what do you feed you dragonets?

[TheReeferBoss]

I recently got a spotted mandarin and I was wanting to know what other ppl feed their dragonets? i dumped a 16oz bottle of Copepods in my tank suppose to have 25-1750 in each bottle hoping tohave some luck with him eating a little more. I've notice that he doesn't eat any food that i put in the tank for my clowns and blenny that i have in the tank. I've had him for over 10 days now and I always see him going around munchin, picking on the rock.

 

[ss95003]

What size tank is he in, and how long as has it been set up?

There main food source are pods that you can't see every easily. If the tank is establish and plenty of LR it requires no feeding, and will be fat and happy.

If you look up member MARC he has a website and it shows a feeeding station. even if the fish was eating frozen from the store they are not fast enough and compentive enough to eat the frozen food when you feed the other fish.

So they either need an establish tank or a feeding station.

 

[TheReeferBoss]

ok cool i will look it up.

 

[Critter9905]

Mine has always only eaten live copepods. I get cheato from members or LFS every few months or so to keep my population diverse, as well as buy bottles from online retailers or LFS to supplement. I add them only to my refugium, never my display tank.
Occasionally, he will perk up and go after frozen cyclops or rotifers when feed my corals. I've never noticed him eating them, but he goes does get very active when I add them so I can only assume...

 

[TheReeferBoss]

my tank is been running for 3 months, i added the Copepods to the back of my nano cube since I dont have a refugium,ive notice for the past 3 days that i have a high volume of Copepods running in the back of of my nano as well as a few in the actual tank. im hoping that they will reproduce? but not sure if they will since the tank is so premature.

 

[ss95003]

Oh they will reproduce the question is will he eat them all before they reproduce. IMO and it's not shared with everyone is that these fish should not be added to tanks smaller then 50g or so with plenty of LR and only after the tank has had a chance to mature and get a good pod population. And when I say 50g no other fish competing with the pod population like a 6 line. Problem if you add them to soon or to a tank to small you will never get a chance to get the pod population high enough, then you will have to supplement some way. I had one in my 180g and I never supplement anything and he was as fat as can be. I only have a 45G now and really want one but not sure I have enough LR to support it.

 

[Wes]

Agreed, I wanted one in my 55 and 90 but didn't try it until I had the 125. Now, the one in my tank is super fat and even eats brine after all this time.

 

[TheReeferBoss]

@ss95003 wrote:

i will try to do my best for him to have a fat belly, if the tank doesn't worl out because of the size im seeting up my 250 this weekend and should be ready in a month or so.

 

[denierlexiese]

My scooter eats frozen food. I kept it in a QT tank for about a month hand feeding it every day with a feeder tube. It eventually got the idea. It still eats out of my feeder tube now in my display tank. Super active always swimming around the tank.

 

[claynguyen1973]

Pods


Clay
Arlington, TX

 

[alanbetiger]

Pods and baby live brine shrimp. I use 1/8 of a teaspoon of brine shrimp eggs and leave for 48 hours before feeding all that have hatched to the 190 gallon tank. Both the male and female attack the live food.

 

[TheReeferBoss]

So I took my spotted mandarin back to the LFS monitor him and worried too much about him, guess I'm gonna wait a good while until I get another one :/

 

[ss95003]

Sorry to hear that but sounds like it was the best move. Just wait till you get that 250 up and running for a while, the new one will be very happy in there.