Official Mandarin and Dragonet Show off thread

[Tamberav]

How many shrimp are in that hole? Maybe she's in there after some fresh prawn roe?

 

I only have one. She sits there like the beginning of the video, holding still with just her head out... chilling. Maybe she just likes having a hidey hole?

[Simone]

Alright, well I got it on video!

 

Here is my odd couple... she has been in and around the burrow pretty much all day. She comes out to venture when she sees people cuz... people = food

 

Also I am slowly replacing my sand bed with fine oolite sand and my spotted mandarin sleeps buried with just his head out. I thought it was only the scooters who did that... was a surprise.

 

 

Awesome video, love when we get to see these kind of interesting behaviors.

 

My spotted mandarin female covers herself with just a small amount of sand. It's so funny it's like this half-hearted effort, she is still totally visible but with a small pile of sand on her back lol. The male sleeps in a corner uncovered. Silly fish

[Tamberav]

Well... she is sleeping in the burrow at night it seems I think she just likes it and the pistol doesn't mind sharing.

[Snow_Phoenix]

This thread is going to make me cry from now on. I miss my boy.

[Tamberav]

So even though sculpins aren't dragonetts. They have a lot of similar lovable qualities so I figured you guys might enjoy some pictures.

 

 

 

 

[metrokat]

Amber, you have the best critters, the best knowledge, the best pictures.

[Tamberav]

Amber, you have the best critters, the best knowledge, the best pictures.

 

Oh, so you haven't seen Metrokat's thread then yet? I have a FTS of your tank saved on my desktop so I can open it up easy for inspiration.

 

you babe

[metrokat]

Oh, so you haven't seen Metrokat's thread then yet? I have a FTS of your tank saved on my desktop so I can open it up easy for inspiration.

 

you babe

Aww. Thank you.

[Alexraptor]

For the first time in forever, I finally got great shots! For the first time in forever I can really show her off!

 

[Liamgray90]

I've just brought a manderin

I think his red but his side fins are bright blue

 

They spend a lot of time hiding I've noticed and got scared when Just hot home he had sand all over him

Not moving but could see his gills going so had faith

 

Woke him up and could see he was fine result

[Havok_9]

For the first time in forever, I finally got great shots! For the first time in forever I can really show her off!

 

Was that intentionally a Frozen themed sing-a-long or am I the only dork that sung that entire post

 

I've just brought a manderin I think his red but his side fins are bright blue They spend a lot of time hiding I've noticed and got scared when Just hot home he had sand all over him Not moving but could see his gills going so had faith Woke him up and could see he was fine result

 

Red mandarin's fins will be red, especially their large flutter fins. Green mandarins are blue finned. And yea, I've noticed their slime coat collects sediment very easily.

[Simone]

I've just brought a manderin I think his red but his side fins are bright blue They spend a lot of time hiding I've noticed and got scared when Just hot home he had sand all over him Not moving but could see his gills going so had faith Woke him up and could see he was fine result

 

Also they often bury themselves when sleeping

[Alexraptor]

Was that intentionally a Frozen themed sing-a-long or am I the only dork that sung that entire post

Hahaha, you nailed it!

[Liamgray90]

So this is a green manderin

[phasezero]

Just got a huge male green mandarin recently and found out the red mandarin I've had the past 3 months is also a male. I originally thought my red mandarin was a really mature female because the dorsal fin seemed very short compared to the males I'm used to seeing in green mandarins. So right now I've got a spotted pair in my 30g, the male red mandarin in my 55g, and a male green mandarin in a 20g sump until I figure out a new homing situation.The good news is that all my mandarins are eating nutramar ova. Thankfully I was able to get nutramar ova but I had to drive 6 hours roundtrip to get it.

 

I will post a video and some pictures soon of my red and green mandarins, they are the biggest mandarins I've seen in the hobby so far.

[CronicReefer]

Went to the LFS today looking for a new fish for my 29g reef tank and saw this little guy. He's probably not even an inch long so I can't wait to see how bright his colors get when he's full grown. Had to show him off when I saw this thread, here's a few close ups I managed to get when he was looking for food.

[metrokat]

So cute, are you going to train him on to frozen?

[CronicReefer]

Probably not since I have a thriving pod culture and he's been pecking around the rock and substrate since the minute I put him in the tank. I feed my clowns a frozen food mixture and some pieces sink to the bottom so he can eat the leftovers if he wants.

[mountaineer]

Went to the LFS today looking for a new fish for my 29g reef tank and saw this little guy. He's probably not even an inch long so I can't wait to see how bright his colors get when he's full grown. Had to show him off when I saw this thread, here's a few close ups I managed to get when he was looking for food.

Awesome fish. I saw a dead-ringer for this one at a Boston area LFS on Saturday and they had trained it to eat frozen. It's been there for a few weeks, in an awesome gorgonian and seahorse tank. I'm amazed no one's bought it.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Meet my new Spotted Mandarin Dragonet male, Carlos. He has a heart-shape on the third spot along his back:

 

 

He was wild-caught and very stressed at the store. Very plump though, and roughly around 2.25". And I got him a lady friend named Isabella, which was 1.5x the girth of Carlos and 2.5". They bonded instantly and did a courtship dance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is how I found them this morning under my leather finger:

 

 

Carlos ate frozen brine, frozen mysis and Hikari Marine S pellets on the very first day he arrived. Isabella has not eaten anything frozen yet (she just arrived yesterday), but she will be trained.

 

I have a 12" (L) x 10" (H) x 3" (W) acrylic hang-in fuge loaded with a bread-loaf-size-full of chaeto arriving in a few days. My tank is only 8G, and the bioload is high, but I'm keeping all params in check by doing 3WCs per week at about 30%.

[BulkRate]

That's an incredible post, ShadowLurker. Awesome pics... I wish my tank was large enough to support a pair!

 

Here's a pic of my little Fio, just hit the 10 month mark!

 

 

 

[k4ndyk1ng]

Can I keep one of these in a 16g cube with a 2g fuge and feeding it live food, or does it need a bigger tank?

I don't want to keep it in bad conditions I want it to be happy

[metrokat]

Shadow! Those fish look amazing, thanks for the pictures and for posting. Wow. I'm both jealous and teary eyed, I love these gentle fish so much. So happy for you. That heart shaped spot is fantastic!

[metrokat]

Can I keep one of these in a 16g cube with a 2g fuge and feeding it live food, or does it need a bigger tank? I don't want to keep it in bad conditions I want it to be happy

That tank size is just fine. Live food is demanding, for sure feed that but try to train the fish to proepared/frozen.

[k4ndyk1ng]

That tank size is just fine. Live food is demanding, for sure feed that but try to train the fish to proepared/frozen.

how would you go about training one of them?