need help with fingered dragonet Dactylopus dactylopus

[LisaD]

Sorry about this long post, but I'm needing some help, fast! :O

I received a 5" fingered dragonet from Atlantis Aquarium on Tuesday. While it has settled in pretty well, it is not eating, and t he belly is somewhat sunken.

These fish look sort of like a giant scooter blenny. Here's an image.

They have a pair of pectoral fin rays modified to dig through the substrate for worms and other sand life. There is abundant marine life in the sand bed and rock of the tank. Mine buries itself in the sand at night. It also rests on the bottom and swims around. It seems hungry, but won't accept any of t he foods I have offered so far:

frozen mysis - with and w/out Selcon, garlic, vitamins, Vibrance
small live ghost shrimp
adult live enriched brine shrimp

I'm going to try live bloodworms tonight. I am considering shoving a piece of mysis in its mouth.

The fish is in a quiet, calm tank, it is not being stressed or harassed, just not eating. Water parameters are good and the tank is healthy and established. I have not yet heard from Atlantis what they were feeding. I e-mailed them on Tuesday with no response. Sent another e-mail this morning.

Frank Marini suggested deworming, which I can do. But will that help appetite or will the meds inhibit it? What medication and dosage would you recommend? I have praziquantel, fenbendazole (Panacur), Pipzine, metronidazole...

Does anyone have experience with this fish, and can I get any ideas on how to get it to eat? If Atlantis sent me a fish that was not eating, I will be very disappointed. They charge premium prices. I have always been happy with them in the past, but I am starting to get discouraged with the low survival rate of fish I purchased from them. It is true that I have bought fish that are delicate or unusual, but the record of their fish making it in my tanks has been very poor, and I have spent hundreds of dollars with them. (Excuse the whining on the side, frustration coming out.)

 

[dhoch]

Does it seem like it's searching for food in your tank just not interested in taking frozen/live?

i.e. it should be scooting around in the sand and pecking at it (as well as the rocks).

if not it's lost it's appetite and I would do as Frank suggested as that will often reinvigorate appetite (at least it has on fish I've done it with in the past.

If it has not lost it's appetite you might try setting up a "Mandrin Diner" (basically something it can go in with food in it)... try a variety of foods.

My scooter blenny fattened right up on pellets (sometimes soaked in selecon).

Dave

 

[Monkeyfish]

Some dragonets will not accept prepared foods. I don't know anything about this particular species, but he may be looking for pods (like a mandarin).

 

[LisaD]

Does it seem like it's searching for food in your tank just not interested in taking frozen/live?

It's somewhat active, but not really actively hunting for food. It seems to aimlessly wander around the tank. It's not using its "fingers" to stir up the substrate, which is full of the kind of worms it supposedly eats. The tank has a good population of pods and gammarus, I have not seen it hunt at all. The live foods I offered (small ghost shrimp, small feeder fish and adult brine shrimp) were all ignored, as was the frozen mysis. I even tried frozen cyclop-eez, which my mandarin loves. You need to realize though, that this fish has a huge mouth relative to mandarin fish. The fish is a 5-6" dragonet!

Some dragonets will not accept prepared foods. I don't know anything about this particular species, but he may be looking for pods (like a mandarin).

That doesn't seem to be the case (see above).

Thanks for the replies guys, I'll keep you updated. This is a beautiful fish, I would hate to lose it.

 

[FMarini]

Lisa-
try to email or PM Kelly (puffer queen) shes very handy w/ deworming info. I'm not sure if it will stop the fish from eating or make it hungary-er

 

[LisaD]

I sent her a PM, I'm inclined to treat, don't know what else to do, and the stomach is very concave.