,but my mandrin eats every thing I put in the tank.Most wont eat like this so I would get at least a 50 gallon with lots of rock.Or atleast fill up your 20g and just wait a few more months.

[marie]

I've had my mandarin in a 75g tank for 4 yrs, packed with as much live rock as I could cram in without the tank looking odd. It took a couple of years before he would eat prepared foods and until he did I worried constantly that he wasn't getting enough to eat. I wouldn't chance it if I were you and definitly not when the tank is only 3 months old

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by st4tic

madarins need aquapods to survive and be healthy.

is aquapods a new food? never heard of it befor.

Seriously though a 40gal tank with close to 80lbs of rock would be the minimum I would concider keeping a mandrin in.

Steve