Official Mandarin and Dragonet Show off thread

[AMAYEU]

Turned on my lights to the tank and found Joe sleeping on the sandbed. Seen it before but finally took a pic.

 

 

[metrokat]

how long does it take him to shake off the sand from his slime coat? Draco only sleeps on the rocks.

[AMAYEU]

how long does it take him to shake off the sand from his slime coat? Draco only sleeps on the rocks.

normally all the sand is off him by the time the lights are on.

[JoeDigiorgio]

My spotteds always used to sleep half way buried in the sand too but that stopped when I switched to crushed coral.

[metrokat]

I want to get a female mandarin and hope to find one that is the more orangy coloration. Does anyone know if all colorations of Synchiropus splendidus are compatible with each other?

[JoeDigiorgio]

I want to get a female mandarin and hope to find one that is the more orangy coloration. Does anyone know if all colorations of Synchiropus splendidus are compatible with each other?

 

Yes, the red and blue forms are totally comparable. I had my red male with a regular looking female for almost a year when he died. As I'm typing this I'm making calls to contacts around my area looking for them.

[drtybacn]

here are a couple more at night.

[JoeDigiorgio]

LOL that little boy is pissed off at something!

[drtybacn]

Him and the clown fight for pods all day. But he gets most of them!

[AMAYEU]

 

My spotteds always used to sleep half way buried in the sand too but that stopped when I switched to crushed coral.

I have a grain sandbed

 

I want to get a female mandarin and hope to find one that is the more orangy coloration. Does anyone know if all colorations of Synchiropus splendidus are compatible with each other?

Me too but different species

 

here are a couple more at night.

Turn on the lights... But for what... We dont love them....oops it does not go like that ok, old school rap. I am leaving now. See you next time. Lol.

[JoeDigiorgio]

Me too but different species

 

They're both splendidus for now. There's been speculation of a separation into two different species or even a subspecies kind of like occidentalis because the red breeds true but for now they are considered one species and do breed together without issues.

[YamYam]

My lovely young couple. Spawning but no luck yet with hatching.

[JoeDigiorgio]

My pair used to spawn several times a month before the male died mysteriously. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be picking up a young red splendidus male to introduce to my female.

[metrokat]

My lovely young couple. Spawning but no luck yet with hatching.

JEALOUS!!!! They look awesome.

[AMAYEU]

My lovely young couple. Spawning but no luck yet with hatching.

 

 

My pair used to spawn several times a month before the male died mysteriously. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be picking up a young red splendidus male to introduce to my female.

 

Really interested...Can you describe the mated pairs daily behavior. Do they act similarily to clownfish pairs? Playful fight, etc.

[JoeDigiorgio]

Absolutely not lol I don't like to call them 'mated pairs' but I can't think of a better term for it. Throughout the day they act as though the other doesn't exist, even in small tanks. Obviously they are fed together and all that but beyond that, there is no play or bonding that goes on.

 

In the wild they live in harems kind of like angels. They go about their business searching for food all day, then at dusk the fin flashing and chasing starts. There is some following and showing off and then they go into their rises. I haven't kept more than two of a species together and as far as I know, nobody does, but I think that with enough space and food, it's possible. The only difference I've seen in behavior in 'mated' males is that they make themselves more visible throughout the day. They are always out and about with fins extended making sure they look their best in case any competitors come by.

 

Like I said earlier, mine only spawned several times a month. Healthy pairs tend to spawn nightly. I believe that the poor condition of my male when I got him, and the female's pressure on him to spawn (the female usually initiates) resulted in his inability to reach prime condition. I don't think he was ever as healthy as he could have been after how malnourished he was allowed to become in the store. When he died he was only just under 3", not at all fully grown. He looked healthy on the outside but I doubt if he was on par with the female.

[YamYam]

 

 

 

Really interested...Can you describe the mated pairs daily behavior. Do they act similarily to clownfish pairs? Playful fight, etc.

Daily they do their own thing. Almost oblivious to each other. Tolerating each other as they hunt since they are well fed Every other day an hour before lights begin to dim the male will pester the female for some action. If she's receptive they'll do their dance. If she's got a headache she'll nip at him.

He has bruises to prove it (or was that me?)

[metrokat]

I have a male and am considering getting him a girl friend. Should the female be smaller or bigger than the male?

[AMAYEU]

JoeD and YamYam,

Thanks for the replies. Appreciate the insight and sharing of your experiences.

 

I have a male and am considering getting him a girl friend. Should the female be smaller or bigger than the male?

 

oh oh me too. ???s What if that female was not trained on frozen food, do you think a preconditioned male that eats frozen food would train the female. Show her the ropes and get her comfortable to eat the cyclops and nutramar ova.

[JoeDigiorgio]

Definitely smaller. I've found that the female has to at least have a healthy respect for the male in order for a pair to work out. This goes for both species but especially picturatus. I've found female picturatus to be pretty rough when it comes to mate approval and males of equal or smaller size will be pestered potentially to death while larger males are totally left alone.

 

Btw as I type this, my new red male is acclimating )))))

 

I brought him home in the bag/water he was shipped in and he looks great. He's not very thin, fins intact, only complaint is some slight discoloration on his sides. I'm betting ( and hoping) its just the pale coloration you see in stressed/sleeping mandarins.

 

Pictures by tonight!

[JoeDigiorgio]

JoeD and YamYam,

Thanks for the replies. Appreciate the insight and sharing of your experiences.

 

 

 

oh oh me too. ???s What if that female was not trained on frozen food, do you think a preconditioned male that eats frozen food would train the female. Show her the ropes and get her comfortable to eat the cyclops and nutramar ova.

There is a decent chance the untrained fish will not take long to get jealous of all the eating the other fish does. I truly believe any mandarin in salvageable condition can be transitioned onto frozen mysis/artemia. It also helps that they aren't food aggressive at all. All of mine happily line up side to side and peck at piles of mysis and artemia together. I have gone 7 for 7 on wild fish in the past year and this new one will be 8 for 8. I've trained them for myself and for friends. Picturatus are way less picky but this male will be the third splendidus I've gotten onto frozen; I'll bet in less than a few days.

 

Nothing beats mysis. The fatty acid profile in them and the natural tendency of these fish to eat this type of animal make for a great dietary mainstay. Ova is good to but I've found that it isn't as readily taken by newer fish, probably because eggs are not a natural part of their diet. Ova is very nutritious none the less so worth a try. FWIW I don't even bother getting them on pellets because it usually turns out that fish that naturally have such a selective natural diet, tend to have specific dietary needs and I don't personally think there is a pellet on the market appropriate for them as more than a snack here and there.

[metrokat]

Draco doesn't eat mysis, but loves Ova and new life spectrum pellets, frozen rotifers, fish roe, and cyclops.

I think a new fish would learn eating behavior from Draco but for my own piece of mind I will only bring home a fish that is already eating frozen.

 

Very excited to see the red male pictures!

[JoeDigiorgio]

Definitely. If you're uncomfortable doing it yourself you should definitely only look into ones that are already eating. For the fish's sake if nothing else. Its funny, as successful as I've been getting them onto frozen, Ova was universally rejected by all 7 fish. Goes to show you, they can be picky fish. That probably reflects a natural tendency to eat relatively few different classes of food in the wild. Some will take to the roe type foods while some wont.

 

I don't think you can argue though that the more variety they take the better. Kat, look up some of the work by Matt Pedersen and Matt Wittenrich. They've made incredible strides with these species and also advocate keeping them in smaller aquaria for spot feeding purposes. I think you'd really like their articles in Coral magazine.

[AMAYEU]

Definitely smaller. I've found that the female has to at least have a healthy respect for the male in order for a pair to work out. This goes for both species but especially picturatus. I've found female picturatus to be pretty rough when it comes to mate approval and males of equal or smaller size will be pestered potentially to death while larger males are totally left alone.

 

Btw as I type this, my new red male is acclimating )))))

 

I brought him home in the bag/water he was shipped in and he looks great. He's not very thin, fins intact, only complaint is some slight discoloration on his sides. I'm betting ( and hoping) its just the pale coloration you see in stressed/sleeping mandarins.

 

Pictures by tonight!

Congrats on your new fish. Exciting times. Can't wait for pics.

 

Where did you get the fish from?

There is a decent chance the untrained fish will not take long to get jealous of all the eating the other fish does. I truly believe any mandarin in salvageable condition can be transitioned onto frozen mysis/artemia. It also helps that they aren't food aggressive at all. All of mine happily line up side to side and peck at piles of mysis and artemia together. I have gone 7 for 7 on wild fish in the past year and this new one will be 8 for 8. I've trained them for myself and for friends. Picturatus are way less picky but this male will be the third splendidus I've gotten onto frozen; I'll bet in less than a few days.

 

Nothing beats mysis. The fatty acid profile in them and the natural tendency of these fish to eat this type of animal make for a great dietary mainstay. Ova is good to but I've found that it isn't as readily taken by newer fish, probably because eggs are not a natural part of their diet. Ova is very nutritious none the less so worth a try. FWIW I don't even bother getting them on pellets because it usually turns out that fish that naturally have such a selective natural diet, tend to have specific dietary needs and I don't personally think there is a pellet on the market appropriate for them as more than a snack here and there.

Great success rate. So you currently have only 1 fish and given away the fish you trained from the past?

 

That is great dietary analysis between mysis/ova/pellets. What are your thought on cyclops and its nutritional value for mandarins. Cyclops is crude protein 3.3% min, crude fat 0.4% min, crude fiber 0.3% max, moisture 96.0% max.

[dtitus1]

Dang I was gonna do a 40 breeder so I can get one but had to axe it, now I'm gonna try my hand in a 29. Hopefully I can get one this summer