Official Mandarin and Dragonet Show off thread

[JoeDigiorgio]

AWESOME! She's a pretty little fishy. She looks a lot like my female but her red bands are thicker. She looks awesome. All you need to do now is keep on giving her live brine from a pipette and by the end of this week, probably much sooner, she will associate the pipette with food. She won't question it when the brine shrimp aren't as 'lively' anymore lol

 

Once they've taken they're first frozen brine shrimp, I completely discontinue live brine. I try to make it a complete transition quickly because I've found that if you try to do it slowly by mixing live and frozen for several feedings, they don't take long to start picking out only the live ones chasing the movement.

 

I'm happy you got her! It's always nice taking home a specific fish that caught your eye when you first saw it. Keep us posted.

 

PS I never got the live brine or black worms today because the weather down here has been terrible all day and I didn't want to leave the house lol tomorrow for sure.

[metrokat]

Joe, he's chasing her after lights are out. Like chasing as if to attack. And she's darting away. is this normal or does Draco need some lessons in dating?

[Nanoboss4]

Take this with a grain of salt but its probably normal to establish territory and dominance:)

[metrokat]

Oh so they go to dinner later eh? Gotcha.

[Jstn]

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff458/jbolton19/78D6CA91-A57E-4841-805D-7120D337AE62-3106-00000181EF54324A_zpsa8e0a4cc.mp4

 

Mandarins bumping uglys

[Veng]

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff458/jbolton19/78D6CA91-A57E-4841-805D-7120D337AE62-3106-00000181EF54324A_zpsa8e0a4cc.mp4

 

Mandarins bumping uglys

:wub:

[JoeDigiorgio]

That's great video there! And yes Kat I would expect him to be a little excited after living alone for so long lol he's been out of the game for a while I imagine LOL

 

If he's still being rough tomorrow just fill up his belly. That's always worked for me when new fish are first introduced.

[AMAYEU]

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff458/jbolton19/78D6CA91-A57E-4841-805D-7120D337AE62-3106-00000181EF54324A_zpsa8e0a4cc.mp4

 

Mandarins bumping uglys

Those beautiful fanlike tails.

[Tamberav]

Wish my guy would grow faster so I could pair him up with a gf. He's kinda small/young.

[metrokat]

Bella has been hiding in the macros a lot. Just fed live brine which she ate.

[JoeDigiorgio]

This is the really fun stage. You get to watch her as she learns when and where she will be fed in the tank and observe how quickly she learns that the pipette or baster or whatever you use means food. When my pumps kick off, my little girls are front and center hovering about 6" above the sand bed to get the first shrimp that come from the baster.

 

Big Red is still shy when all the comotion of opening the lid and unplugging pumps starts but I can tell he's getting curious about what the girls are doing while it all goes on. He's more and more bold with every feeding.

 

Kat it sounds like everything is going well. She still has a strong appetite and that's all that really matters in the first week. Pretty soon Draco is going to notice that she's a lot cuter than his reflection and change his attitude

[metrokat]

I put some brine shrimps eggs on the percolator this morning

[metrokat]

Just ordered 2000 pods from reef2go

[JoeDigiorgio]

LOL that's my next purchase probably next week! I was holding off until my macros filled in a bit for cover.

 

They're pretty established now I'd say.

[JoeDigiorgio]

Just saw the bugs are 50% off...ordering now lol

[Nanoboss4]

This is the really fun stage. You get to watch her as she learns when and where she will be fed in the tank and observe how quickly she learns that the pipette or baster or whatever you use means food. When my pumps kick off, my little girls are front and center hovering about 6" above the sand bed to get the first shrimp that come from the baster.

Big Red is still shy when all the comotion of opening the lid and unplugging pumps starts but I can tell he's getting curious about what the girls are doing while it all goes on. He's more and more bold with every feeding.

Kat it sounds like everything is going well. She still has a strong appetite and that's all that really matters in the first week. Pretty soon Draco is going to notice that she's a lot cuter than his reflection and change his attitude

awwww pics please:)

[metrokat]

Just saw the bugs are 50% off...ordering now lol

yup. I'm going to throw most of it in my fuge maybe use the pipette to feed some directly to Bella.

[JoeDigiorgio]

yup. I'm going to throw most of it in my fuge maybe use the pipette to feed some directly to Bella.

 

OMG, when I throw them in, it's chaos. Amphipods flying in all directions, Cardinalfish darting after them, hundreds of bugs collecting in random corners of the tank with dragonets sneaking up like little lizard-frogs, the crushed coral starts to writhe with pods digging for their lives. It's like playing God for 5 minutes while a natural disaster unfolds in the tank LOL

 

I also like to throw in a pinch or three of spectrum pellets at night for the amphipods to keep their numbers strong. Used to do it during the day but the dragonets got smart and started to wait by the pellets for bugs to come out...really made a dent in their numbers quick that way lol

 

How are the two new lovers doing today?

[AMAYEU]

I have to admit. Went to the LFS to find a female. No mandarin. The owner might order but I told him not to on my account.

 

Did see a nice size red scooter dragonet. Huge dorsal fin. Doing research on compatability with a mandarin. Anyone have experience or thoughts?

[metrokat]

Bella will have nothing to do with Draco. He is acting way bolder since he sniffed her out. I saw him chasing her only a little bit today, not like yesterday. But she made it a point to keep clear of him. Hope the behavior changes.

[Veng]

Just ordered 2000 pods from reef2go

Make sure you count them so they don't short you.

[JoeDigiorgio]

CAUTION: PHOTO DUMP

 

I think I've included every fish that shares the Mandarin Suite but concentrated mostly on the dragonet family going about their daily routine. Once again, excuse the iphone bigfoot quality pics. Enjoy

 

[JoeDigiorgio]

Continued

 

[Nanoboss4]

Bella will have nothing to do with Draco. He is acting way bolder since he sniffed her out. I saw him chasing her only a little bit today, not like yesterday. But she made it a point to keep clear of him. Hope the behavior changes.

hopefully:)

[JoeDigiorgio]

BigRed is reliably eating live brine when the pumps kick off today. By Friday I want to try frozen brine shrimp. How's Bella coming along?