Jump to content
Innovative Marine Aquariums

Second Dragonet?


PDR

Recommended Posts

Would I be able to successfully keep two dragonets in a reefer 350? The tank is about 1 1/2 years old and the fuge and tank is full of pods. I currently have a small spotted mandarin that is fat and happy.

 

There seems to be plenty of extra pods but I'm not sure if adding a second one would work long term.

 

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

Thanks

Link to comment
RIP Sebastian

Would I be able to successfully keep two dragonets in a reefer 350? The tank is about 1 1/2 years old and the fuge and tank is full of pods. I currently have a small spotted mandarin that is fat and happy.

 

There seems to be plenty of extra pods but I'm not sure if adding a second one would work long term.

 

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

Thanks

 

IMO, I'd train them to eat frozen. That is the general consensus on keeping dragonets in tanks. If I were you, I'd order a pair of captive bred green mandarins from Algae Barn. If you want another spotted, though, make sure you have the opposite gender and train them to eat frozen.

Link to comment

 

IMO, I'd train them to eat frozen. That is the general consensus on keeping dragonets in tanks. If I were you, I'd order a pair of captive bred green mandarins from Algae Barn. If you want another spotted, though, make sure you have the opposite gender and train them to eat frozen.

 

 

Didn't know about algae barn, I like that they sell pairs. Unfortunately I don't think training mine would be an option, don't have the extra time and there are too many aggressive eaters at feeding time. I also don't think there is much of a necessity to teach him at this time. He has plenty of food and like I said, is quite fat, so I'm not worried about him.

Link to comment
RIP Sebastian

 

 

Didn't know about algae barn, I like that they sell pairs. Unfortunately I don't think training mine would be an option, don't have the extra time and there are too many aggressive eaters at feeding time. I also don't think there is much of a necessity to teach him at this time. He has plenty of food and like I said, is quite fat, so I'm not worried about him.

 

DO you know what a dragonet diner is? That might be something of interest. If he/she's got lil' fishy rolls, then I'd say you could try adding another one, as long it's of the opposite gender. There may be aggression issues, though, so keep an eye on it.

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Didn't know about algae barn, I like that they sell pairs. Unfortunately I don't think training mine would be an option, don't have the extra time and there are too many aggressive eaters at feeding time. I also don't think there is much of a necessity to teach him at this time. He has plenty of food and like I said, is quite fat, so I'm not worried about him.

No offense but this response tells me no! If you don't have the time to feed at least twice a day, don't bother. A tank that size technically can't hold up to the mandarins need for pods. Your tank is young and pod population will diminish quickly. They eat hundreds to thousand pods a day. All these guys do is pick all day until night. They need a enriched diet of mysis shrimp, either by using the diner method or while the other fish are feeding. There are many ways to separate them to train them to frozen. There is also a chance they won't get along. I had a pair with this situation where the other chased and nipped the other constantly. Anyway, I'd say no but it's always up to you. There is some great threads strictly related to the mandarins and there husbandry. Good luck and hope all goes well!

  • Like 2
Link to comment

No offense but this response tells me no! If you don't have the time to feed at least twice a day, don't bother. A tank that size technically can't hold up to the mandarins need for pods. Your tank is young and pod population will diminish quickly. They eat hundreds to thousand pods a day. All these guys do is pick all day until night. They need a enriched diet of mysis shrimp, either by using the diner method or while the other fish are feeding. There are many ways to separate them to train them to frozen. There is also a chance they won't get along. I had a pair with this situation where the other chased and nipped the other constantly. Anyway, I'd say no but it's always up to you. There is some great threads strictly related to the mandarins and there husbandry. Good luck and hope all goes well!

 

 

Don't mean to sound defensive or anything, but I researched mandarins fairly expensively about 2 years ago and I never heard/read anywhere that they NEED a diet of mysis shrimp. Ive always read that they eat mainly pods, all day every day, which is why in NANO tanks they need to be trained.

 

I also have to disagree with your statement about tank size, I have read extensively about a 75 gallon with a fuge being more than enough for a mandarin to thrive on. Also I'm not sure how many ppl consider a tank thats a few months shy of 2 years old considered "young".

 

Considering how many pods are in my dt and fuge (I can see at minimum 30 per sq in on the glass in my fuge at any given time), I have a hard time thinking this little guy (even fully grown) could ever diminish the population.

 

Also I have read that different species of dragonets don't tend to be aggressive towards each other, just same sex of the same species.

 

I know I could be wrong about some of this, I just have never heard some of what you mentioned.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

I went through though a mandarin faze. I kept a spawning pair, spotted and reds. Everyone has there own methods and beliefs. I'm not saying your a terrible reefer determined to buy and kill another mandarin. I just wanted to give my opinion. I have different methods and think feedings are necessary, more so for smaller tanks I guess. Sounds like you know what you want and that your husbandry works for you!

  • Like 2
Link to comment

I went through though a mandarin faze. I kept a spawning pair, spotted and reds. Everyone has there own methods and beliefs. I'm not saying your a terrible reefer determined to buy and kill another mandarin. I just wanted to give my opinion. I have different methods and think feedings are necessary, more so for smaller tanks I guess. Sounds like you know what you want and that your husbandry works for you!

 

 

I do appreciate your opinion. After re-reading my response I realize it probably came across a little stronger than intended. I'll give it another 6 months and see how the mandy and pods population are doing and revisit the topic :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment

I dont think you could or should keep mandarins purely on pods. they dont exclusively eat pods in the wild either. I had two in an 85 and they ate pods were trained on frozen. They ate roe, black worms, mysis, etc. still difficult to maintain good weight. If you arent willing to train them, you shuldnt have them. I dont have time now for them, so i wont have them again until I have the time to dedicate to them.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

I do appreciate your opinion. After re-reading my response I realize it probably came across a little stronger than intended. I'll give it another 6 months and see how the mandy and pods population are doing and revisit the topic :)

No biggie, online interactions are hard to gauge sometimes. Especially when you don't know the person.

I dont think you could or should keep mandarins purely on pods. they dont exclusively eat pods in the wild either. I had two in an 85 and they ate pods were trained on frozen. They ate roe, black worms, mysis, etc. still difficult to maintain good weight. If you arent willing to train them, you shuldnt have them. I dont have time now for them, so i wont have them again until I have the time to dedicate to them.

I agree and I also quit keeping them for the same reasons, biggest one is how time consuming feedings are.

Link to comment
  • 1 year later...

Since it's been over a year and a half since this thread was posted I'd figured I'd give an update for all the doubters lol. I still have my spotted mandarin, he is still fat and healthy. I have never had to add pods to the tank and I have never trained him to eat frozen food and I have never observed him eating any of the other food that gets added to the tank.

 

I'll post back in another year and let you know how it's going 😉

  • Like 1
Link to comment
24 minutes ago, PDR said:

Since it's been over a year and a half since this thread was posted I'd figured I'd give an update for all the doubters lol. I still have my spotted mandarin, he is still fat and healthy. I have never had to add pods to the tank and I have never trained him to eat frozen food and I have never observed him eating any of the other food that gets added to the tank.

 

I'll post back in another year and let you know how it's going 😉

Glad he’s doing well. Would love to see a piC if you have one to post.  🙂 I need to get a pic to post of my little mandarin too, I don’t have any recent ones. 

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...