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Mandarin Dragonet

post #1 of 85
1/13/12 at 6:11pm
Thread Starter 

OK I just recently got a spotted dragonet; she (yes she is a she) is about 1 inch. I will try to get a picture soon the lights just went out. My only big concern is that it looks on the sides I can see a line, I am guessing that means it is skinny. It was eating live mysis  shrimp at the lfs which I got him from and he was swimming around picking at the rcoks and eating some of the mysis and ate a little bit of Artic pods. So what my concern is, is she to skinny to bring back to health, now in my tank she is skooting around, no one is picking on her and she is picking at the rocks.

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post #2 of 85
1/13/12 at 6:50pm
Thread Starter 

Some more information is that she is not ORA and I want to know if I can teach her to eat other food just to get her plump I am just wondering what type of food because i know that brine shrimp isnt good health wise and I would also like to know how. I am dedicated to teach Bernadette the Dragonet to eat different foods that are healthy and to get her nice and plump so please let me know before it is too late and I am getting about 3-5 more copeopod things; also could you target feed them copeopods just to get her fat then she can look for them?

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post #3 of 85
1/13/12 at 6:55pm

There is a way.  I have not done it but you can create a container that the Dragonet can be trained to go into to be target fed.

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post #4 of 85
1/13/12 at 6:58pm
Thread Starter 

Can you send a link and I think that my wrasses would easily get in there and what food do I feed?

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post #5 of 85
1/13/12 at 6:59pm

I used to target feed my mandarin whatever frozen food I was feeding that night. Overtime, she started to eat the frozen. She was a little on the thin side when I first got her, but she adapted real well to eating frozen. It is worth mentioning that I do not have a fuge, but I do stock my tank periodically with pods. I usually add reef pods, but I also have added the tangerine and tisbe. Stay away from tigger pods, since they are a cold water species.

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post #6 of 85
1/13/12 at 7:04pm
Thread Starter 

I don't add tiger pods I get my pods from algagen the tisbe ones and I add zoo/phyto for the pods and for the clams and lps. I got the Artic pods or rods food would that be good? And you target fed with a turkey baster right and how long did it take you since it started to eat it and I do have a fuge that is a year and a half old and my display tank is 5-6 months old.

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post #7 of 85
1/13/12 at 7:43pm
Thread Starter 

How about this, I get some live brine shrimp and see if the dragonet tries to go after it while its in the tune and if it does shoot one out and he will soon learn that clear tube means food, and then I switch to mysis, now where can I get live mysis or would thawed frozen mysis work?

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post #8 of 85
1/13/12 at 7:55pm

I can only speak from my experience and I fed my mandarin a frozen diet that did primarily consist of frozen mysis shrimp.

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post #9 of 85
1/13/12 at 8:14pm
Thread Starter 
But do yoju think my method would work?
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post #10 of 85
1/13/12 at 8:22pm

It could work, but I would recommend feeding the other fish at the opposite end of the mandarin. Mandarins are methodical eaters and take their time and the other fish may startle the mandarin.

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post #11 of 85
1/14/12 at 5:32am
Thread Starter 
Good morning everyone. I am on my way to orlando and I fed my fish this morning and everyone was up. Everyone at the artic pods exceppt bernadette. But she was moving more around the tank and pecking at the glass and rock. I will try to start the live brine tommorow then switch to mysis.
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post #12 of 85
1/14/12 at 5:33am
Thread Starter 
And also gemmy what kind of fish do you have/had with your dragonet?
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post #13 of 85
1/14/12 at 9:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by verojeremy View Post

And also gemmy what kind of fish do you have/had with your dragonet?


 

My mandarin is currently in a tank with a lemon peel angel, 2 occellaris clowns, and a royal dottyback. My mandarin is not bothered by any of my fish. The mandarin just goes about grazing on the rocks and the glass and my other fish mind their own business.

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post #14 of 85
1/14/12 at 2:12pm
Thread Starter 
Oh ok do you think my mandarin would be ok with my /melanurus and mystery wrasse, falco hawkfish, yellow tang, and 2 ocellaris clownfish. No one has picked at her yet and no one even really loooks at her
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post #15 of 85
1/14/12 at 5:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by verojeremy View Post

Oh ok do you think my mandarin would be ok with my /melanurus and mystery wrasse, falco hawkfish, yellow tang, and 2 ocellaris clownfish. No one has picked at her yet and no one even really loooks at her


To be honest, I'm not too sure. There are some aggressive fish in that tank. There will be a battle for food especially between the mandarin and the hawkfish and possibly the wrasses. 

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post #16 of 85
1/14/12 at 5:23pm
Thread Starter 

Here is a picture and if you can, can you tell me if she is really skinny.

 

Bernadette the Dragonet

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post #17 of 85
1/14/12 at 5:28pm
Thread Starter 

Click on it to get a better picture and I am going to pick up live brine make sure she starts eating it and then do artic pods then rods food. If she starts to eat the frozen would she eat it without me spot feeding her like if it goes around the bottom and stuff?

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post #18 of 85
1/14/12 at 5:36pm
Thread Starter 

OK I will monitor the hawkfish and the wrasses arent aggresive to anyone except like whwn the mystery went in but I turned the lights. But why would the hawkfish and mandarin fight? Compete for food I, do they eat copeopods to?

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post #19 of 85
1/14/12 at 5:39pm
Thread Starter 

Also my flaco is pretty much 2 to 2 1/2 sop if he isnt aggresive in the first month or so do you think long term he should be safe?

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post #20 of 85
1/14/12 at 5:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by verojeremy View Post

Here is a picture and if you can, can you tell me if she is really skinny.

 

Bernadette the Dragonet


Hard to tell for sure from the pic, but she doesn't look dangerously slim to me.  Mandarins start showing weight loss with a concave belly (VERY obviously concave, mind...) before they start to lose muscle tone along the flanks. 

 

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