Mandarin Dragonet requirements?

I can agree with that. I just didn't want this person to think if they don't buy a fuge they are NOT going to be able to keep up a pod population.

 

Glad you've done your reasearch.
I have 2 mandarines (from 2 different LFSs) and while they did eat frozen in the store (I watched them) once they got to my tank w/a healthy pop of pods (my tank was only around 5 or 6 months old though) that pop. was decimated and they slowly started to starve.
Finally I got them to eat frozen bloodworms (soaked in Selcon and fresh garlic juice) and they now eat any frozen meaty food I put in there and are fat, healthy and breeding (not that I'm trying to raised any potential fry...way too hard).
That said I also occasionally repopulate the tank with purchaded pods to ensure they have enough to graze on between thier once a day feedings (with an occasional 2nd smaller feeding).
So you can increase your chances of success by getting one trained to eat frozen but that doesn't ensure your chances of success, it just increases the odds. The ammount of rock you may not be enough to sustain a large enough pop. of pods (depending on type of rock, as in lots of hole/nooks & crannies for them to live away from threat of predation)for the mandarin so you may want to see about trying to get one that you can suppliment w/ frozen foods.

 

Here is a link to a Mandarin thread I started. The thread is about my Mandarin eating blood worms but I give a disclaimer that every potential Mandarin keeper should read.

 

i do have a fuge in my sump it is actually about 8 gallons worth filled with baserock/rubble when i get back from florida next week i gotta run to my lfs and pick up some live rock rubble to seed everything