Official Mandarin and Dragonet Show off thread

[cjm3fl]

Really nice video. Thanks for sharing.

The new Rudy is stunning.

BTW, the baby clowns look great too!

[JoeDigiorgio]

Lol thank you! They really benefit from all the tiggers, cyclops and mysis bits that I'm constantly dumping in there.

[metrokat]

Nice video Joe. Oh how I wish I had a low flow tank for my Mandy.

[JoeDigiorgio]

That tank is run on a sponge filter. Whatever flow they get from the airlift is it lol

[JoeDigiorgio]

Alright guys! My 37gal former Caribbean biotope is emptied and read to be transformed into the dragon(et)'s lair.

 

WHAT ROCK SHOULD I USE?!?

 

If you check out videos online of wild mandarins they're always weaving through acropora thickets. I was thinking maybe tonga branch? It's so dense though. Idk how well the aqua scape will look. Hmmmmmmm.

[metrokat]

Uncured rock from Gulf Live Rock.

[pgrVII]

My ruby red

[pgrVII]

My ruby red is pretty awesome,he loves to eat prime reef flakes. Also takes frozen anything you put in there. I've watched him up in the water column with the other fish grabbing food. Usually a dorsal display is enough to ward off anyone that's a little food greedy.

[JoeDigiorgio]

Chirp. Chirp.

[JoeDigiorgio]

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/manddisfaqs.htm

 

I have a mandarin in quarantine/training with some bumps or bubbles or something on the back of his neck. It's not Ick spots, they're the exact color of his skin (making photos next to impossible, which is why I provided that link). The bumps look just like the first mandarin pictured there but there are fewer, like about 3-6 spots on mine.

 

This has been brought up in a lot of forums online that I've seen in my research but nobody has any answers, just a bunch of speculation that I've already done myself lol the threads tend to just drop off after a bunch of shots in the dark about possible diseases it could be.

 

Has anyone in this group actually seen and dealt with this? He's not the only fish in quarantine so if its transmittable I'd like to know that too. He acts very normal, eating and exploring. He's active and it doesn't seem to bother him but I don't want to take him or the others out of quarantine without some answers. Time wise, they're ready to move to the display but this popped up within the last several days so I'm hesitant.

 

Thanks in advance guys!!!

[JoeDigiorgio]

Yea he's getting more bumps...hmmm

[JoeDigiorgio]

So I took the mandarins from my quarantine to one of the best LFS probably in existence, at least from a serious hobbyist's perspective.

 

The owner is Lance Ichinotsubo, he literally wrote the book on fish disease and the hobbyist's perspective on it. He took a scraping of my males slime coat and we got an excellent look at it under the microscope. Ciliate protozoans, similar in morphology to brooklynella and amyloodinium but not identical to either in his opinion (which I tend to trust). It was crazy seeing them so vividly, with their evil little cilia beating away.

 

Treating with chloroquine phosphate at 15mg/l for 3 weeks. Fingers crossed for my summer breeding projects lol

[kimberbee]

So I took the mandarins from my quarantine to one of the best LFS probably in existence, at least from a serious hobbyist's perspective.

 

The owner is Lance Ichinotsubo, he literally wrote the book on fish disease and the hobbyist's perspective on it. He took a scraping of my males slime coat and we got an excellent look at it under the microscope. Ciliate protozoans, similar in morphology to brooklynella and amyloodinium but not identical to either in his opinion (which I tend to trust). It was crazy seeing them so vividly, with their evil little cilia beating away.

 

Treating with chloroquine phosphate at 15mg/l for 3 weeks. Fingers crossed for my summer breeding projects lol

 

Glad you were able to figure it out with his help!

[JoeDigiorgio]

Glad you were able to figure it out with his help!

 

More importantly, I hope this works because from what I've seen online, it's not very unusual to see these symptoms in mandarins but it seems like nobody is ever really successful in figuring out what it causing it or how to treat. It would be nice for people googling these symptoms in the future to stumble onto this thread and get answers, along with the best in dragonet care guides.

[Nstocks]

Here's a video of the Mandarin I've had for 2 weeks now. Not sure what he is doing here, perhaps dancing! (he always stays in that corner, under the return line)

 

Anyway, he's sadly lost some weight and doesn't eat very often... I've poured around 5 litres of pods in the tank and 3 litres in the sump with 10KG live rock. I bought a dragonets den for training but he isn't interested. I feed the tank mysis shrimp too but no luck. I've just hatched baby brine shrimp to see if he will eat that.

 

Such a fascinating tank mate that I want to keep healthy, I know how tricky they can be but with a variety of foods that I'm offering, there's not much more I can do

 

 

 

[JoeDigiorgio]

Here's a video of the Mandarin I've had for 2 weeks now. Not sure what he is doing here, perhaps dancing! (he always stays in that corner, under the return line)

 

Anyway, he's sadly lost some weight and doesn't eat very often... I've poured around 5 litres of pods in the tank and 3 litres in the sump with 10KG live rock. I bought a dragonets den for training but he isn't interested. I feed the tank mysis shrimp too but no luck. I've just hatched baby brine shrimp to see if he will eat that.

 

Such a fascinating tank mate that I want to keep healthy, I know how tricky they can be but with a variety of foods that I'm offering, there's not much more I can do

 

 

 

I see youre located in England. It is my understanding that there is a product available on your side of the pond called Lobster Roe by Ocean Nutrition. Try that.

[Nstocks]

I see youre located in England. It is my understanding that there is a product available on your side of the pond called Lobster Roe by Ocean Nutrition. Try that.

 

Thanks, I'll give that a try. If he does eat them, would there be any long-term downside to lobster eggs? I know roe(?) isn't good long term.

[pgrVII]

I've had very good results with prime reef flake both my dragonets took it immediately, my ruby surfs the water column searching for it.

[JoeDigiorgio]

I don't think there would be any ill effects of feeding it long term. I fed mine a similar product for years and they were in great shape.

 

I'm pretty sure hell eat it, but variety is always better. Use something he likes to flavor things he doesn't so much. Next thing you know he'll be eating mysis and brine and lobster roe and who knows what else.

I've had very good results with prime reef flake both my dragonets took it immediately, my ruby surfs the water column searching for it.

Not the first time I've heard this actually.

[pgrVII]

I don't think there would be any ill effects of feeding it long term. I fed mine a similar product for years and they were in great shape.

I'm pretty sure hell eat it, but variety is always better. Use something he likes to flavor things he doesn't so much. Next thing you know he'll be eating mysis and brine and lobster roe and who knows what else.

 

Not the first time I've heard this actually.

Theres gotta be something to it.

[pgrVII]

Sorry so fuzzy, he was displaying to the angel fish so had to take it quickly.

[HarryPotter]

Well I guess I can put a picture of this Dragonett here then!!

 

Bought it by mistake (thought it was a Gony or Blenny) and it has a sunken stomach

 

[JoeDigiorgio]

LOVE the rubies. I'm so hoping I get a good run at breeding them this summer.

This little disease issue in my quarantine is really cramping my style.

[jamescstein]

Well I guess I can put a picture of this Dragonett here then!!

 

Bought it by mistake (thought it was a Gony or Blenny) and it has a sunken stomach

 

Your LFS probably had/has it listed as a Scooter Blenny many still list them that way. But your right its s dragonett. Hope you can get it eating.

 

Wife just picked up a male spotted mandy to go with the 2 girls she already had. Now she has

a spawning pair of greens

a spawning trio of ruby reds

a trio of spotted still in QT being trained onto prepared food.

[JoeDigiorgio]

Your LFS probably had/has it listed as a Scooter Blenny many still list them that way. But your right its s dragonett. Hope you can get it eating.

 

Wife just picked up a male spotted mandy to go with the 2 girls she already had. Now she has

a spawning pair of greens

a spawning trio of ruby reds

a trio of spotted still in QT being trained onto prepared food.

Any luck with raising any? You had larvae recently right?