Sutable tank for a pair of mandarins?

[SLACkra]

hi all i was wondering how big of a fish tank i would need to only keep a pair of mandarins by themselfs if i had a refugium and if i introduced amthipods or copods into the tank at the begining of the cycle?

[lllosingit]

I have a Mandarin in my 125 gallon tank with a 90 gallon refuge/sump between them I have about 300+ pounds of live rock.
I used to see pods out even when the lights are were on in the main tank, now I only see them at night.
I may add another Mandarin in a few months but I want to wait awhile to see how the pod population is doing.
I have a large pod pile in the main tank and 2 large pod piles in the sump along with 3 types of caulerpa.
I think i'll be ok in adding a second mandarin with the setup I have and would recomend at least a similar setup for anyone wanting to try to keep a pair.
I have read that the minimum tank size is 100 gallon with 100lbs of live rock set up for 6 months- per Mandarin and that sounds about right to me.
I'm sure your going to get a couple people telling you they have one in a 30 gallon and its doing great and it just might be true because they are the 1 in 100 that have a Mandarin that will eat frozen foods.

[lllosingit]

I also want to add that I have no other fish that will directly compete for food no wrasses/sand sifting Gobies ect...

[dc]

Don't add your bugs, until after the cycle, you will have more die off. A well aged tank is better also, some recommend about a year for bugs to multiply. The longer you wait, the more bugs you will have. My best pod population is in my Harlequin Shrimp tank. When I do water changes, I siphon the bugs off the glass and dump it into my refugium.:D