Refigium Tank vs. Patience

[U4BOYZ]

My tank has been up and running for a couple of months. I would really LOVE to get a blenny and a mandarin fish. I was wondering if setting up a refugium tank was worth all the extra time/money. Is it simple enough? Is it cheap enough? Or should I just have a little patience, and let my tank work its own magic? Hmmmmmmmmm....:question:

 

[HeavyHittah]

i think it is worth the time. and its simple enough because you have everyone here to ask questions whenever you get stuck on something. but if its only been up for a few months you might not want to put a mandarin fish in there. they are hard to keep without an established food source in the tank (ie. amphipods,copepods,)

 

[Bifferwine]

I agree. It's definitely worth it if you want a mandarin. Usually, a mandarin will not survive with a refugium. If you can buy a mandarin from your LFS that eats frozen foods (and make them show you that it eats it in front of you, don't just take their word for it), then you don't need a refugium for it. But most mandarins won't eat frozen food, and without a fuge they will starve to death.

Blennies on the other hand usually do not have any problem taking to eating frozen food and a fuge is not required for them. There are certain blennies that are more difficult to keep than others, though. What kind are you thinking of?

 

[U4BOYZ]

Thanks for the information everyone.

Bifferwine, what type of blenny do you like? I like the looks of the bicolored....but I'm open to suggestions. Is there a blenny species that is more likely to eat frozen food...or will are they all likely to take to it if they're hungry enough?

I'm loving this reef group!:happysun:

 

[Bifferwine]

Lawnmower blennies are cute, full of personality and are great at keeping your tank clear of nuisance algae and film on the glass.

Bicolor blennies are pretty, and are also hardy. The starry blenny is another of my favorites.

 

[U4BOYZ]

Wow...I really like the look of the starry blenny. I do have a goby....do you think this is a problem? Is there a chance a starry blenny will eat frozen brine shrimp? If not...the lawnmower blenny is my second choice. ;)

 

[Bifferwine]

Starry blennies will usually eat frozen food too. No way to tell until you get them, though. That's why if there's a chance a fish will be finicky, it's best to make sure they are eating before you buy it.

What kind of goby do you have? Usually blennies and gobies will get along fine.

You should be feeding something other than frozen brine shrimp. Brine shrimp has very little nutrition. Mysis shrimp is much better, and you can alternate that with some of the other frozen prepared foods (Emerald Entree and Marine Cuisine are good).

 

[U4BOYZ]

In my 120 gallon reef tank I have approximately 175lbs of live rock, several shrimp, 2 anenomoes, numerous corals, a green emerald crab, a sea urchin, snails and hermit crabs.

For fish I have: 2 clownfish, 2 PJ cardinals, an anglefish, yellow tang, hippo tang, royal gramma, goby, and a firefish.

My hope in the near-future is to get a wrasse, mandarin and a blenny.

I give frozen brine shrimp at night.

In the morning I give Marine Fish Formula Pellets.

Occasionally (every couple/few days) I supplement with either a O-Nip "meat" type tablet that sticks to the side of the glass....or a Spirulina Tab that sticks to the side of the glass.

I've tried giving frozen food with sponge in it because my tang and anglefish keep eating all my sponges....but they don't seem very interested. They'd much rather have the brine shrimp.

I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on my feeding regiment...Thanks.

 

[jfannin]

I agree. It's definitely worth it if you want a mandarin. Usually, a mandarin will not survive with a refugium. If you can buy a mandarin from your LFS that eats frozen foods (and make them show you that it eats it in front of you, don't just take their word for it), then you don't need a refugium for it. But most mandarins won't eat frozen food, and without a fuge they will starve to death.

Blennies on the other hand usually do not have any problem taking to eating frozen food and a fuge is not required for them. There are certain blennies that are more difficult to keep than others, though. What kind are you thinking of?

Biff I was wondering about the mandarin and the refung. Are you saying that if I have a refung built into my sump that the mandarin will NOT be about to service or is it the other way around? I need a refung/sump in order to have a mandarin? I was wondering because it's one of the fish that I plan on putting in my new reef tank. Thank

 

[Bifferwine]

Most mandarins will not survive in a new tank, or a tank without a refugium.

If you have a refugium built into your sump, a mandarin should be just fine. But you want to make sure you give the fuge enough time to develop a lot of pods for it to eat.

 

[parrotchute]

late to weigh in: I've been successful keeping my mandarin w/only a HOB refugium.

I have two things working for me: A low bioload (not much competition to eat the pods) and LOTS of live rock.

My HOB has about an inch of sand, is full of caulpera, and some live rock rubble, with a small powerhead to prevent red-slime for growing. Once you get a refugium up and running, make sure your macroalage is growing successfully, and then, if you want to speed things up, and some lfs-bought pods to 'seed it'.

Give it a week or two, and you should have a healthy, self-sustaining population!