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Official Mandarin and Dragonet Show off thread

metrokat

By metrokat,
in Fish Forum

Mandarin Training  

164 members have voted

  1. 1. Does your Mandarin Fish eat Frozen?

    • Yes & I trained my mandarin
      62
    • Yes & I had nothing to do with it
      63
    • No
      39

  2. 2. Answer this if you have a 2nd Mandarin Fish

    • Yes & I trained my mandarin
      17
    • Yes & I had nothing to do with it
      13
    • No
      21
    • I don't have a second Mandy
      113

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metrokat
metrokat

I know many of you have fat happy Mandarins and Dragonets. Let's see those beauties.   I'll start. Draco. He has been with me over a year in a 34G with 15G sump. He eats everything except mysis. H

metrokat
metrokat

LFS just posted pics

zoaddict
zoaddict

DSC_8821 by Michael Choppen, on Flickr

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Tamberav

Tamberav

Posted
Posted

Awesome shot! And... are those pellets in your hand?

 

Lo! The Mandarin Whisperer walks among us! ;)

 

Mysis but he'll eat anything. ANYTHING. He has the appetite of a clownfish crossed with a cleaner shrimp.

 

lol, I wish!!! I didn't train him, this is just how he has always been. Always coming over and sitting on me I have my hands in the tank doing something. It's his way of begging for food.

  • Like 4
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SquishyFishy

SquishyFishy

Posted
Posted

pPETNA-5184971_main_enh-XL.jpgThank you everyone for so much useful and interesting information :P

 

Looks like I may be barking up the wrong tree. I'll have to wait until I can implement my master plan. I am seriously thinking about installing one of these: Diminsions are 4.5 " wide (fits in wall) X 26 High X 44 long. 9 gallons. Would that suffice since it is so much swimming area? I could sump it too on the other side of the wall in a cabinet.

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Snow_Phoenix

Snow_Phoenix

Posted
Posted

pPETNA-5184971_main_enh-XL.jpgThank you everyone for so much useful and interesting information :P

 

Looks like I may be barking up the wrong tree. I'll have to wait until I can implement my master plan. I am seriously thinking about installing one of these: Diminsions are 4.5 " wide (fits in wall) X 26 High X 44 long. 9 gallons. Would that suffice since it is so much swimming area? I could sump it too on the other side of the wall in a cabinet.

 

If you're going sumpless with that build, I strongly suggest you consider a macro setup. I always like to provide a healthy mix of frozen and live for my Mandy, and also like to make sure the tank is crawling with pods so that he won't starve when I am not around and need to take emergency trips to the hospital and the like.

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tetraodon

tetraodon

Posted
Posted

My manadarin is constantly giving me dirty looks, casue I had to move him to a net again because I nuked my display, its almost like they look into your soul

 

  • Like 6
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Based

Based

Posted
Posted

Well my mandarin is starting to get skinny because he's not 100% on frozen. I've been feeding him 2-3 times a day, and always the first 5 or so pieces of spirluna brine he eats he chews then swallows, then the rest of the pieces he chews then spits out. I'm going to pick up some more live brine tonight because I'm determined to get him nice and fat!

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Tamberav

Tamberav

Posted
Posted

pPETNA-5184971_main_enh-XL.jpgThank you everyone for so much useful and interesting information :P

 

Looks like I may be barking up the wrong tree. I'll have to wait until I can implement my master plan. I am seriously thinking about installing one of these: Diminsions are 4.5 " wide (fits in wall) X 26 High X 44 long. 9 gallons. Would that suffice since it is so much swimming area? I could sump it too on the other side of the wall in a cabinet.

 

This tank looks like a pain in the ass.... for anything. lol

 

Mandarin's aren't open water swimmers. They do swim but often they are hopping/scooting around the bottom and rocks. Would be difficult to aqua-scape and clean I would think.

  • Like 2
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Pancetta

Pancetta

Posted
Posted

Hey folks,

I recently(3-4 weeks ago) bought a Green Mandarin and have few questions on feeding. The LFS I got him from was feeding him frozen blood worms and that is what he is eating now. He is eating well.

 

But, I would like to introduce some other foods to him. The blood worms are rather messy and are polluting my tank (Biocube 14). I have cut back on the amount I feed but it is still an issue. The other reason is I just think he might need other nutrients.

 

What would you suggest? Pods? Arctic Pods? If I feed him some pods do I run the risk of not eating the blood worms? Is there another prepared food that he might eat that has nutrients?

 

Thanks,

David

 

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Based

Based

Posted
Posted

Don't give up. A lot is going to depend on the individual mandarin. I have had ones eat right away, some take weeks, and my very 1st mandarin I have had for a few years now, only recently started eating mysis and even then he wants me to chop it up for him 1st. So stubborn.

 

My mandarins like ocean nutrition pellets but most won't touch spectrum. I guess they are gross :P

 

Perhaps something like this: http://www.marinedepot.com/H2O_Life_Spirulina_Brine_Mysis_Cube_Tray_Fish_Coral_Food-H2O_Life_Aquarium_Foods-HL1543-FIFDFZFSCF-vi.html

 

Otherwise you may want to try making your own. Try and get some of that brine/spirulina flavor on the mysis.

 

What ocean nutrition pellets are you feeding them?

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bob115

bob115

Posted
Posted

Hi, I just picked up a mandarin yesterday and am attempting the lfs breeder box training method. I've put a couple little bits of rubble in it and and keeping it on the darker side of my tank so as to keep the stress down to as a minimum as possible. My question is, how long do I keep her in there (without eating) before I need to release her to be able to scavenge?

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Tamberav

Tamberav

Posted
Posted

Hi, I just picked up a mandarin yesterday and am attempting the lfs breeder box training method. I've put a couple little bits of rubble in it and and keeping it on the darker side of my tank so as to keep the stress down to as a minimum as possible. My question is, how long do I keep her in there (without eating) before I need to release her to be able to scavenge?

 

What size tank is it? You can train her inside the tank too. It just can get messy. A smaller tank is easier to train in but easier for nutrients to get out of hand.

 

yeah, come to think of it, you're right. Guess I'll never get that mandy.

 

What fish do you have in your 16g?

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bob115

bob115

Posted
Posted

I've got her in a 20L display with 15 sump. I've since released her because when I lifted the lid to feed she immediately tried to jump out of the box. I figured if she was stressed out it would be counter productive to training.

 

So far I've offered a blended seafood mixture fortified with lots of HUFAs and spirulina, small thera pellets, and lumpfish roe. Nothing really yet. I've noticed she picks at the sand frequently, maybe she's going for some of the settled food?

 

The LFS I got her from had her for about a month in a tank with almost no rock, so I assume she had to have been eating something else. I tried watching her during feeding time and she did come out from the rock but didn't seem to enthused about the frozen food there. They fed frozen daphnia at the LFS.

 

Any ideas for other foods to try, or should I just keep trying with the few I have?

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Simone

Simone

Posted
Posted

Given your circumstances, I think you should go the live food route and start with adult brine shrimp and then start to mix in frozen brine, then mysis. Even though the fish isn't in the breeder net, this method is still your best bet I think.

 

If you haven't read the Matt Pedersen article that details how to do this, here is the link, the article is on pg 54

http://coralmagazine.coverleaf.com/coral/20111112#pg62http://coralmagazine.coverleaf.com/coral/20111112#pg62

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Polarcollision

Polarcollision

Posted
Posted

Photo I took yesterday, my spotted is not a typical shy mandarin, he is fairly aggressive and fears nothing, certainly not hands!

 

IMG_20140715_220245441_zps1wbzvxrd.jpg

 

Dragon whisperer

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Tamberav

Tamberav

Posted
Posted

Took a video of my mandarin pair during feeding earlier today. Good closeups around the 2:10 mark.

 

They look great! nice and fat!! What are you feeding them?

 

Dragon whisperer

 

:blush:

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phasezero

phasezero

Posted
Posted

They look great! nice and fat!! What are you feeding them?

 

 

:blush:

 

Thanks! I've been feeding them Nutramar OVA since day 1. Here's a pic of the male when I first got him from my post earlier in this thread. Recently I've been mixing in tiny NLS pellets to try and vary their diet but they end up spitting it out once they've tried it. Looking at other alternatives.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/324304-official-mandarin-and-dragonet-show-off-thread/?p=4490418

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