My new Ruby red dragonet

[Zacharoo]

Awesome looking fish! How big do they get?

 

[teemee]

Beautiful fish, I too have been seeing a lot of pics of these lately.
I wonder if anyone has had them mixed w/ any green or red mandarin's?
I'm curious if there are any issues in them getting along.

I have a pair of the ruby reds and a pair of target mandarins. They swim by each other all the time, and couldn't show the least bit of interest. (My tank is 56g).

 

[NYCEnglish]

The male is the one with the large yellow dorsal fin.

I just got mine tonight from my LFS. Within 5 minutes of getting into the tank, she is already grazing for pods on the sand. She also likes staying at the front of the tank and does not seem to be scared of anyone Hopefully she starts eating frozen food soon. Until then I'll be getting some Reef Stew.

By the way, does anyone know how to differentiate a male from a female?

 

[Arch4ngel]

Hey im in moreno valley, ca. Anyone know a good lfs I can get a pair of these from.

 

[mark54321]

Hey im in moreno valley, ca. Anyone know a good lfs I can get a pair of these from.

Keep checking DD, they had a pair not long ago , sold for $229.

 

[MaiC]

Keep checking DD, they had a pair not long ago , sold for $229.

Wow $229? I bought mine for $25 each. Maybe if you know anyone in Miami you can have them shipped.

 

[MaiC]

They are quite common in my country. LFS sells them at around $10 each which is about US$8. They are imported by the bucket loads since last month. Really nice fish, but I haven't got one because I'm not sure if I have enough pods in my tank.

I was worried about my pod population, so I put my pair in a small tank by themselves until they get a little more size and my pods multiply in the big tank. I feed them live baby brine.

 

[HVAC Guy]

Some of you are lucky. They are selling around here for $60-100 each. I haven't seen one over 2in. The males have the larger dorsal fins and they also have the black on their side fins. The females usually have mostly yellow side fins.

 

[RhiannonB]

Just got one of these guys last night, I had never seen or heard of them until the LFS pointed them out to me (they were hiding under rock and the guy had to pick the rock up to show me). Im excited about him and am considering going back and getting the female. Anyone know if they thrive more in pairs? After reading this thread, Im even more excited about the purchase because I paid 10 bucks for him.

 

[ReeferKimberly]

I had my Green Mandarin about 3 months. I added a ruby red dragonet a month ago. They were only eating pods and have shown no aggression.

I wonder if there are actually 2 different species out there...my male's dorsal is different and not connected to the fin behind it. Such interesting little fish. I purchased mine for only $24 and have had about a month. He is doing great!

 

[ReeferKimberly]

I grabbed one of these beautiful little fish from my LFS on sale for 40$ hes a small little guy but very cute and stays in view 95% of the time =) couldnt be happier. Feeding on live and frozen brine for me.

You got a little girl Notice the different dorsal and lack of green/black band on yellow fin.

 

[crabbyreef]

In case they're not, COVER YOUR TANKS! Yesterday I found my ruby red dragonet on the floor, dried up and dead. What a shame, he was a beautiful male enjoying a pod filled 90 gal.

Ugh

 

[ReeferKimberly]

Sorry to hear that, I would be heartbroken. Mine is covered as I have an eel (who has lived for years with a clown goby and other fish so I am not overly concerned about him eating him). Anyways, yeah sorry man and thanks for the tip.

 

[pelu]

These fish are so cute, I love them! I can't find very much information on them-- would they do well in a bare bottom tank?