Adding a Mandarin??

So I have wanted a Mandarin since I very first started my tank but i have been waiting very patiently. My DT is full pods, so full that i see them swimming around during the day and 2 weeks ago i bought a sump/fuge from a guy with an established tank and he left all the pods in the fuge for me. So as far as pods go I think im doin pretty good. My lfs has a mandarin that eats perpared food, if I bought him would he do okay in my tank? I know they say to wait at least a year so your tank is established but if he is eating prepared foods then I should be fine right? Thanks for your input, they really are beautiful fish!

 

How old is your tank?

 

4 months

 

I would say thats fine. Just make sure you have aton if pods. How big is your tank?

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i would say OK, since he is eating prepared foods, you have lots of pods, and 30+ gallon tank, and its been esablished for some time.

how many lbs. of live rock?

 

It's a 36 Bow - at 4 months - still a bit risky IMO.

How long has it been since your last addition? Looks like you have 4 fish in there already - so 4 fish in 4 months is about the max stocking rate advisable.

I would wait it out another month or two. You might see a ton of pods but you would be amazed at how fast one of these guys can deplete a young population in a small tank.

 

true, i didnt see how many fish were in there. see if it were me, i would probably trade the chromis in for some credits then buy the mandarin.

also, everyone says 6 months of being established, but thats just an average estimation, everyone's tanks are different, so she could get one IMO if she got rid of one fish.

on top of that, she has a sump/fuge now, so that adds to the overall water volume.

how big is the sump/fuge?

 

Corailline gave some good advice here.

 

I have at least 30 pounds in my DT and 10 pounds of live rock rubble in my fuge

I added the blenny and clowns around the same time(newby mistake), its been about a month since I added anything else. I just wanted to get the mandarin that was eating prepared foods because I might not be able to find another one if I wait a couple more months.

 

thats what im saying, its almost too good to pass up, but something has to give if you know what i mean.