Mandarin in a 55? --opinions wanted

[drewdog82]

I have a 55 gal. tank with a 15 gal. fuge and a 15 gal. sump. I have 80 lbs. of LR in my Display and 5 lbs. LR in my fuge. I also have a 2" sand bed in the display and a 5" sand bed in my fuge. I have had my tank up and running for only 2-3 months and plan on waiting till it's been up at least 8 months before getting a mandarin or sand sifting goby. My question is, with this set-up would I be able to have a mandarin??? What about a diamond goby??? What about both??? I would like opinions on which of the three choices makes more sense....

 

[fishgeek01]

I would say yes to the diamond goby and no to the mandarin. I don't recomend keeping them in anything less than a 75 gal and only then with plenty of live rock and a good sized fug.

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by Fishgeek01
I would say yes to the diamond goby and no to the mandarin. I don't recomend keeping them in anything less than a 75 gal and only then with plenty of live rock and a good sized fug.
How much LR between display and fuge would u say was needed to keep a mandarin???

 

[nereef]

why would it be okay to keep the diamond goby but not the mandarin? tank size isn't as important as the ability to produce enough pods for either/both to survive. i would say yes to the mandarin, maybe to the goby(since they get bigger and obviously eat more), and no to both.

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by drewdog82
How much LR between display and fuge would u say was needed to keep a mandarin???

at least 100 lbs, and no fish that will compete w/the mandarin for the pods (like a sixline wrasse)

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by alyssia
at least 100 lbs, and no fish that will compete w/the mandarin for the pods (like a sixline wrasse)
A six-line was another fish on my list, I had no idea they go for the pods. So in your opinion if I were to get the mandarin, I would have to not get the diamond goby or the six-line???

 

[fishgeek01]

Originally Posted by NEreef
why would it be okay to keep the diamond goby but not the mandarin? tank size isn't as important as the ability to produce enough pods for either/both to survive. i would say yes to the mandarin, maybe to the goby(since they get bigger and obviously eat more), and no to both.
The reason i say yes to the diamond and no to the mandarin is because the diamond is much more likely to eat flake foods, pelleted foods, forzen brine and frozen mysis. where as the mandarin will probably not take to any of these other foods. the Diamond will have a higher sucess rate for drewdog. The six line will also eat pods.

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by Fishgeek01
The reason i say yes to the diamond and no to the mandarin is because the diamond is much more likely to eat flake foods, pelleted foods, forzen brine and frozen mysis. where as the mandarin will probably not take to any of these other foods. the Diamond will have a higher sucess rate for drewdog. The six line will also eat pods.
In your opinion would I be able to keep a diamond and a six-line???

 

[fishgeek01]

I think that that would be a good possibility since both are recognized as eating prepared foods. However keep in mind the stocking limitations of your 55, using the full size of the fish to judge if you can keep all of them together, not just the purchase size.

 

[puff_puff_]

hey drew... i have a 75 with a 30gallon fuge.. i have a mandarin i have a orange dot sleeper goby a zebra goby a violet goby and a scooter blenny along with other fish.. most of the gobys dont take much of the flake food... but heres the deal.. after talking to many local people with mandarins my local guru fish store owner and advice from here i can tell ya you have the room, you have almost enough rock and if you have pods your good on the diamond and the mandarin. dont know about the wrasses diet all that much most of the guys around here including my self have mandarins that readaly and excitedly eat from brine. the cubes that come in a package. and pods are a neccesity.. id add about 20 more pounds of rock and i also to be on the safe side have a 2nd tank with rock and pods its smaller and houses my 2 gsp puffers... and when i seem to be running low on pods i get them from the other tank cause the puffers dont eat them (or many if they do)but i have yet to hear of a mandarine that eats anything else but they do eat the brine.. i also grow brine in a 10 dollar shrimpery i bought at the local store... the mandarin loves them..if you cant find one let me know ill ship you one.. cant be more than 5 bucks to ship... but i say ifyou have pods and you can convice your local fish store to through some in there display and find the mandarine that will readily go for it, GRAB HIM... mines happy healthy and with out him i wouldnt like my tank nearly as much. hes an awsome fish and i wish you luck!! although i dont have that much experience i spend hours a day on here and other places reading and reading and reading. you should do the same... thats my 2 cents and in saltwaterfish.com tradition im sure ill get bashed for my belifs...

 

[mattmc]

Mandarines can be very hard to keep. It sounds to me that you have every thing they like, just make sure you have lots and lots of pods. Plus you might go through 2 or 3 before you find one that's healthy enough to survive. So hang in there!

 

[tx reef]

Once your tank has been up for a year, I say go for the mandarin, he should be fine.

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by puff_puff_
hey drew... i have a 75 with a 30gallon fuge.. i have a mandarin i have a orange dot sleeper goby a zebra goby a violet goby and a scooter blenny along with other fish.. most of the gobys dont take much of the flake food... but heres the deal.. after talking to many local people with mandarins my local guru fish store owner and advice from here i can tell ya you have the room, you have almost enough rock and if you have pods your good on the diamond and the mandarin. dont know about the wrasses diet all that much most of the guys around here including my self have mandarins that readaly and excitedly eat from brine. the cubes that come in a package. and pods are a neccesity.. id add about 20 more pounds of rock and i also to be on the safe side have a 2nd tank with rock and pods its smaller and houses my 2 gsp puffers... and when i seem to be running low on pods i get them from the other tank cause the puffers dont eat them (or many if they do)but i have yet to hear of a mandarine that eats anything else but they do eat the brine.. i also grow brine in a 10 dollar shrimpery i bought at the local store... the mandarin loves them..if you cant find one let me know ill ship you one.. cant be more than 5 bucks to ship... but i say ifyou have pods and you can convice your local fish store to through some in there display and find the mandarine that will readily go for it, GRAB HIM... mines happy healthy and with out him i wouldnt like my tank nearly as much. hes an awsome fish and i wish you luck!! although i dont have that much experience i spend hours a day on here and other places reading and reading and reading. you should do the same... thats my 2 cents and in saltwaterfish.com tradition im sure ill get bashed for my belifs...
Thanks for giving your opinion even though it was against the other opinions so far.... I have heard that mandarins are hard to keep and do need plenty of pods, but every book that I look to says that a mandarin will be fine in a tank of about 30 gal. Now I know they need plenty of LR, but I find it hard to believe that when all of these books say 30 gal., they are saying this under the conditions that u fill this thing with 80-100 lbs. of LR. As for the diamond goby, I have read that they require apx. a 50 gal. tank with LR and plenty of LS. I figure if I add another 10 lbs. of LR to my fuge, I should meet all of the requirements, but I figured I would post to get as many opinions as I could.

 

[whitey_028]

Mine did fine in a 55. with less live rock then what you have but i also had a fuge on the bottom that was a copepod manufactuing warehouse

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by whitey_028
Mine did fine in a 55. with less live rock then what you have but i also had a fuge on the bottom that was a copepod manufactuing warehouse
What's the best way to get lots of pods in the fuge. Like I said, so far I have a 5" LS bed and apx. 5-10 lbs. of LR. I was also going to add some chaeto. Anything else I can add to up my pod production???

 

[fishgeek01]

you will probably be fine, and i reallylike the idea of switching out rock to ensure enough pods for your mandarin. if you decide to get one, wait till you find a nice big fat one that is very active. I do not agree with what mattmc says about going through fish to find one that will work. that is not good reef keeping advice. find the right one the first time.

 

[catawaba]

Yes diamond
No mandarin

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by drewdog82
What's the best way to get lots of pods in the fuge. Like I said, so far I have a 5" LS bed and apx. 5-10 lbs. of LR. I was also going to add some chaeto. Anything else I can add to up my pod production???

You can occasionally buy bottled pods off the net.

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by drewdog82
A six-line was another fish on my list, I had no idea they go for the pods. So in your opinion if I were to get the mandarin, I would have to not get the diamond goby or the six-line???

I would definitely NOT get the mandarin if you get the sixline. Sixlines are known to quickly deplete the pods population and they are much faster than mandarins. I don't know anything about diamond gobies.

 

[misfit]

I have a mandarin and a diamond goby with no propblems.My diamond goby eats everything though-nori, shrimp, homemade food, pellets. I also have a much larger tank -210 w/250lbs of LR and 40 gal sump. It can work but I think you will need to watch the pod population closely.Good luck :happyfish