Mandarin - opening the floodgates

[shane054]

So, I can already hear some people cringing with the thought of it but yes, I have a dragonet in my 28 gallon nano! I like many of you are totaly blown away with the amazing coloration, swimming style, and hunting habits of these little guys. I have another dragonet in a 40 breeder that has been with me a little over a year and have done lots of reading on the little guys so I consider myself to "know" the dos and donts for these guys. First I went to True Percula where I frequently spen all of my money and asked them if they could feed the tank with several target mandarins in it. Gladly they obliged and I selected a fat little one that seemed to be eating the cyclopeeze. Got him home and acclimated him, then let him go in the nano. I am happy to say that it has been close to 7 weeks and he is still eating the prepared meals that I put in for him. He is fat as he can be. His diet consist of a mixture that I prepare daily(mini mysis, and cyclops that is enriched in spirulina powder that iI bought online, a drop of brightwells garlic power, amino & omega-3/6 hufa, vitamarin-m, and maxamino). I turn off the pumps and use rigid tubing and squirt the food on the sand and he eats it up without any hesitation. He will even swim right over to the tube when he sees it coming. I know that a lot of people think that it cant be done but if you take the time to choose the right fish that will eat frozen food and you feed him every day or so you will have a happy healthy mandarin in a tank that is not that big. Anyone else have success with these amazing little fish? I would like to hear what works for you.

 

[debdp]

I'm glad yours is doing well. I had a mandarin in my 20 and it was full of pods and I did the same thing with a feeding tube and he would eat. And he was eating pellet food, too. I was also growing pods and keeping the tank well stocked. Unfortunatley for some reason he died within 4 weeks. It happened rather suddenly, he stopped eating and 2 days later I found him. So it's really good to see somebody is doing well. Good luck!

 

[Pneumatic]

I would LOVE to have one of these in my tank but was scared away by the feeding issue. I wish there was some way to guarantee that one would eat what I placed before it because they really are the coolest looking fish.

Post some pics when you get a chance.

 

[hegi]

I've had the same mandarin for a little over 2 years now. She's made it through a tank leak and the transfer to a new tank. Before that I kept a mandarin in a 20H for a little over 3 years before I had to take down the tank. IMO if you know the requirements of these guys they aren't hard to keep. It's just not a fish the new hobbiests should be attempting to keep.

 

[kthomas]

@hegi wrote:

ditto ... if you have a nice established tank and you can see pods in your tank (at night) or in your fuge you're ok with keeping one.

 

[billwhite]

Mine eats mysis with no hesitation, plus pods all the time in my 55.

He's fat and happy too.

 

[Nazrac]

mine is doing fine but I think that is not the point here. but I did have one I trained to eat frozen brine soaked in vites worked out until my new six-line decided he didn't like him. This fish lived for several months in a 30 hex w/around 50 lbs of LR.