1st post...stocking question
- Thread starter tangy1
- Start date
nm reef
Active Member
Welcome to the forums...
Sounds like a decent selection you have in mind for your 75...the mandarian is questionable depending on how mature your system is. Most are very specific feeders and require a thriving pod population.
Tell us more about your system...lighting/circualtion/filtration etc.
Sounds like a decent selection you have in mind for your 75...the mandarian is questionable depending on how mature your system is. Most are very specific feeders and require a thriving pod population.
Tell us more about your system...lighting/circualtion/filtration etc.
tangy1
New Member
Thank you for your replies. Well, we have had our tank up for about 10 wks. We have 90 lbs of figi rock, a 4 inch dsb, 3 maxi jet 1200's, and a aqua c remora protein skimmer. We have a medium sized clean up crew, and the only fish in there right now are the two percs, and the bi color blenny. We have been taking it really slow, and have been learning from these boards for some time. I know the mandarin needs a very established tank, so it would be a while before we could get him. We do want to make it a reef eventually with some soft corals only, but no rush. Right now we only have 240 watts of pc lighting. Thanks again for your imput.
T
thomas712
Guest
My suggestion would be to not get the mandarin yet until you have had another year under your belt. So many have tried so many have failed at that beautiful fish. As stated they are normally very picky eaters, going after pods. Not only about 100 pounds of live rock is suggested but also an active refugium with thriving pods or a pod tank that you can suppliment the pods in your main tank.
Last time I had one was in my 55 that had tons of pods in it after 6 months or so he had just about wiped them all out. It as a downhill slide after that. No longer did I see them all over the tank like I used to (the pods). This is what happens to so many mandarins, eat good for a while and then slow starvation. Some are lucky and they learn to eat the frozen brine or mysis shrimp but those are few and far between.
There are many posts/threads about that fish if you would like to look up more information on this board.
You will probably hear that tangs are very active swimmers that prefer 5 foot long tanks to swim in and are more prone to ick than many fish are. If you do get one then my only suggestion is that having a QT tank is even more of a necessity than normal. ( a QT is always a great idea)
If starting a reef then I might suggest the purchase of baserock for a start then adding some live rock to that. This way you can save money and still wind up with a beautiful reef over time.
Your list of fish minus the mandarin seems like it would be a fine bio load. Remember when keeping a reef a low bio load of fish is recommended for the overall health of the system, the more you strain that bio load the more juggling you have to do with fish and corals.
This is a great board to be a member of, like many boards we have our ups and downs, but the members here all learn from each other, have great experiences to share, neat ideas and some fantastic reef tanks.
Welcome to the board
Thomas
Last time I had one was in my 55 that had tons of pods in it after 6 months or so he had just about wiped them all out. It as a downhill slide after that. No longer did I see them all over the tank like I used to (the pods). This is what happens to so many mandarins, eat good for a while and then slow starvation. Some are lucky and they learn to eat the frozen brine or mysis shrimp but those are few and far between.
There are many posts/threads about that fish if you would like to look up more information on this board.
You will probably hear that tangs are very active swimmers that prefer 5 foot long tanks to swim in and are more prone to ick than many fish are. If you do get one then my only suggestion is that having a QT tank is even more of a necessity than normal. ( a QT is always a great idea)
If starting a reef then I might suggest the purchase of baserock for a start then adding some live rock to that. This way you can save money and still wind up with a beautiful reef over time.
Your list of fish minus the mandarin seems like it would be a fine bio load. Remember when keeping a reef a low bio load of fish is recommended for the overall health of the system, the more you strain that bio load the more juggling you have to do with fish and corals.
This is a great board to be a member of, like many boards we have our ups and downs, but the members here all learn from each other, have great experiences to share, neat ideas and some fantastic reef tanks.
Welcome to the board
Thomas
tangy1
New Member
Thank you Thomas,
I was aware that mandarins required a well established tank with a lot of rock and pods. I don't plan on adding him for quite some time. As far as base rock goes, we have 90 lbs of fiji live rock, so I can't see how we'd need base rock. I like the idea of a pod tank...would this be just a ten gal. with some rock? Maybe our ten gal. hospital tank?
I was aware that mandarins required a well established tank with a lot of rock and pods. I don't plan on adding him for quite some time. As far as base rock goes, we have 90 lbs of fiji live rock, so I can't see how we'd need base rock. I like the idea of a pod tank...would this be just a ten gal. with some rock? Maybe our ten gal. hospital tank?
T
thomas712
Guest
Look up the thread Worlds Ugliest tank by Sammystingray for tips on pod breeding. Warning its a thread that kinda got out of hand.