My mandarin ate a little at the store but when I got him home nothing. :-( Wouldnt eat anything but
pods. I will say that getting the more expensive ORA ones was probably a help in getting mine to eat, so if you must have one I wouldnt get anything BUT an ORA one. I've had both my dragonets for over a year now and they both have gotten so big it's kinda crazy. lol
What I did was shut down the flow in the tank and target feed with a turkey baster frozen food of all kinds. I started with small frozen stuff like cyclopeez and worked my way up to brine and bloodworms. I also fed several times a day. The water quality suffered but it did the trick as far as them eating. Now a year later and the mandarin actually eats pellets as well as the bloodworms that he loves. The scooter doesnt eat pellets, but he also loves bloodworms.
It's hit or miss with these fish so just be certain you are prepared and ready to put in the time to get them eating frozen.
Good luck!