Mandarin Dragonet requirements?

ok i know the system needs to be mature but what is there exact requirements? only reason i ask is they are such beautiful fish that i really want one, i know they eat pods and such but how much, i have 36 pounds of rock in my 20 long and i have another 20 pounds or more of rock/rubble in my sump im wondering if i order a few bags of pods from saltwaterfish.com when i order my cuc if they would be established enough in 8-12 months to support a dragonet. my tank has been running since 3-13-11 so im not in any hurry only thing that might make it in there before the 1 month mark is a clown my daughter wants nemo so bad thats all she talks about when ive been assembling my setup.

 

lol yea you can but it will be a ton of work and alot of time invested into 1 fish

 

at least a year with a fuge or pod breading they need tons of pods or you will watch a beautiful fish die. you are way to soon for a mandarin goby i would wait like 14 months with good pod pop. to be safe. ;D

 

agreed to that but not discourage you in any way but i will be honest with ya

 

you just have to understand the needs of the fish and how important it is but you cant add that fish with only 2 months on your tank still way to new i would say a year at least. it is a amazing fish but needs special care!!! yes it is possible will cost alot. i would just hate to tell u it is ok and it die i would feel responsible so i am just telling you the truth ;D

 

i appreciate the responses i am not even considering buying one untill the tank is at least a year old that is why i was asking if i stocked pods now with cuc if in 8-12 months from now the pod population would be steady enough to support one, i have read alot about them but the fish itself is not what im sketchy on its the tank part that gets sketchy i know they can be trained to eat anything basicly, the work and time doesnt bother me, the part that bothers me is the possibility of malnutrition of such a beautiful fish that happens far to often from what ive read so far.

i dont just dive in to anything anymore.

 

I am glad to hear you do your HW before you buy. If you only store pods in the dt he the fish will eat them all. I would recommend a fuge in the sump.

 

Agreed, even Nemo will eat your pods in your DT. One option that I was considering, was getting a tank bred mandarin from ORA, or even maybe a mated pair. They are fed prepared foods from the get go, and this in combination of a good pod population, just might increase your chances of success.

Aquacultured Dragonets | ORA | Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums

 

That's actually not true at all. I do not have a fuge in my sump and my pod pop is huge. I've have my mandarin in my 72 gal for over a year now with no issues. He grazes on pods all day and eats brine at night with the rest of my fish.

 

I wouldnt say "that's not true at all", it's just your personal experience. There are many things to take into consideration with each persons tank. It sounds like you have had success with your mandarin eating brine on top of the pods, which is awesome. But some tanks, depending on what fish are in the system, cannot keep a good population of pods, because the other fish eat them as well.