Dragonets and BioCubes

[kacey]

I am thinking of starting up a 14g biocube with some soft coral and one fish: an ORA tank-raised spotted dragonet. I'd convert part of the filter system into a refugium, but even so, I'm guessing I'll need to be growing copepods in a separate tank and adding them to the biocube regularly for the dragonet.
Does anybody have a dragonet in a biocube tank? How is it going? Is it doable?

 

[chain]

An ORA dragonet is aquacultured to readily accept frozen foods. I can't forsee an issue with an aquacultured mandarin; however a mandarin that isn't aquacultured would most certainly perish unless your 14 gallon biocube is plumbed into around a 100 gallon refugium. You can culture and supply him with pods frequently to watch him exhibit natural behavior; however his main source of nutrients will be via the frozen foods or whatever foods they have their mandarins readily accepting. If you are going to depend on the pods as the mandarins main source of nutrition then you will be fighting a losing battle from the get go. You could opt to breed pods in a separate tank; however you will soon find that the fish will eat more then you can possibly grow in such a quick time frame. Be sure to get the ORA aquacultured mandarins and you should be fine. I have around 200 mandarin young of which around half have been personally aquacultured and are ready to venture out into the world the rest are still fairly young and going through the stages. The mortality rate of any mandarin that will not accept any food types other then pods is extremely low in captivity. What's really sad is the length of time it takes some to starve to death. Many people don't realize that the entire 2 years (just an example) they have their mandarin it is slowly starving. The fish is getting just enough food to keep it alive, but not enough to make any nutritional dent. Just be sure to check on what types of foods they have their mandarins trained to eat and be sure to purchase at least 3-4 before ever getting the mandarin.

 

[kacey]

Thank you, Chain! I definitely want an ORA dragonet in part to support aquaculturing and in part because I couldn't imagine a wild-caught having a chance in a biocube. How old are your oldest captive bred mandarins to date? I worry that although they can eat frozen food, that to maintain health, they should still be subsisting on copepods with frozen food more as supplementation. Captive breeding can get them to eat frozen foods, but it won't change what their bodies were designed to process, and if these guys are grazers in the wild that are perpetually looking for and nibbling copepods throughout the day, I'm worried that even a tank-born dragonet would ultimately do poorly on predominately other foods. I know aquaculturing dragonets is relatively new, so I guess, at this point, there's no way to really know if they can truly thrive on alternative food sources.
I had hoped that culturing pods in a separate 10 gallon tank (giving a population a couple months to explode), and adding some to the display tank every couple days could keep a dragonet fed, but it sounds like you're saying even a breeding colony of copepods in a space that small wouldn't be able to feed a mandarin for long?

 

[chain]

First of all I apologize for the length of time it took me to respond. A few of the fry from the first batch of mandarins I hatched are 4 yrs old and still going strong.
I agree with you 100% in that it most definitely would be more beneficial for mandarins to have copepods as their primary food source; however they can/will survive entirely on frozen/other food sources. It's a terrific idea you have because you will, in a sense, get to experience the mandarin acting naturally by hunting the pods which it would much rather do; however providing these pods becomes a completely separate issue altogether. A primary food source of pods probably would not be sustainable in a 10 gallon; however you could supplement his feedings with these pods you grow. You would absolutely be amazed at how many pods a single mandarin can consume (thousands upon thousands in a matter of days). Im simply saying that providing your mandarin with a source of pods is a very generous act and one that it will appreciate; however taking into consideration the size of your tank and the 10 gallon pod breeding area I personally don't think you have the room to cultivate enough pods to provide primary nutrition. There is nothing wrong with this at all. I was concerned just as you are now when I aquacultured my first mandarins. Thinking that they wouldn't be getting the proper nutritional value that the live foods would provide not to mention the experience of hunting them which is all but natural for them, but 4 yrs later and nothing but the same diet and im fairly convinced. It's not so much of what their body is meant to process as it is how much value nutritionally that 'something' has in it to provide. Here's a good idea and one that i've incorporated in feeding all of my fish.
Make your own fish foods. It's not difficult at all and by mixing other food types into the type the mandarin prefers you can insure it is getting full on nutritional value. It will still nitpick around the food picking out the pieces it prefers; however those pieces will contain large enough amounts of the other nutrients that he will be getting his fair share of what he may not want, but he needs. I included a link to a Forum thread which details how I make some of my foods. For your mandarin just be sure to research what he is eating and include larger portions of that in the chum you make. You will be surprised to find that after eating some of the other food types you include your mandarin may actually start to accept them willingly. Mine all will eat sinking pellets now along with multiple frozen types. It really does help with their nutritional intake and with ensuring they are getting proper nutrients.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/forum/thread/383743/do-you-make-your-own-fish-food-blend
Keep the pod idea going though. Setup that small 10 gallon and breed the pods. Just be sure to sustain a large enough population to keep up supplemental feedings. Your mandarin will much appreciate it, you will love seeing him hunt naturally, and you will rest easy knowing that he is getting some of his natural food sources on a regular basis. Also BBS are another good supplementational food source and one which I culture continually. Don't worry about your little mandarin. It will probably be with you longer then you could imagine.
Again I apologize for the SUPER late response. Its' been a nut house around here the past few days.
Truly best of luck with your new mandarin. ORA does a great job with aquaculturing and I'm sure you won't have any issues.

 

[kacey]

Thanks so much, this is incredibly helpful! I totally agree, making my own food was always the game plan. I think variety is important to help keep nutrition complete, plus the ingredients in some premade fish foods make my eyebrows go up. Corn? Soy? I'm not sure that is stuff fish ought to be eating as a staple of their diet. I'll start culturing pods when I set up my tank, so by the time the mandarin arrives a couple months later, I should have a good population going to serve as supplemental feeding, and I'll make sure I know what the ORA mandarin I purchase is currently being fed, so I can include those foods in his prepared diet. Thank you, again!

 

[mr.clownfish]

i had a spotted mandarin dragonet in my 12 gal, it did wonderfully. after it wiped out my massive isopod population in a week, it very quickly began taking frozen mysis shrimp . sadly i lost all my fish along with my mandarin about 2 years ago when i moved my tank into my new home. i plan on trying my luck again soon, my isopod population is once again back.