dragonet ?

[dryworm]

Does anyone have a photo of a starving dragonet and a full dragonet so i can know what to look for.

[bnumair]

if ur tank is less than a year then more likely its starving. import/buy some pods in. they can eat 30+ pods a day. some graze on algae. brine shrimp is one alternative.my 2 cents.

[Tmoriarty]

if ur tank is less than a year then more likely its starving. import/buy some pods in. they can eat 30+ pods a day. my 2 cents.

This contributes nothing to what the guy asked for, he would like to know the difference of the two, it may be because he has a 1 year old tank that is 200g's and is looking to buy one but wants to make sure it is healthy.

A healthy dragonet is rounded throughout the body, a skinny one is sucked in on his sides about half way down from the top of the fish, in bad circumstances it is very obvious.

On a second note i do agree somewhat with bnumair, if you are looking to buy one and you do not have a 75g+ tank and it has matured for at least 6 months, you may not want to purchase one. They can be trained to eat alternative foods but need to be fed often (3 times a day) if you are lucky enough to train one off of pods. Mine eats F2 Pellets, but is also housed in a 203g tank.

[Palting]

There is no mistaking a starving dragonette. I had one, sorry I didn't take a pic. He starved because he was one of 11 fish I placed in hyposalinity in a QT tank. At the end of the 8 week period, he looked like a tadpole: big head, thin body, with abrupt change between the large head and body. He was the first I returned to a DT, a DT that was now full of pods from being fishless for eight weeks. He acted like an old typewriter the first few days, just pecking away at everything constantly and nonstop!! LOL!! He is now fat and happy, and later, I got him a mate! That's the one I have as an avatar :)

[dryworm]

Actually i dont even have a tank set up yet. Im still buying equiptment and researching. I plan on having a 75 gallon with a 75 gallon refugium just so i can have enough pods to support a dragonet. I always check them out when i am at the lfs's. Im always checking to see if they are healthy.all the ones that i seen look healthy to me but im not sure if i know what im doing. Im probably just going to get it from liveaquaria based on there reputation. They are by far my favorite fish and would feel terrible if i got one and it died. And thanks for the advice. I love RC

[fishgate]

I have a Scooter Blenny and was warned he would die but he is thriving. He eats whatever comes his way. I did seed the tank with pods at one point, but I don't think they ever took hold. It is a small tank (40B) and I think he just ate them all within a few weeks. I haven't seen any pods swimming ever. He is very fat. I'll try to get a pic today.

[snorvich]

At your LFS, check to make sure the mandarin is moving around, hunting, and pecking at the rock work or macro algae. What you are trying to do is avoid cyanide caught wild captured mandarins. I do not recommend ORA mandarins. If it is healthy and you have an 8+ months mature tank with live rock and ideally a refugium, you are good to go.

[Palting]

Actually i dont even have a tank set up yet. Im still buying equiptment and researching. I plan on having a 75 gallon with a 75 gallon refugium just so i can have enough pods to support a dragonet. I always check them out when i am at the lfs's. Im always checking to see if they are healthy.all the ones that i seen look healthy to me but im not sure if i know what im doing. Im probably just going to get it from liveaquaria based on there reputation. They are by far my favorite fish and would feel terrible if i got one and it died. And thanks for the advice. I love RC

Good plan, refugium same size as the DT, or is that the sump/refugium combo? Give your tank set-up about 6 months or so, and you should be fine. As to the health and chances of dying due to their initial condition, I don't think you have to go through the unnecessary expense of ordering from liveaquaria. If the mandarin is moving about and pecking at your lfs, the chances of them doing well or not is the same as if you got it from LA. Remember, I had a "starved" madarin from QT recover and is fat as ever.

[reefnewbie83177]

if ur tank is less than a year then more likely its starving. import/buy some pods in. they can eat 30+ pods a day. some graze on algae. brine shrimp is one alternative.my 2 cents.

Is this a typo? A dragonet eats far more than 30 pods a day. If they are healthy they should be eating a pod at least once every 5 seconds (or 12/min)
12*60*24 = 17,280 pods in a 24 hour period. It does very little to no good to buy pods in a bottle and try to supplement that way as the mandarine will decimate a bottle in less than a day. I made the mistake and bought one before doing the research. It just committed suicide the other day:( You can tell a thin mandarine by looking at there sides. I don't know if its the lateral line or the rib cage, but you can see clear definition between his back and stomach. I will never buy anything without researching again.

[Feriation]

I do not recommend ORA mandarins.


Snorvich, is there any particular reasoning as to why you do not recommend ORA mandarins?

[Reeferz412]

You can tell very easily in the pet store display tanks at my lfs. Since their little dt's are elevated i can look under and stare at the fishes underbelly. Majority have this tucked in arch where their stomach is supposed to be. It is very very easy to tell. One thing I suggest and recommend is to ask a store associate to feed it when you are there. Observe what they feed the mandarin and inquire if it is trained to eat mysis, and not just pods. This will save you a lot of pain, trouble, and heartache when your little colorful buddy starts to starve and you are trying all you can to make it proliferate in your system.

[purdueav8r]

Starving mandarin vs fat mandarin:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=19959664&postcount=28

[Hoosierfan]

if ur tank is less than a year then more likely its starving. import/buy some pods in. they can eat 30+ pods a day. some graze on algae. brine shrimp is one alternative.my 2 cents.

30 pods a day seems pretty low....more like 300!

[cloak]

Does anyone have a photo of a starving dragonet and a full dragonet so i can know what to look for.

Just look up the word emaciated. There should be all kinds of information & photos. HTH.

[bnumair]

my mistake, typo i meant to put 300+

[troyman]

mine is in a 24 gal and happy as can be its not a whale dont need all that room mine eats frozen food also good luck

[sponger0]

Snorvich, is there any particular reasoning as to why you do not recommend ORA mandarins?

The reason for this is hit or miss. Its about a 50/50 chance from what Ive read and I was on the bad side of those statistics.

They are always going to resort back to hunting for pods. Its just what they do.

So if you want a dragonette, and to be most successful, get a 75 gallon or bigger tank, setup a sump with as big of a fuge as it will allow, dose the refugium as much as you can with pods for a minimum of 7 months, have no other fish that will give too much competition for food and you are all set.

If its smaller than 75, learn how to culture pods in a sepearte tank, and dose pods quite frequently.

To answer you question on starving dragonette, look at their belly. If they arent eating properly, the stomach will be recessed, you can see their ribs. Its not hard to tell the difference.

[TimeConsumer]

Starving mandarin vs fat mandarin:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=19959664&postcount=28

I can't believe that mandarin was still alive by the time it was that thin.