I would not suggest adding a mandarin to even a 55g tank, unless it is known to eat frozen foods or something other than live copepods. Yes, there are cases where the fish survive, but overall that is seemingly more the exception than the rule based on the people I've talked to, stories I've read, and even my own experience. We lost a red scooter "blenny" after about 8 months in our 90g that has ~120 lbs of LR in the system and a refugium. For whatever reason, the pods in our tank could not keep up with the dietary demands of the fish over time and I couldn't get the mandarin to eat any frozen or prepared foods. While I have no idea how correct it is or if anyone actually measured this scientifically, I was once told that to remain healthy and grow normally, a mandarin needs to eat a copepod roughly every 5 seconds. That seems a bit extreme to me, but copepods are quite small compared to a mandarin, so who knows -- it might not be all that far off.
LOL -- I didn't notice the age of the original post. No worries though...
LOL -- I didn't notice the age of the original post. No worries though...
