Paddy's Mandarin Paradise

[gobytron]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

in the long run you will not be able to produce the pods required in this size of tank for one mandrin little lone 2. but they are eating blood worms so you need to train them to eat a more ballanced food for them as blood worms are good for a suplament but not a staple. a high quality small pellet or something like that would be an ideal food to get them eating, but don't buy a bunch see if you can borrow a few table spoons from some one till you know you are sucessfull in getting them to eat it.

If I saw this sooner I would have urged you to go with a min of a 90 gal for a pair of mandrins but to late now. one way to help with the production of pods is to fill your refuge about 1/2 to 3/4 full of rubble rock. I did this in my 94 gal but hid the piles of rubble under the rock work and in the sump. with over 240 lbs of Live rock and rubble I went from tones of pods to seeing them once and a while with in a month of adding the mandrins so they are a large consumer and mine did mate several times as the tank was 24" tall. in hind site a 30" tall tank would be better but 24" works for the most part.

Steve

I kept a pair for almost a year in a 12 gallon aquapod...
The tank had been established for YEARS prior to the pair being added and there was also the benefit of having the sump space in the back to pack with liverock rubble for 'pods to breed where there was no predation.

2 years later, that same pair is living in my 95 gallon.

It can be done in small systems, but they have to be perfect and dialld in for this specific species.