Six line or Mandrin

If you have a 4' 120, my vote is neither. IMO, you should upgrade to a minimum of a 6' 180 (240 would be MUCH better for the naso) with that current stock list before getting any more fish. That or trade in the naso, trigger (blue throats get much smaller, but still should have a 6' tank) and either the hippo or sailfin in favor of some fish with more appropriate adult sizes for a tank with a 4x2 footprint.

To answer the original question, I like 6-lines over mandarins.

~Will.

 

I think the mandarin is a much cooler fish. On the down side, they can wipe out your entire pod population in a week. If you think you have just enough pods, then you probably don't. You would be surprised at how many they eat. I think I heard somewhere it was on the order of about 2 a minute. If your lucky, you can train them to eat frozen food, but it takes a lot of work. The six line on the other hand is much simpler to care for.

 

six line will for sure clean you out of pods, they are always on the hunt for food

 

if you have a 120 gal then you may be able to so both. but i agree that you should trade in some of those bigger fish for a few smaller ones..... you know like a six line or mandarin or both possibly...

 

Pick the fish you really want. I vote for the Mandarin. They are alot of fun to watch and can be taught/trained to eat things other then pods. i have 2 mandarins in a 34 gallon tank (only 4 months old). I had to add a ton of pods to get them to eat. After 3 months both my Mandarins are eating frozen/prepared foods. They eat brine plus, cyclop, and bloodworms as well as live brine shrimp.

To stay honest I must say that training a Mandarin to eat frozen/prepared food is not easy!! Most of the folks here will tell you that it is not recomended. I really like these fish and was willing to do what it takes to keep them. I added pods at the rate of 1000 every week or so until they made the switch to other foods. Many will say it is not worth it but it was to me. I have had my guys for 3 months now and they are still doing great. FAT and happy!! My wife who is a stay at home mom had alot to do with the success. I am a believer in the fact that if you are willing to do what it takes you can do anything.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck and enjoy whatever fish you choose.

 

I currently have both in my 75 (w/ 55g sump/fuge). I've had them both for almost 1 year but I'm thinking of getting rid of the 6-line, he's getting big and starting to get aggressive towards the mandarin and my false perc clowns...and I think he's starting to hog all the pods.

 

I would not go with both. Six Lines eat pods (and other things), and mandarins eat only pods. They will be competing for food constantly, and mandarins like to stare at what they eat before they eat it and are "slow" eaters. So the six line has the advantage and could potentially whipe out the mandarin's food source. Even in a 120 gallon tank.

How old is the tank? That will be the real kicker. With fish as small as a 6 line or mandarin, your bioload will barely be affected in your setup. I would still avoid getting both, you'll have to pick one.

If the tank is older than say 9-12 months (meaning it's established with TONS of pods everywhere) go for a mandarin. If it's not and you don't want to wait until it's old enough, get a six line. Both have pros and cons.

And mandarins are by far the easiest fish to care for, because they don't need to be fed. You acclimate them into your tank and then you're done. They eat by themselves and most could care less about whatever food you put in there. If you have a tank that's large enough and old enough to have a ton of pods and will always have tons of pods, putting in a mandarin is essentially a "set it and forget it" process.

 

Thanks for the info guys I do appreciate it and I believe I am going to go with the mandrin. I know I have what we call big fish in my tank but all the fish are small at the moment. probably 15" of fish total. We are looking into getting a 180 around this time next year if all goes to plan. If not I will trade the fish in at the LFS where I do business. I really like the fish and if I have to trade them I will but I would rather get the bigger tank though. thanks again

 

Our mandarin is a very enjoyable and beautiful inhabitant and he eats frozen mysis, live brine, frozen cyclops and copepods. The omni-directional hovering and stop-and-go navigation is very pleasant to watch as well. We never tire of him. Here's an older pic:

 

Now I am Jealous. I guess ill have to take a trip to the LFS this weekend. They are Beautiful fish