ORA Mandarin Dragonets!!!!!

[dpdp225]

Debbie, glad to hear that your blues are doing well. You might want to try spectrum small fish formula. ORA has written in various places that the blues in general prefer the pellets.

Yes, after reading what they fed them on Glass Box Design I went and bought all of it. Tried a little bit of everything one at a time. They wouldn't touch and still won't touch the pellets. But what they do eat is the Nutramar Ova. I tried treating in with Selcon this morning, and I don't think that went over too well because they left it all in the jar. They go in the jar eat a bite or two, then go back to hunting. Here's a video link...the male is going in and eating then goes back out. The female just keeps making sure the food is there. if she gets really hungry she just goes in and stuffs herself. The jar contains Nutramar Ova.

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They're much more relaxed than the first couple days. I plan to move them into the tank probalby next weekend maybe. I want to time it after the clown eggs hatch so my female isn't quite as territorial. I also need to cover the Vortech and want to put netting over the overflow slots so my fish stay in the display.

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

Debbie where did you buy your blue mandarins??

 

[dpdp225]

Debbie where did you buy your blue mandarins??

You must've missed it, as I answered your first post on that... The fish gallery.

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

Oops sorry! Thanks!

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

do you know if they are getting anymore mandarins in or if they ship fish?

 

[dpdp225]

do you know if they are getting anymore mandarins in or if they ship fish?

I'm pretty sure they don't ship fish. If you're not local to Dallas, you should check with a local LFS who sells ORA products. But I don't think ORA will be shipping any more Mandarins until September but I don't know if it's target or blue. At least that's what I was told.

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

None of my LFS are an ORA client so i have to order one from somewhere.

 

[velvetelvis]

There's a place called Sustainable Reefs that is taking pre-orders on their site. I don't know if it's OK to link to a non-sponsor, so I won't post one here.

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

Yeah i already ordered a female blue from there.

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

My ORA spotted mandarin. First day i got him. Hes a lot fatter now

My ORA spotted mandarin. First day i got him. Hes a lot fatter now

Img_0020.jpg

 

[velvetelvis]

I dropped my spotted mandarin off at my friend's coral farm today. He now shares a huge soft-coral propagation system with a pair of yellow tangs. And wouldn't you know it--about two minutes after being dropped into his new home, the little wretch began poking around and snapping at pods. ::facepalm::

 

[dpdp225]

Yesterday afternoon I moved the critter cage with the mandarins into the main tank. They spent so much time trying to get to the main rock drooling that I decided to go ahead and let them out. I turned the cage on its side and the male was the first to leave. The female lagged behind so I went ahead and moved the rock out from inside the cage and coaxed her into the tank, and removed the cage. They both went to the rocks and started eating. So cute to see the male when the flasher wrasse goes by... he raises his little fin and puffs himself up like he's all bad and stuff. Jeez my peppermint shrimp are way bigger then him. The jar is in the tank but a nassarius snail went in and cleaned out all the Nutramar. I don't think the mandarins are the least bit interested right now in anything but pods, so really doesn't matter.

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

I also set up a mandarin dinner and the jar has an opening of 3/4 of an inch tall and 2 inches wide but the yellow tang i have is so small that he can fit inside it and he eats all of the food before the mandarin can. I also had a small baby food jar in there but the yellow tang could also fit in there. I dont know if there is a bottle he cannot get in.

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

I was just looking at my tank and realized that there was little white things that look like snowflakes sticking to the glass in my tank. The center of their body is a small white circle and then ther is several legs and some of them look like they have attenas. does anyone have these in their tank? I dont think its a parsite because none of my fish have these things sticking to them but they dont look like a normal copepods. Help anyone?

 

[olemiss reb]

I was just looking at my tank and realized that there was little white things that look like snowflakes sticking to the glass in my tank. The center of their body is a small white circle and then ther is several legs and some of them look like they have attenas. does anyone have these in their tank? I dont think its a parsite because none of my fish have these things sticking to them but they dont look like a normal copepods. Help anyone?

hydroids or isopods, too small to get a pic?

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

hydroids or isopods, too small to get a pic?

they dont move like pods do here is a pic to what they look like. Except only one circle and visible to the human eye

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

hydroids or isopods, too small to get a pic?

Here is a picture of it but i think its too high quality. yeah i have a great photo but dont know how to downsize it. i will try to do it now though.

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

definately hydroids

 

[Reef Keeper 14]

Turns out the are hydroids and there is hundreds of them in my tank. They are completely harmless and a sign of a healthy system

 

[pweissma]

Been away for a week and just got back. I've now had my ORA green mandarin for 3 weeks. The guy who took care of my tank for the week I was away did nothing special for the mandarin so before I left I put a bottle of Nutramar Tigrio (bottled copepods) into the tank. When I got back I dropped a small piece of Ova into the tank which the mandarin ignored despite it landing on his back. But he's looking healthy, just like he did when I left, not plump but not skinny either. Last week I posted a picture of him on this thread from the back to show his plumpness level. I've only seen him eat once but after three weeks he must be eating or he'd be really skinny. I would prefer him to be more of a voracious eater but I think he's filling up on his natural food which is copepods. This would explain why he's not so interested in Ova or bloodworms. He is somewhat active moving slowly around the tank.