# mandarin 10 gallon



## lilalancarey (Apr 1, 2009)

I have 2 mandarnis in a 10 gallon tank just so they wont starve to deathand i get a good copepod population going in my main display tank wa sjust wondering if my filter will goble up all of the copepods and i have about 10 lbs of live rock in there with a weak powerhead and a 100 watt heater. no protein skimmer (yet) have 2 other tanks to worry about. they are my goal to be able to keep in this hobby. had two die on me,. just wondering if the filter will gobble up my copepods and if i even need it with my live rock filtration? thanks


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

I'm confused. Is the 10 gallon a quarantine tank? Mandarins should never be quarantined unless in a large aquarium with a huge supply of copepods. Keeping them in a 10 gallon is a sure fire for a quick death. A 10 gallon tank can not house an ample supply of this natural food source.

As a rule of thumb, 1 mandarin per 75 gallon tank with a heavy supply of live rock and established refugium.


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## lilalancarey (Apr 1, 2009)

im moving them soon and will have copepod bottles ready for use whenever, i also have cyclops feed to give them. i just want to know if live rock for now will be suffcient filtration


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

Yes, live rock is adequate filtration for a 10 gallon in your situation. For the record, the advancement of live foods has not really helped improve the success rate for this species. If they do not have the abundance of copepods to graze on, they rarely fair well. I hope your other tank is very large, especially trying to house 2 mandarins.


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