Blue Mandarin Dragonette

Q

qterry22

New member
I bought this awesome fish from a lfs about a week ago. They advised me that they are difficult fish to keep and you need the appropriate set up to keep them. I had done my research and realized my tank was more than adequate. When I went to pick him up he was a bit lethargic but very colorful and wasn't to thin.

I was concerned about not being able to QT a fish bought from a lfs that used one large system to house all their fish. The lfs rep told me that he QT's all his fish however with this specific kind your more likely to kill it in QT and that they are very resistant to most fish diseases and bacteria (I had already known this from research but was still concerned). They rep gave him a 75% survival ratio if I could get him eating. Up for the challenge I bought the fish! :uzi:

So after acclimating the fish I released him without a trip to the QT. I have been nervously examining my tank everyday since. :uhoh3:

To my enjoyment he started eating almost immediately and I have yet to see any negative effects to my tank since adding him.

Here are some pics of him.


URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/526/020acs.jpg/
020acs.jpg
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NOW HERE COMES THE MOMENT I ALMOST FAINTED!!!!!

Tonight while up late finishing a cover letter for a resume I decided to ninja my tank with my flashlight from my iphone. Here is what I noticed almost immediately and it made my heart drop to my stomach!




I was just about to reach in with the net and scoop him out but decided to do some research first. Thankfully I did because after reading multiple forum threads I realized he was sleeping! :celeb3:

So for anyone out there with a Blue Mandarin Dragonette new or old...dont panic when you catch them sleeping. I read that it is unusual to see this but its not exactly totally uncommon either. LOL I also read that most hobbyist who experience this for the first time panic and think the fish is dead. I have officially joined that club. So feel free to laugh, cry(from hysterically laughing because you did the same), or share your similar experiences.

Thanks for reading

Q
 
ya, i crapped my pants the first time i saw mine sleeping, except when mine was sleeping he has no color, he is almost white, looks dead as a door nail,
now i have a male female pair in my tank, they are awsome fish...
 
Lukel said:
ya, i crapped my pants the first time i saw mine sleeping, except when mine was sleeping he has no color, he is almost white, looks dead as a door nail,
now i have a male female pair in my tank, they are awsome fish...
Click to expand...

Haha luckily mine kept some color. I would like to add a female but have no way of telling which gender they are. These fish are so beautiful. I would like a female green spotted one or something with a slightly different color or pattern. If you have any recommendations please let me know.

Mully said:
Heart stopping moment for sure!! Thanks for sharing!!
Click to expand...

Haha...totally. This hobby is so fulfilling. Every time I think I know something I learn one more. Its like the knowledge and experience keeps coming. I just started my clown breeding project and wow....so much to consider and so many details that are vital to success. I have a thread in the system builds if you care to follow. :beer:
 
qterry22 said:
Haha luckily mine kept some color. I would like to add a female but have no way of telling which gender they are. These fish are so beautiful. I would like a female green spotted one or something with a slightly different color or pattern. If you have any recommendations please let me know.
Click to expand...

it is tricky at first, but after you have seen a few it gets easier, yours is a MALE Green Mandarin Dragonett, you can tell by the spike on the dorsal fin, females are missing the spike

these are googled pics, not my pics
FishBreed_2_165_1.jpg


a female is missing the spike, it looks like they have several little spikes

p-26145-green-mandarin.jpg



Here is a pair
MandarinGreenPair.jpg
 
Lukel said:
it is tricky at first, but after you have seen a few it gets easier, yours is a MALE Green Mandarin Dragonett, you can tell by the spike on the dorsal fin, females are missing the spike

these are googled pics, not my pics
FishBreed_2_165_1.jpg


a female is missing the spike, it looks like they have several little spikes

p-26145-green-mandarin.jpg



Here is a pair
MandarinGreenPair.jpg
Click to expand...


Thank you so much!!! Do I have to add a female green mandarin dragonette or can I add a female dragonette of a different color and pattern?
 
My Mandarin also does the sleeping thing at night. I've also got mine eating pretty much any fish food. When I feed he gets all excited and loves brine and such.
 
LOL I almost fainted the first time too! One night my mandrin must not have wedged herself in very well and got caught up in the current while she was sleeping. I really almost had a heart attack when I saw her that pale and floating around the tank. Luckily she was perfectly normal the next morning.
 
When I first seen this I was flipping as well! My wife was freaking out when she seen it. She was texting me saying the fish was dying because it was turning white and wasn't moving. I haven't seen it white while sleeping so maybe it only does this occasionally
 
Haha...I would love to see some pics of your Mandarins when they are all bright beautiful and glowing....and then one of them when they look like a zombie fish. Pics always add flavor. Its cool to see so many people having had similar experiences. Makes me feel a bit less newbish! :)

I hope this thread will help future Mandarin owners.
 
Be careful adding a second one to your tank, there might not be enough pods to sustain two of them and then you would lose them both.
 
When my spotted mandarin came home with me the first night I was looking at the tank with the lights off (didn't have blue leds yet) and freaked and immediately tested all my parameters. Then the next morning I saw sand on him and thought it was ick, (yes I know they are very resistant to ick) and almost began to medicate until I noticed the spots were moving around in different places every time I saw him. I soon realized it was just sand.
 
I got a pair from my lfs about two weeks ago. I made them a mandarin diner and they love it. Here is a picture... they both go in at the same time to eat but I dont have a good pic of them together:

IMG_2128_zpse2e6ac37.jpg


I purchased this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NE69EY/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I drilled a small hole on the top near the end and squeeze brine and mysis shrimp into it with this:

http://www.amazon.com/Kent-Marine-00856-SeaSquirt-Feeder/dp/B0009YF4BC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361694052&sr=8-1&keywords=kent+feeding

I put a rock in there to make it seem more natural to them... if that really matters. They pick the food off the rock and crawl all around it to find some snacks. As soon as I get near the diner with the food they come running. MAN can they eat!!!!!!!
 
a strey hitchiker anemone tried to eat my baby female mandarin yesterday

a strey hitchiker anemone tried to eat my baby female mandarin yesterday

i was looking at my tank yesterday, wen all of a sudden i noticed my little baby female mandarin was stuck under a rock, i remember seing a weird looking anemone under that hole before... seen in this picture

pest010_zps25d2976e.jpg


here is a vid of my mandarin stuck in the little nem....

http://youtu.be/kUFnOBe3t0g

now it seems to be paralized from mid dorsal fin and back..... i hop it survives..... i poured kalk paste on the nem, then gently helpd the mandarin out, and then filled the hole with kalk paste.....
 
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