Mandarin dragonet

blizz75

Member
first off, i know that they hav low survival rate, blah, blah, blah
anyways, if i can supply them with unlimited LIVE pods and frozen mysis will this be enough food nutrition wise? and will a 29g do alright?
 

blemmy_guy

Active Member
Yes , definatley, if they have enough food. I have had mine for 2 yrs in my 70 gal, no problems.
Todd
 

blizz75

Member
alright does anyone know if i get a male and female will they get along or do i have to buy a mated pair?
 

bonebrake

Active Member
Any male and female will get along.
I hope you have an unlimited source for two mandarins in a 29 gal. You will have to add a lot of pods and mysis every single day.
 

blizz75

Member
There is a beach with grass that contains cazabillions of them and they are easy to collect right behind my house and hopefully, cross my fingers i can get them on frozen mysis after a couple months. thanks for the help!
 

fishieness

Active Member
you are form florida or Ca if i remember correctly? it should be fine then and that is a great idea. But if you are in a colder water region, then the pods will most likely die not long after you add them. and i know my mandarin (in a 40 breeder with 90 pounds of lr) only hides whenever i put my hands in the tank, or even when i feed. i have had her since last april too, so she would be used to me. I am just saying dont count on spot feeding. But if you can get live pods that are in warmer water, it shoudl work fine and is actualy a great idea :happyfish
 

laddy

Active Member
good luck, next to the regal i think this is one of those fish that doesn't do all that great in regular systems.
 

puffer32

Active Member
I wouldn't chance it unless you are sure about the pods surviving in your tank, especially the frozen mysis, mine won't touch it,
 

blizz75

Member
FL, warm water pods. im gonna try them in a tank by themselves to see if i can count on keeping them before i get the dragonet and im not counting on mysis im hopeful
 

blizz75

Member
Thanks, im going to try. My question now is if i was to do a pod tank should i do half land half water? most of the ones i see on the beach are on the land under damp, warm seaweed. Or can they survive solely in water? thanks again
, Blizz
 

puffer32

Active Member
Originally Posted by blizz75
FL, warm water pods. im gonna try them in a tank by themselves to see if i can count on keeping them before i get the dragonet and im not counting on mysis im hopeful
Well I am glad you are thinking this through, and not just jumping in to see if you can keep a mandrin alive, I like that
I will be looking for updates on how it works out
 

blemmy_guy

Active Member
do all water,there amphibious. I have both a green madaran and a red scooter blenny in my 70 gal. Once you have enough pods in your tank, they should reproduce enough so you wont have to keep adding them. Good luck
Todd
 

puffer32

Active Member
Originally Posted by Blemmy_Guy
do all water,there amphibious. I have both a green madaran and a red scooter blenny in my 70 gal. Once you have enough pods in your tank, they should reproduce enough so you wont have to keep adding them. Good luck
Todd
I disagree, he only has a 29 gal, he will never sustain 1 or possibly 2, don't believe he has a fuge. But if he has access to them, shouldn't have a problem feeding his mandrin daily.
 

blizz75

Member
Originally Posted by puffer32
Well I am glad you are thinking this through, and not just jumping in to see if you can keep a mandrin alive, I like that
I will be looking for updates on how it works out

im excited
, and no fuge but they will be in a seperate tank so they wont have any predators. should i collect some "miracle mud" not the fake stuff, the real stuff under the mangroves for substrate or reg. sand? i wonder which they will like. I plan on using a sponge filter, i think this should work well.
and also do i have to add both mandarins at the same time?i think it will be hard to find a male and female at one time at one shop :thinking:
 

bonebrake

Active Member
In your breeding tank put several very porous pieces of base rock or live rock and rotate them by placing them in your display for a day or two at a time.
You could also fill the breeding tank with macroalgae and grab a clump full and shake it under the water in your display tank to get the pods out. When you do a water change on your display put the old water in your pod breeding tank so it stays high in nutrients for the critters to reproduce.
Just a few ideas for you to ponder.
:joy:
 

puffer32

Active Member
Yeah, I would set up like a fuge. Deep sand bed and macro algae. If you eventually get the pods to breed you might not have to keep catching them wild. I read a single mandrin can eat 300 pods a day, so thats alot of pods to catch. I would do as bonebreak suggested. Get several pieces of live rock and alternate putting them in your DT. Do it at night. Shine a light on the rocks at night and take one thats loaded with pods and place it in your DT. When you stop seeing lots of them at night in your DT, trade it for another one in the breeder. Keep us informed, who knows, maybe you can get the pair to breed
 
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