My Reef Tank

[FreshandSaltowner]

My tank has been running for at least 4 months and is doing great.
I would like to add a Royal Gramma, a Flame Angel, a couple of Cardinalfish and eventually a Mandarin fish.
is this ok, my tank is 220L and allready has two Clownfish and a Firefish?

 

[shibby]

My tank has been running for at least 4 months and is doing great.
I would like to add a Royal Gramma, a Flame Angel, a couple of Cardinalfish and eventually a Mandarin fish.
is this ok, my tank is 220L and allready has two Clownfish and a Firefish?

looks good !!! flame angels are great im hoping mine will be a nice show fish! all the other fish listed are good too

 

[FreshandSaltowner]

i picked up a mandarin today, he's great. He follows me around the tank trying to show off. he was the biggest one the lfs had ever had

 

[fishwatcher]

He's beautiful!!!
I had a Royal Gramma that was fantastic! Mine was very active, out and about a lot (the lfs said they usually aren't so active. Unfortunately I had a beginner's bout of marine ich that took her out.)
Good luck with your mandarin!

 

[bobf]

Good luck with the mandarin, but I can't help thinking this might be too soon?

I don't know how much you've looked into the care of mandarins, but they are notoriously difficult to keep. Many on here (and elsewhere) warn against mandarins for anything but the most mature of tanks with a plentiful supply of live copepods, preferably with a refugium to keep up that supply.

Here's an example of the sort of thing I mean;

link

Reef Suitability: Mandarin fish are one of the most commonly sold fish, yet they are unfortunately one of the most likely to perish in the average reef tank. The reason for this is their very finicky feeding habits. Many mandarins will only eat live amphipods and copepods (pods) which are found in sufficient numbers only in larger and well established reef tanks. The minimum tank requirement is generally stated as 55 gallon with 50lbs or more of live rock. This is based on feeding requirements and not space requirements as the Mandarin is a very slow, docile fish. Perhaps more important than tank size is how heavily fed and nutrient rich a tank is, since this type of tank will generally support a higher pod population than tanks run under more lean conditions.

 

[chrissaysyes]

Agreed, is he accepting frozen foods? Do you have anyway to supplement his diet?

 

[FreshandSaltowner]

i was told by the lfs, who have not let me down yet, that he accepted mysis and that i could have him in my, at least 4 month old, tank. i have fed the tank with frozen artemia, mysis and red plankton, which all the other fish love, but i haven't seen him eat any. He is contiually grazing on my copepods and amphipods which i think i have a vast amount of. it's 220 litres and i have 24 kilos of live rock and will be getting some more, maybe 5kg, in the next month or two. i think i'll try some live food though just to be sure, but he seems very healthy and eating well.