mandarin dragonet

M

mykim72

New member
hi all,

i recently setup my tank (50 gallon) this past week, a lot of the water was from other tanks. i got like 20 pounds of live rock and a sump with copepods already in it. i was wondering if its even possible to attempt getting a mandarin at this point with no fish in it. i wanted to be able to "train" or establish him before i got fish. feasible? please help, im about to get him today! im mad impatient haha

right on guys, thanks for the info. when do you think it would be possible to get the dragonet and if my set up is good for him. anything else i should get?
 
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One other thing-have you done all your tests? I know you said the water was from other tanks, but have you tested for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates? I don't think your tank is ready for any fish yet. Impatience in this hobby is a fish's death sentence.
 
right on guys, thanks for the info. when do you think it would be possible to get the dragonet and if my set up is good for him. anything else i should get?
 
Once your cycle is complete you can get one and wean it onto high quality frozen mysis or cyclopeez. Many people (including me) have done it with no problems and have chubby, healthy mandarins.
 
If you get him right now I can almost guarantee he will be dead within 4 weeks. BE PATIENT!!!! Let you tank cycle. Let your pods get established, then get the mandarin. But if you must kill a fish... you must. Nothing we can do about it other than advise you not to (like several others in this thread).
 
seapug-
Did you get a juvenile mandarin and get it to eat mysis and cyclopeeze? I've had 2 mandarins, and neither thrived. Haven't had one in years, but I've been debating whether or not to try one again. I'm not too sure how my orchid dottyback will react though, and for that reason haven't gotten one. The dottyback is a model citizen right now, but don't know if that will be the case with another rock dweller.
 
yea im going to wait on it...just want to see what would be best to keep him alive and happy. should i get fish or just wait and have only the dragonet?
 
Doesn't really matter either way, unless you're getting a territorial fish. Just don't get any damsels and you're good. :)

Brandon
 
I depends on the kind of fish you plan on keeping. Mandarins are pretty shy, and if you have sufficient live rock (20 lbs. is not sufficient however) will spend most of it's time searching for food in the rocks. If you get other fish that like to be in the rockwork that are more aggressive, the mandarin will be stressed. You really need to do extensive research on fish compatability before stocking a tank. Also you don't want to keep something that will compete for food. If you have an idea of the fish you want, post it, and some will be able to help with your questions.
 
Good idea, Mykim. At least wait until you are sure the tank has completely cycled before you put any fish in there. If you want to get a mandarin eventually, stick to fish that eat out of the water column, not bottom feeders. A pair of firefish can be good "first additions" to the tank.

Spoiledcats-- I got two adults (male and female bought at separate times) to take to PE Mysis within a couple days. I did nothing special-- put it in the tank and they went after it. Mandarins are just food snobs. They generally won't eat SF Bay Brand mysis because it's small and mutilated, but they seem to have a hard time resisting any whole fatty, oily food that still has eyes intact-- like Hikari and Piscine Energetics mysis. I've never tried cyclopeez but from what I've heard from others here it seems to be the "other" food they can't resist.
 
We have had great success with our Mandarin. We added him after about four months, after witnessing him eating frozen foods at our LFS. Everything I've read about Mandarins is that they are shy, picky eaters. They haven't met ours. He'll eat anything that's given to him. Frozen bloodworms are his favorite, but he'll eat frozen mysis, cyclopeeze, I even witnessed him eating some cyanobacteria! He is not shy at all. He spends all evening cruising back and forth, staring at us, as if to say "It's about blood worm time, isn't it, people?"

Our theory is that he's so bold because he's the largest fish in our tank. He shares the tank with a firefish, two banggai cardinals, and a neon goby. There's nothing to bully the big, fat Mandarin.

Be patient. Let your tank go through its cycle, and when you're ready for a Mandarin, if you can get lucky and find one taking frozen foods in the LFS, it'll be that much easier to take care of.
 
im really glad i signed up for this forum, all the information is really helpful. to be honest, if i can get the dragonet and 2 clown fish ill be happy. i was also thinking of getting a yellow tang and maybe a flame angel. if those guys dont work with the dragonet then ill get something else. any recomendations?
 
They should work with the mandarin. But never, ever say "if I get this, I'll be happy". It just doesn't happen in this hobby! :lol: At least not for 95% of us... ;)

Brandon
 
Sounds ok to me. You may want to start with the Clown(s) then the Tang, then the Mandarin. I'm not sure on the Flame Angel I don't have experience with those guys.
 
yellow tang in a 50 gallon might be a stretch. Those guys can get pretty big. I think the Kole Tangs are the smallest ones, but even they might be a little cramped in a 50. Big fish in small tanks is a pet peeve of mine. Apart from the stress on the fish, it just doesn't look right.
 
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