Mandarin w/ Six-line Wrasse?

[tygger]

Would it be a bad idea to have both these guys in my tank since I know the mandarin requires pods? I'm not sure if the sixline will eat other foods and worried they would starve.

My tank is a 72g tank with a dedicated fuge that's been setup for about 1.5yrs. I see tons of pods at night, but worried that they will deplete the population.

Thanks

[t-bone2]

i have both in my 90 gal for over a year they both eat pods and pellet food

[tangtang81]

bad bad idea. both eat pods and will eventually get competitive......the six line will win.
I had both in a 125g ... they were fine for about 2-3 month. then out of the nowhere the sixline started beating up on the mandarin and eventually killed it.
the sixline will eat other foods BUT the mandarin will rarely.

[BangkokMatt]

I think you will be ok as long as you have a reasonably sized fuge.

[Mikeeee]

bad. 72g is not large enough and they will compete over time.

[BangkokMatt]

Originally posted by Mikeeee
bad. 72g is not large enough and they will compete over time.

I would agree if tygger didn't have a fuge. - How big is your fuge tygger?

[returnofsid]

I agree with TangTang. I moved my 6 line to another tank for this reason. A Mandarin is a slow, deliberate eater and does require pods. The Wrasse is a very fast eater and will definately out compete the Mandarin for the same food source. Yes the Wrasse will eat other foods, but you can't control this and it'll eat pods if they're available.

[bashduo]

The 6-line is a neat little fish that swims constantly. HOWEVER - The 6-line will eat massive amounts of pods. Don't get one unless you're not worried about him eating the majority of available pods in your system. I've even observed one pulling hermits out of their shells. Our 6-line ate WAY too many hermits before we finally got rid of him. Ours picked on smaller, less active fish as well.

[llorence]

I've been unsuccessful in keeping both in my 115 g reef tank. The 6-line seems to keep the pods down and any mandarines I've tried to keep don't make it.

[tydtran]

Bad idea for your system. You have enough, maybe, to support one fish, not both. Sixline tend to be aggressive. My recommendation would be the mandarin.