Official Mandarin and Dragonet Show off thread

[JoeDigiorgio]

I agree with the above statements about not really thinking about it too much but to clarify, all of them are dragonets but only the splendidus and picturatus mandarins are..."mandarins"...while the scooters are...well...the "scooters" lol it's pretty much a matter of what we'd consider acceptable common names. They're NOT gobies or blennies but at the end of the day, the other 999 out of 1000 customers at these stores don't know that so why would they bother to change anything?

 

In regards to the rubies. I'm pretty much convinced they're just a locality of the standard red scooters and even if not, they've clearly got a limited range. Now that they found them though, it's open season and I wouldn't be surprised if they became very popular very quickly. The only thing keeping occidentalis rare now that we've discovered it is its fortunate geography on the barrier reef where collection is strictly regulated and export is all but non existent. When was the last time Darwin black ocellaris were imported from Darwin which is the only geographic region they come from naturally? Now they're all farmed in Bali and the Phillipines and even then they're not as common and still command a higher price (even if only by a few dollars) than standard occys. Being naturally from the Phillipines doesn't keep any fish rare in the hobby for long.

[Tamberav]

I am so bummed out I found my baby flameback that I got as a grad present in the summer dead last night, I didn't notice him come out to eat then I found his body in the back, I believe my pistol shrimp snapped at him because he always went after my yasha and he was fine a hour before. Do I have the right to blame it on the new ruby red scooter I bought?

 

What kind of pistol is it?

 

 

I know the difference but what's the difference between the two where scooters aren't called mandarins

 

I just think of how scooters move much differently than mandarins. They scoot along the sand (and sleep in it) and mandarins tend to hover

[Tamberav]

Because sometimes the people doing the wholesaling, or the ordering, or receiving the shipment and making the sale label for the tank do not know that they aren't. Used to bother me, now it's just a take-it-in-stride thing. After all, what's important is whether YOU know the difference.

 

Besides, we're in a hobby where the same coral or critter can have a dozen different names & affixed adjectives that affect the price... taxonomic accuracy's not a priority in many cases (as I gaze upon my LE Tyree deepwater ultra myopic Radioactive Dragon's-Eye palythoa mini-colony - after all that's what they were sold as in the store, so it must be what they are, right?).

 

Oh, and now I join your ranks (with a crappy smartphone picture, no less!). Took over a week to get her eating (supposedly trained already ), and I'm still not happy with how sunken her belly is or how much nuisance algae's starting to pop up in the tank. To all of you who've brought theirs back from the brink of starvation - about how long does it take for them to put the weight back on once they start eating?

 

Oh... their belly can stop being concave pretty quickly but I found it takes like 2 or more months before I feel I can confidently see they are putting on some weight and I am not imagining it. Super sausage status takes longer.

[jbb]

Someone felt like coming out to say ELLO

[Based]

 

What kind of pistol is it?

 

 

 

I just think of how scooters move much differently than mandarins. They scoot along the sand (and sleep in it) and mandarins tend to hover

candy striped, he's about full grown, when I first got him when he was tiny I picked him out if the bucket by hand and he snapped at me and it actually hurt, and yeah they do swim much differently, just always wanted to know why scooters are called blennys and mandarins are called gobies lol

[Tamberav]

candy striped, he's about full grown, when I first got him when he was tiny I picked him out if the bucket by hand and he snapped at me and it actually hurt, and yeah they do swim much differently, just always wanted to know why scooters are called blennys and mandarins are called gobies lol

 

Probably to trick people into buying them thinking they are easy fish.

 

idk I can't imagine a candy killing a fish.

[JoeDigiorgio]

Yea me neither. I think YouTube and google would lead you to believe pistol shrimps are more dangerous than they are lol

[Based]

Oh no he legit snapped at me I almost chunked him up at my ceiling in reaction, I'm sure him being triple the size he could take out my flameback if he wanted to

[Tamberav]

Oh no he legit snapped at me I almost chunked him up at my ceiling in reaction, I'm sure him being triple the size he could take out my flameback if he wanted to

 

I still can't imagine nor ever heard of a proven case of a candy cane killing fish. I wouldn't think a shrimp being held in a hand out of water would really be the same thing as him popping at you in the water.

 

Sometimes fish just die for no reason that we can understand. Need fish autopsies

[Tamberav]

I agree with the above statements about not really thinking about it too much but to clarify, all of them are dragonets but only the splendidus and picturatus mandarins are..."mandarins"...while the scooters are...well...the "scooters" lol it's pretty much a matter of what we'd consider acceptable common names. They're NOT gobies or blennies but at the end of the day, the other 999 out of 1000 customers at these stores don't know that so why would they bother to change anything? In regards to the rubies. I'm pretty much convinced they're just a locality of the standard red scooters and even if not, they've clearly got a limited range. Now that they found them though, it's open season and I wouldn't be surprised if they became very popular very quickly. The only thing keeping occidentalis rare now that we've discovered it is its fortunate geography on the barrier reef where collection is strictly regulated and export is all but non existent. When was the last time Darwin black ocellaris were imported from Darwin which is the only geographic region they come from naturally? Now they're all farmed in Bali and the Phillipines and even then they're not as common and still command a higher price (even if only by a few dollars) than standard occys. Being naturally from the Phillipines doesn't keep any fish rare in the hobby for long.

 

A pair of rubys came up in DD and Bluezoo had one too. As much as I wanted them.. I decided to pass on the 200+ price tag DD wanted.

[Based]

Thor is still not eating. Of course I got a mandarin that took frozen right away but can't get a scooter to eat, but then again he's in treatment so im not too worried.

 

 

I still can't imagine nor ever heard of a proven case of a candy cane killing fish. I wouldn't think a shrimp being held in a hand out of water would really be the same thing as him popping at you in the water.

 

Sometimes fish just die for no reason that we can understand. Need fish autopsies

well I am the first case

[Tamberav]

Thor is still not eating. Of course I got a mandarin that took frozen right away but can't get a scooter to eat, but then again he's in treatment so im not too worried.

 

well I am the first case

 

I refuse to believe it unless you have a video of it

 

Scooters are generally easier, I am sure he will come around!

[Tamberav]

OMG GUYS!!! My blue and red mandarin pair is SPAWNING!!! My female looks like she swallowed a beach ball and they were "dancing". I was up late studying and caught them.

[BulkRate]

OMG GUYS!!! My blue and red mandarin pair is SPAWNING!!! My female looks like she swallowed a beach ball and they were "dancing". I was up late studying and caught them.

 

So waitaminute... reds and blue will mate? I mean, I guess that they're both considered Synchiropus splendidus and thus the same species so there's no real reason for them NOT to but the thought never crossed my mind that they WOULD.

 

So... um... Purple Mandarins as the result?

 

Or did I misread this and you've got a pair of each that've both started to get jiggy? I haven't caught up on your "Dragons..." tank thread in awhile. Awesome news, regardless!

[JoeDigiorgio]

According to ORA's page...which I take with a grain of reef crystals....the red is actually a dominant gene and you get a lot of reds from that pairing. But who knows. Tam get a culture of A tonsa going and try raising some. A tonsa actually isn't that hard and its been used successfully.

[Tamberav]

So waitaminute... reds and blue will mate? I mean, I guess that they're both considered Synchiropus splendidus and thus the same species so there's no real reason for them NOT to but the thought never crossed my mind that they WOULD.

 

So... um... Purple Mandarins as the result?

 

Or did I misread this and you've got a pair of each that've both started to get jiggy? I haven't caught up on your "Dragons..." tank thread in awhile. Awesome news, regardless!

 

Yeah, my understanding is they will pair as they are the same fish with different patterns so I bought a red female for my blue boy and well... they did

 

I wish it would make purple mandys lol....

 

The thing is.. if you had a spotted mandarin pair also spawning in the same tank at the same time... you may get CROSS fertilization as seen with different types of clowns and therefor end up with a whole new mandarin mix of blue/red/spotted. Some people hate hybrids but I would be interested to see what crazy psychedelic mandy would come from that.

 

 

According to ORA's page...which I take with a grain of reef crystals....the red is actually a dominant gene and you get a lot of reds from that pairing. But who knows. Tam get a culture of A tonsa going and try raising some. A tonsa actually isn't that hard and its been used successfully.

 

 

 

I don't really have any time to raise babies I may try it once I graduate school if I can find any time then with work and all... but that's more for fun and the experience than anything else. They are probably noobs at spawning right now anyways lol

[BulkRate]

So the end result of a spotted & striped pairing would be what... epilepsy with fins? A swimming Escher painting? Some other poorly qualified but humorous analogy?

 

Thanks for the clarification, Joe. The way everyone was carrying on a year or two ago red mandarins were rare and thus unusually expensive. Love mine though! It's hilarious in that my whole family will be sitting on the sofas (between which is the tank) talking, reading, iPad-ing, or playing and then EVERYONE gets quiet and stares when the fish swims into view.

[JoeDigiorgio]

I read one and only one story of cross fertilization between picturatus and splendidus and the eggs weren't viable.

[marko]

all these mandarins are gorgeous. always wanted one - but dont have the time or room to train one. ill have to just settle for eye candy.

[BulkRate]

Only do it if you're prepared to spend some serious time on the feeding or willing to walk away if it's not already trained. MAKE THEM FEED IT IN FRONT OF YOU AT THE STORE BEFORE BUYING! At least, if it's being sold as such.

 

I was not so discerning even after reading extensively about this. After a year of reworking my tank to be a decent habitat for one I finally came across a small red female splendidus from my favorite local store being sold as trained only to find that this was NOT so. I'd have been ticked, but they gave me such a decent price on exactly what else I'd stated I was looking for and it's such a beautiful fish. Annnnnd I'm stubborn...

 

So now I'm in week 3 of "How to train your Dragonet" and appear to no longer have a starving fish in my tank (the happy way, not the sad one). It HAS been work, but so far well worth it.

[metrokat]

Joe, Bella has been hydrated for over 2 weeks, maybe more. Why aren't they spawning?

Sam is not yet a fat fish but he eats most anything thrown in the tank. Could it be that he is too hungry to spawn?

[JoeDigiorgio]

Joe, Bella has been hydrated for over 2 weeks, maybe more. Why aren't they spawning?

Sam is not yet a fat fish but he eats most anything thrown in the tank. Could it be that he is too hungry to spawn?

 

 

Hey Kat!

 

Its one of two things. They're either spawning at night and you aren't seeing it, or they're not spawning because she's in condition and he isn't. I'd be lying if I said I had a sure fire way to bulk up a skinny fish. I know certain foods are fattier than others. Blackworms and frozen thawed baby guppies got me far. I'd actually love to know how phasezero fattened his picturatus up so significantly.

[Tamberav]

My spotted is freaking fattest mandarin ever and he just eats pods and ova. He will slurp down mysis but I am a jerk and mostly feed ova because its something I know all 4 will eat. Bones is looking so much better too.

 

Could there be a parasite keeping his weight less than ideal maybe?

[MyLiquidBlue29BC]

Wow...I just finished reading this whole thread (it took DAYS! lol!) Thank you all for sharing such great info and success stories...not to mention awesome pics!

[metrokat]

My spotted is freaking fattest mandarin ever and he just eats pods and ova. He will slurp down mysis but I am a jerk and mostly feed ova because its something I know all 4 will eat. Bones is looking so much better too.

 

Could there be a parasite keeping his weight less than ideal maybe?

it's possible. he slurped down live black worms today and also yesterday. He loves food! But he is still not a beer belly.