EELectric
Aquarium Advice Freak
Are dragonets community fish? What kind are the easiest and kindest to care for?
Dragonets?
- Thread starter EELectric
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
flatzboy
Aquarium Advice Activist
I have the green mandrin. He is very easy to take care and was one of my first fish after a the tank cycled. He requires some live rock say at least 10 lbs. They pick threw the liverock and eat little microscopic creatures that most of them we can't see. Yes he is a community fish. He is probably my favorite fish because of is awesome colors. I found a 40 gal. in the newspaper with heater and filter for only $40, I am going to look at it today. If I get it , it will be a community tank with liverock. I am probably going to get a pychodelik mandrin because they are so cool to. Also have you thought what your going to make your tank into a community fish tank or a aggressive tank. I would definitely go with a community tank with a 55gal. because there is so many community fish you could have in it. Keep in touch on your progress have you got the tank yet or are you still waiting? 
JG
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Best advice I can think of for Dragonets is to really research before you buy. Many of them are "specialists" when it comes to eating and therefore you must be able to provide for their needs. Also be wary of the advice you will get from lfs as some will tell you that you will be able to support a fish such as a mandarin . This is a really good example of a specialist as they need a surprising amount of live rock in order to have a large enough pod population for survival. Many are already in the process of starving to death by the time they are purchased.
flatzboy
Aquarium Advice Activist
I only had 8lbs of liverock and know I only got 16lbs. and did fine and still does after5 months of being in there.
S
steve-s
Guest
Flatzboy, your circumstances are extremely rare and not what I would ever suggest to others. In fact the mandarine species does indeed starve over time without the proper supply of natural foods. They eat and endless amount of copepods and will not as a rule accept prepared foods. Generally speaking, a large reef tank with a minimum of 100 lbs LR in a well matured tank will usually just get by. A large attached refugium is also highly recommended. At 5 months, you are just getting started. 
Please read... Mandarins, Psychedelic "Gobies", Dragonets, Scooter Blennies....YAH! Family Callionymidae
Cheers
Steve
Please read... Mandarins, Psychedelic "Gobies", Dragonets, Scooter Blennies....YAH! Family Callionymidae
Cheers
Steve
flatzboy
Aquarium Advice Activist
Thanks Steve, this is one of the reasons I joined this site, for all the good info. Like JG said you can't trust your local pet stores. I am also going to add a little hang on back fuge and more liverock in the next month or so. He doen't have an indents on his sides either. Also every know and then I put a few brine in there and he usualy eats like one or two so he can't be to starved.
G
Guest
Guest
When I first started I had a mandarin goby who ate brine shrimp. He starved with a stomach full of Brine. Its worthless food.
snapcrackler
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have one mandarin dragonet in a tank that has about 50lbs of big LR and 100lbs of small live rock chunks and rubble, aragonite, shells and crushed coral on the bottom. Every piece of small broken rocks and rubble I come across or buy gets dumped into the mandarin tank. There are heavy mushrooms in this tank too to provide lots of shade (ie perceived hiding spots) for the pods. The pods breed furiously in this environment.
As a result there are constant swarms of copepods and amphipods visible during the daytime and nightime as well. I feel comfortable having the dragonet in this environment. There is only one other fish in this tank and it is primarily a vegitarian.
Thank you for the informative link Steve. I was pleased to read that these fish are commonly found hanging around rubble in the wild.
Oh yeah it is also a moderate to low flow tank which seems to encourage the pods even more. I just have several wimpy old powerheads (worn out penguins and a rio) hanging in there.
As a result there are constant swarms of copepods and amphipods visible during the daytime and nightime as well. I feel comfortable having the dragonet in this environment. There is only one other fish in this tank and it is primarily a vegitarian.
Thank you for the informative link Steve. I was pleased to read that these fish are commonly found hanging around rubble in the wild.
Oh yeah it is also a moderate to low flow tank which seems to encourage the pods even more. I just have several wimpy old powerheads (worn out penguins and a rio) hanging in there.
EELectric
Aquarium Advice Freak
getting the tank tomorrow and are going to see on the community fish but are leaning towards community fish. We'll see. Thank you!
Has anyone had their Mandarin eat their starfish?
I added a fairly large Green Mandarin and a few days later I found my brittle starfish in pieces. I was rather upset because the starfish was a good scavenger and helpful in keeping a clean tank. I am not certain it was the Dragonet but what else could it have been.
I was told I that they are not generally aggressive but only to larger aggressive fish. Anyone else had a similiar sitation happen to them?
I added a fairly large Green Mandarin and a few days later I found my brittle starfish in pieces. I was rather upset because the starfish was a good scavenger and helpful in keeping a clean tank. I am not certain it was the Dragonet but what else could it have been.
I was told I that they are not generally aggressive but only to larger aggressive fish. Anyone else had a similiar sitation happen to them?
davetkoch
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I haven't heard of or experienced Dragonets being aggressive toward tankmates, but there are always exceptions.
Although I own a Sailfin Dragonet, I have been very successful training him to accept Mysis from my hand. Additionally, many others on RC have had great luck with getting their Green or Psych. Mandarins to accept prepared food.
Of course, I still recommend a healthy in-tank pod population, but it's nice being able to sleep at night being certain that Scooter is eating well regardless.
The trick is getting food to fall into his general area so he can "discover" it. Initially it was happenstance, but if you want to target feed, you have to be a little more deliberate. I did this by wiggling the cube above and behind his field of vision, letting pieces drift into his immediate territory. Over time, I moved my hand further into his field of vision, to the point where he now swims toward my hand when it's feeding time. The trick is to be slow and deliberate with your movements, or they will become spooked and speed away, until they are totally comfortable with your presence.
These guys and their eccentric antics are a barrel of laughs, especially when they're well-fed.
Cheers,
Dave
(The Dragonet equivalent of the TANG POLICE) 8)
Although I own a Sailfin Dragonet, I have been very successful training him to accept Mysis from my hand. Additionally, many others on RC have had great luck with getting their Green or Psych. Mandarins to accept prepared food.
Of course, I still recommend a healthy in-tank pod population, but it's nice being able to sleep at night being certain that Scooter is eating well regardless.
The trick is getting food to fall into his general area so he can "discover" it. Initially it was happenstance, but if you want to target feed, you have to be a little more deliberate. I did this by wiggling the cube above and behind his field of vision, letting pieces drift into his immediate territory. Over time, I moved my hand further into his field of vision, to the point where he now swims toward my hand when it's feeding time. The trick is to be slow and deliberate with your movements, or they will become spooked and speed away, until they are totally comfortable with your presence.
These guys and their eccentric antics are a barrel of laughs, especially when they're well-fed.
Cheers,
Dave
(The Dragonet equivalent of the TANG POLICE) 8)
