mandarin!

I think 29g is under the assumption that it's eating a variety of frozen foods.

 

OMG! "a 29 is way to small, must be in at least a 75" "can't have one becasue all they eat is pods" "they wont get the same nutrients as they would from the pods they eat naturally"

I am sorry but talk about nothing but a bunch of misinformation! Get with the times people! Mandarins are no longer delegated to tanks that are chock full of Pods. Not only can they be trained to eat frozen (lots of work but can be done) they will shortly be able to be purchased from ORA eating nothing but frozen.

If you going to buy one from a LFS, Don't becasue they will not survive, that much is correct. Not unless its eating frozen which most bought in LFS will not. And training one to eat frozen while it can be done should be left to someone who has been doing this for along time becasue its time consuming and hard.

Wait a little while and buy an ORA tank breed and it will be just fine, becasue they are eating nothing but frozen. I have one and have had it for almost 2 years, it eats nothing but frozen like the ORA ones and she does just fine. She eats, but she doesn't eat "Tons' of food, she just eats normally like any other fish, once a day.

I also have a friend that has 2, they are a mated pair that eat nothing but frozen and they are both in a 29g BIO cube. They have spawned at least a dozen times now so you know that they are really happy or they would not be doing that. He has had them for well over a year now and has never bought a bag of pods since he bought them.

If you get the right fish (ORA) and maintain the tank properly you should not have any problem keeping on of them.

 

You can also find one that's trained from someone selling their tank like I did. It eats pellets. lol.

 

I've seen this posted by the same person on multiple forums now.... seems as though your just looking for somone to say "yeah, it'll be fine... go ahead"..... when in all reallity, a Mandarin will NEVER be happy in an 8 gallon, they like to browese over the reef... mine is never in the same spot for more than a few seconds, always on the move and always eating....

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! A MANDARIN SHOULD NEVER BE KEPT IN A TANK THAT SMALL.... EVEN IF YOU KEEP IT ALIVE (which is probably possible) IT WOULD HAVE A TERRIBLE LIFE, AND THAT'S ALMOST WORSE IMO...

 

8 gallons is too small IMO too, but you don't need a 500 gallon reef to keep them like some people think. I think if it's eating a VARIETY of frozen, a 29g is probably good for them.

 

Re: mandarin

ok i just wanted lots of input.... sorry that i asked? and its just that so many people have all different answers....just seeing what everyone has to say....sorry

 

Do whatever you want, it will eventually die in a tank that small. They are not easy fish to keep in captivity.

 

Tank size, It could be done, however it probably will get a little cramped when it nears full capacity. And like stated above it would be best to get one eating frozen food.

Have you looked into some gobies, there are many unique ones that would do much better in the tank you have. Lots of different colors and shapes as well.

 

i agree with everyone 8 gallons is to small but i know getting them to eat frozen/pellet/flake they still pick on pods. I mean i have 1 in my 55gal with tons of rock and i have had mine for 2 months and hes super fat its because well hes a garbage disposal and eats anything. These are extremely rare to come by. I wouldn't even put one in a 29 unless it was eating frozen and pellet. They are very beautiful amazing fish but need alot of care to make sure they live and grow.

 

Very well put..