[ejwsr]

I remember having this discussion a while back about pods and mandarins.

There are a few variables here that will make or break the survival of a mandarin in any size tank:

a) species of 'pod(s) in the tank
b) adequate refuge from predation for the bugs
c) stress level of the mandarin

a) 'Pod species - Some have a very short generation cycle of a week, others as long as four weeks. think of a generation as from an egg to producing a new egg.

b) I won't go into hiding places as it has been done to death

c) Stress level of the fish - Dragonets secrete toxins when stressed (capture, shipping, recapture, going home....) and can have poisoned themselves to the point that there is no recovery. There are several conclusions that can be had here.

On a side note, I had a female mandarin for about a year in my 12G nano. She died when the new male poisoned the tank and died.