wondering what would be good tank mates for my green mandarin and 3 blue hermits??

[roryb24]

hey i was wondering what would be good tank mates for my green mandarin and 3 blue hermits??

 

[TomStav]

Considered a goby? I just got a fire fish goby and they are very active and great for nano reefs.

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[roryb24]

No I didnt but I'll look in too it. I was however thinking of a pair of clown fish.

 

[TomStav]

I have a pair of clowns too, both do very well with my goby, and are all reef safe. They also are all good in smaller tanks.

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[iDream]

a bunch of copepods for that mandarin who's going to starve if he doesn't eat prepared foods...

but the above suggestions have been good, firefish or a pair of clowns (ocellaris or percula only, other species get too big)

 

[roryb24]

I alrdy put Copepods in. And yeah I think the pair of clowns is gonna be all I put in for fish and maybe a shrimp. But mostly coral now.

 

[iDream]

which size tank is it? i just assumed it was a biocube 14 or 29

and if you aren't adding copepods every 3 or so weeks he'll still eat them all and die, they aren't meant for small tanks like that when not trained on prepared foods

 

[roryb24]

Yeah it's the 14g. And I planned on adding Copepods every 3 weeks.

 

[cmor1701d]

You will need to add pods EVERY DAY unless it's eating prepared foods. Mandarin's have a suggested minimum tank size of 100 gallons with at least that amount of LR for a reason. They will eat pods all day long and it takes a large tank with LOTS of LR and hopefully a refugium to keep the population growing fast enough.

I suggest taking the mandarin back to the lfs in exchange for something that can survive in your tank.

 

[roryb24]

Many people have kept mandarins in there biocube14. I've seen and read many successful story's of it happing.

 

[iDream]

And there are none that don't eat prepared foods, if they say they ate only pods then they are lying or they have the tank hooked up to a larger system.

It's just simply not possible for a Biocube 14 to support a copepod population for a mandarin or scooter blenny to live on for any length of time. Once his belly starts to cave in you'll know he's in trouble.

Trust me, the mandarin is why I got into this hobby, and I have the same tank and I now know it's not possible to have one live a long happy life. I'm just making sure the fish will live well, and that you don't have to deal with the loss of such a beautiful fish

 

[Biocube14]

Sucks cuz I wanted one..

 

[roryb24]

Ok man thank you. I'll talk to my LFS.

 

[iDream]

Sucks cuz I wanted one..

Me as well, I think they are the single most beautiful fish I have ever seen. But I'm not going to drop $100 on one that might eat prepared foods, and I certainly won't make one suffer in my small tank

 

[MBliss81]

And there are none that don't eat prepared foods, if they say they ate only pods then they are lying or they have the tank hooked up to a larger system.

It's just simply not possible for a Biocube 14 to support a copepod population for a mandarin or scooter blenny to live on for any length of time. Once his belly starts to cave in you'll know he's in trouble.

Trust me, the mandarin is why I got into this hobby, and I have the same tank and I now know it's not possible to have one live a long happy life. I'm just making sure the fish will live well, and that you don't have to deal with the loss of such a beautiful fish

I can attest to that, having lost a mandarin for that very reason in a larger tank than yours. They are beautiful fish, but you really have to take care of them exactly right. I have a pair of very young ocellaris clowns, and they are great fish.

 

[joy13]

Ok man thank you. I'll talk to my LFS.

Remember to listen carefully for key words like "well, you can" or "some people have" those are the key words I listen for at my LFS the one further away "as long as your tank is 2 weeks old you can". After I ask them questions I come home and research to find out if what they are telling me is right. They are in the business to make money and I am in the business to have a beautiful tank I can show off.

 

[roryb24]

well mine is doing fine he is healthy and happy he eats good and im srry it didnt work for u guys.

 

[MBliss81]

I chalk the loss of my mandarin up to foolishly buying without researching. Lesson learned. Anyway, I also have 3 electric blue hermits in my tank and they are great! I also have dwarf red hermits and several snails on my CUC. Have you thought about finding some young ocellaris clowns and getting a couple that can become a mated pair? That's what I have as the centerpiece of my tank.