Minimum Tank Size for Mandarin Pair?

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DarthFred6996

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Mar 13, 2007
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I have decided that I will successfully breed mandarins one day. What is the minimum tank size for having a pair of mandarins? I fully intend on nothing but corals and mandarins in the tank with a noncompeting cleaning crew. I have made up my mind and it will happen one day. I am thinking 150 gallon or 200 gallon. My idea is to have the tank running with nothing but corals for a year to allow for pod population growth, then introducing a male and female. I'll play some boom-chicka-boom music for them and maybe they will get it on. :rolleyes:

I assume I will need another tank for the fry as well as breed food for them?

This is the start of a long term planning. Your advice is welcome and appreciated. I will not have the funds to start the setup for about a year, so I have time to study.
 
I guess I would advise a second tank to propegate pods. You could even house fish in it assuming they were not pod eaters themselves.
 
A refugium is key if you go down this route. Copepods need a place to reproduce and multiply in safety. Also, piles of live rock rubble in the back corners of your display tank will help provide this.

As for tank size it all depends on your setup and your commitment to sustaining mandarins. I've read stuff on people not being able to sustain a mandarin in a 125 gallon tank and then I've read an article on how a guy sucessfully kept a mandarin in a 12 gallon nano. Of course in the later example, this guy went to extreme measures to cultivate copepods in seperate tanks and care for his mandarin. Actually it's a good read if your looking for ideas on how to sustain mandarins.
http://joshday.com/mandaringoby.htm

My guess is that you could probably sustain a pair of mandarins in a 90 gallon display tank with 130-150 Lbs of live rock, a refugium to help cultivate pods, no other fish that will compete with a mandarin for food and lots of effort in caring for your mandarins.

hope this helps
 
That article is very good here is another site that has detailed instructions on the culture process, and sells HIGH quality pods, I have ordered from her twice (total of three bottles) and the company is awesome, www.oceanpods.com
 
drobes said:
A refugium is key if you go down this route. Copepods need a place to reproduce and multiply in safety. Also, piles of live rock rubble in the back corners of your display tank will help provide this.
Click to expand...

Stupid question... won't the copepods eventually get sucked up by the filters?
 
Copepods are small enough that they can can mostly go through pumps intact. If you have a refugium beneath your display tank then you are relying on your return pump to slowly introduce copepods from your refugium into your main tank. Even better would be a refugium that is at a higher level than your main tank and overflows down into it.
 
Awesome.

I'm thinking about getting these guys... I have a 90G tank. Working to get A LOT of rock.

I'll introduce them to the refugium AND main tank!
 
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