Mandarians in a nano

[barterking85]

what size nano would i need for a clown and a mandarin and what would i need in the nano for them to do well?

 

[iDream]

No nano is good for a mandarin IMO, unfortunately the whole "eating prepared foods" deal isn't going very well for many. People try to train them and they die slowly from starvation, it's just sad. If you want one really badly I suggest getting a tank large enough to support one (say like 75G with at least 100lbs of LR) and for certain train it there then transfer it to your nano

Trust me on this I got into SW in hopes of getting a mandarin, they just can't survive in a small tank well

 

[neilanh]

Corey's right. 99% of mandarins just don't do well on prepared foods, they need live copepods to survive, and a small tank just isn't going to produce enough to sustain a mandarin.

 

[cmor1701d]

Any size DT tank is fine for a mandarin!

Just add a 100 gallon plus sump in the basement with lots of LR, a DSB and a fuge area for the pods to grow.

 

[Zer0]

Haha, yeah you could also do what cmor said lol. All you need is a large and steady supply of microinverts to sustain the mandarins eating habits.

However, if you get lucky you can find one that eats prepared foods. I used to have a mandarin in my 25G that readily chowed down on frozen bloodworms. Certainly was an interesting fish with a great personality.

 

[Blacksteel]

When people talk about mandarins they always say they need a ton of pods and that a small tank wont supply enough for them. I've always wondered why don't people just have a separate tank with a lot of LR for growing pods? Or is it like impossible to transfer the pods over for feeding? I was just wondering lol

 

[thominil]

When people talk about mandarins they always say they need a ton of pods and that a small tank wont supply enough for them. I've always wondered why don't people just have a separate tank with a lot of LR for growing pods? Or is it like impossible to transfer the pods over for feeding? I was just wondering lol

This is basically the description of a sump/refugium.

 

[Blacksteel]

Yes I guess your right lol

 

[cmor1701d]

That was exactly what I said. The problem is that a mandarin forages for pods all the time and will eats hundreds per day. To sustain a population you need that 100+ gallon sump/fuge with lots of LR and some starter pods (detrivore kit).

 

[MBliss81]

...and a way to keep a constant stream of those pods pouring into the nano from that giant sump/refugium. It's kind of a silly thing to do for such a small display tank, but I have actually thought about doing it with my 16g bowfront.