mandarinfish/dragonet

[BeccaB]

Does anyone have one of these and are they hard to keep?

 

[2OceanLovers]

I have kept them and did a lot of research for it. They are pretty easy fish to keep if you have the right conditions. They feed almost totally on copepods which reproduce in your rock and in a refugium. You definately need a refugium with macroalgae to keep these guys. I would also go as far as to say you need at least 75 lbs of rock in your aquarium to be able to keep the pod population up to the mandarin's appetite. What kind of set-up are you thinking about putting him in?

 

[BangkokMatt]

The chances of it surviving in a 29g biocube with no fuge is extremely slim. Not a wise choice of fish if that is the home you are intending for it.

 

[Tangwich]

I agree with all of the above. Mine is doing great and is getting fatter every day. Have had it for close to two months, but that's in a tank with about 250 lbs of live rock and tons of pods. Won't eat anything else BUT pods.

 

[Dante_JoseCuerv]

Yeah, I conquer. I have one in my 90 gallon and it's by the grace of william shatner that he's in love with flakes, even with a good 60lbs of rock or so all I can really grow are amphipods... and he's not big enough to eat those yet.

In a 29 gallon biocube... Eh... I wouldn't do it, I really wouldn't. If you can find one that's taking prepared foods or you can get a continuous supply of pods in there... then you can think about it, but they eat pretty much from the time when they wake up to the time they go to sleep.

 

[snorvich]

In the right circumstances, they are easy (I have four); in the wrong circumstances, they are impossible. A 29 gallon is not going to work.