pod piles for green mandarin dragonet's

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sharkthevandal

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Nov 6, 2003
Messages
41
Location
moscow id
i am new to salt water and am currently in the prosses of setting up a 20 gal fish only tank
i want to get a green mandarin dragonet but they are hard to feed. i have read a little about pod piles but havn't found any detailed description on what needs to be done to make one. any one had any experience with these and will this be enough to keep a green mandarin in my 20 gal?
 
will this be enough to keep a green mandarin in my 20 gal?

No, a single mandarin will need approximately 100 lbs of mature LR that has been free of other micro predators. Even then an established refugium doesn't hurt.
 
Before I bought my mandarin it was eating frozen brine at the LFS.
I only have 50 lbs of LR in my tank but I do have a HOB refugium.

All in all my mandarin feeds on the Frozen foods. Hopefully you can get one that feeds this way.
 
I did the same research before I got my mandarin. I thought that a pod pile or two would be a good idea, but they would probably initially give too big of an amonia/nitrite/nitrate spike to be much good for everything else (including the mandarin). I got one that feeds on brine shrimp as well and has done well for about 4 months now, but it's diet is definately being assisted with pods (I have a 120g with about 120lbs of live rock.

Ask to see them fed before you pick one to see if it eats frozen food. :)
 
What are micro predators? I'm assuming something that would compete with the mandarin for pods?
 
Pods eat Phytoplankton, so adding a live Phytoplankton solution to the tank or refugium regularly would be good, in my humble opinion.

I add live phyto to my tanks in the recommended amounts.

Soft corals and dusters and things also feed on Phytoplankton.

For the pods, it's a sort of "feeding your food" thing. :D
 
Mandarins need large amounts of LR/pods ... if you don't have it... don't do it. They will surely starve. I have over 130# of LR in my tank and did not add my mandarin until about 5 months after my tank cycled.
 
What is a pod pile?

They're just basically little piles of rubble (small pieces of LR, broken shells, etc.), placed in a hill, or *pile*.

For some reason, pods thrive and reproduce like crazy in these little mountains.
 
From what I've read, Pod piles are little piles of shells and LR that are piled around a piece of decaying matter (shrimp etc..). The pods breed in it, but as I have said, it could do more harm than good.. :)
 
Pod piles are little piles of shells and LR that are piled around a piece of decaying matter (shrimp etc..).

Is That true?

i wouldn't mind putting a bunch of junk in the corner but sticking a piece of sweet n sour shrimp in it ..... i dont like that idea although... i read someplace that putting a dead shrimp in your tank is an easy way to get it cycling.

would the spiking be the same as adding a new fish????
 
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