ruby red dragonet

[jason2459]

Success with copepod eating fish is normally considered to be one year.

I guess I have a higher standard for success. I've had my mandarin going on 5 years now. And a leopard wrasse going on 3 or 4 I can't remember. It would have been longer for mandarins as I had a mated pair for several years before that I lost in a move due to some falling rock work and I take full responsibility for that accident.

 

[FishN00b83]

Yeah, that's not necessarily true. Even a dragonet that eats mysis will continue to hunt all day long. I don't think you can assume that a scooter will get enough calories from a once-daily feeding of frozen foods, especially in a smaller newer tank. Dragonets that eat prepared foods are likely getting enough to supplement its natural feeding behaviors.

To the OP, how big is your tank? Do you have a refugium? If the tank is a decent size, well established, and doesn't have any major competition for pods (some wrasses, for example), you may have a sufficient pod population that it'll be ok.

125g w a refugium and it's been up for more than a year an a half. I do have a six line but I do have a huge population of pods in my fuge. I was going to put a bag of pods in my fuge a week before the guy goes in the tank. I was also gonna put a container of zoo plankton in the fuge and see what else I can populate for the new comer

 

[jason2459]

I think you'd be fine with out adding in anything like that. Some extra pellets in the refugium would probably work just as well to feed and grow your current pod population.

 

[victorvie]

Try some live brine for a while

 

[jason2459]

paulb's baby brine feeder is about the best you can do IMO to feed them and potentially reduce (note: not eliminate) the required pod population needed. And emphasis on potentially as well pending on your daily upkeep of the feeder as Paul is. Paul also has billions upon billions of various pods in his tank as well.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2166449

 

[rssjsb]

I think you'd be fine with out adding in anything like that.

I agree with that for his display.

QT can be a bit of a challenge for these fish. If your QT does not have a refugium (pretty easy to make with a HOB filter like an Aquaclear), I would put a pile of rubble and maybe chaeto if you've got it, from your display into the QT - preferably at least a few days before you get the fish home. You can try to supplement with bottled pods, but without some refuge, it will be difficult to supply enough to keep up with the fish's metabolism.

Hope this helps.

 

[snorvich]

I guess I have a higher standard for success. I've had my mandarin going on 5 years now. And a leopard wrasse going on 3 or 4 I can't remember. It would have been longer for mandarins as I had a mated pair for several years before that I lost in a move due to some falling rock work and I take full responsibility for that accident.

I was not saying that is my personal standard of success. My leopards are all at least five years with me. That is the standard of success used by many people that keep them.

 

[jason2459]

I was not saying that is my personal standard of success. My leopards are all at least five years with me. That is the standard of success used by many people that keep them.

Sorry didn't mean to imply that either. I agree many have a much lower threshold for success. I still consider myself new to the hobby (I guess I have around 8 years experience now of keeping a saltwater tank) and always learning something new. I certainly don't feel I have a very successful tank but I enjoy it all the same and do my best to maintain it.

 

[FishN00b83]

ruby red dragonet

I got him this morning and got some brine shrimp eggs too. I took 2 20oz bottles and made a quick hatchery with a air pump. I'm hoping they hatch tomorrow and I'll see what happens.

he was pecking at the rocks in the tank, but he wouldn't eat mysis or flakes. I'm hoping tomorrow he'll eat some of the brine shrimp that hatch. I also tossed a container of zoo plankton in the QT to see if he would go after anything in there. he's just scooting all around the bottom of the tank now...such a cool looking little guy.

 

[jason2459]

Beautiful fish FishN00b83. Good luck with it.


Question more for Steve here that may also help OP. Do the ruby red dragonet's prefer or require colder temperatures? More in the lower to mid 70's range compared to the mid to low 80's many keep their reef tanks?

 

[Reef Frog]

Beautiful fish FishN00b83. Good luck with it.


Question more for Steve here that may also help OP. Do the ruby red dragonet's prefer or require colder temperatures? More in the lower to mid 70's range compared to the mid to low 80's many keep their reef tanks?

I heard the same thing you did and did some research. Hard facts were, well, hard to come by.

I looked into this last year by talking to some of the major wholesalers who import & distribute the RRD. They were not not sure exactly where they are collected or at what depth, but it was probably in the vicinity of the Philippenes.

So I wasn't able to get an accurate environmental profile to make an educated guess. These fish are supposedly new or at least recent to the hobby so I don't think there is a large body of knowledge on it or if it is tropical or sub tropical.

FWIW the wholesalers keep them at standard reef temps but above 75F. Similar species are indeed found at depth and in the seas between the Philippenes and south of Okinawa, so maybe that's where the idea came from. But I don't know. I hit a dead end.

 

[FishN00b83]

Beautiful fish FishN00b83. Good luck with it.





Question more for Steve here that may also help OP. Do the ruby red dragonet's prefer or require colder temperatures? More in the lower to mid 70's range compared to the mid to low 80's many keep their reef tanks?

thanks!

I heard the same thing you did and did some research. Hard facts were, well, hard to come by.



I looked into this last year by talking to some of the major wholesalers who import & distribute the RRD. They were not not sure exactly where they are collected or at what depth, but it was probably in the vicinity of the Philippenes.



So I wasn't able to get an accurate environmental profile to make an educated guess. These fish are supposedly new or at least recent to the hobby so I don't think there is a large body of knowledge on it or if it is tropical or sub tropical.



FWIW the wholesalers keep them at standard reef temps but above 75F. Similar species are indeed found at depth and in the seas between the Philippenes and south of Okinawa, so maybe that's where the idea came from. But I don't know. I hit a dead end.

I wasn't really able to find a lot of information on them either. I keep my tank at 78 so hopefully he's happy once he hits the big tank.

 

[snorvich]

Question more for Steve here that may also help OP. Do the ruby red dragonet's prefer or require colder temperatures? More in the lower to mid 70's range compared to the mid to low 80's many keep their reef tanks?

There are some fish (as catalina gobies, some butterfly fish (e.g. wrought iron), blue spotted jawfish, etc.) that do better at lower temperatures than what most keep their tanks. This fish is not one of those.

 

[fearyaks]

Steve - I found the post I had read previously re: Mandarin quarantining. In fact, it appears in a post you made six or seven years ago. Do you feel that this approach is still valid and does it apply to Ruby Reds?

Thanks!
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13567110&postcount=2

 

[snorvich]

Steve - I found the post I had read previously re: Mandarin quarantining. In fact, it appears in a post you made six or seven years ago. Do you feel that this approach is still valid and does it apply to Ruby Reds?

Thanks!
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13567110&postcount=2

Since making that post, I have seen the number of fish suppliers that run copper in their systems increase. Copper can mask parasites and I have seen the incident rate of velvet increase dramatically in that time. As such I quarantine all fish and suggest that for others as well. The slime coat on dragonets makes them "resistant" to ich but does not make them resistant to other parasites.

 

[MondoBongo]

I got him this morning and got some brine shrimp eggs too. I took 2 20oz bottles and made a quick hatchery with a air pump. I'm hoping they hatch tomorrow and I'll see what happens.

he was pecking at the rocks in the tank, but he wouldn't eat mysis or flakes. I'm hoping tomorrow he'll eat some of the brine shrimp that hatch. I also tossed a container of zoo plankton in the QT to see if he would go after anything in there. he's just scooting all around the bottom of the tank now...such a cool looking little guy.

he's a cutie.

you can also try him on live black worms and live white worms as supplemental feeding while he's in QT. go light on the blackworms when you drop them in. they only tend to last a few seconds in saltwater, but my mandy likes to gobble them down like spaghetti.

nutramar ova and frozen cyclop-eeze are also possibilities if you can find them. other frozen foods that are on the smaller side can also be tried for the short term. i've had more success getting my mandy interested in things soaked in selcon as well.

are you doing tank transfer, or just watch and observe?

 

[FishN00b83]

he's a cutie.



you can also try him on live black worms and live white worms as supplemental feeding while he's in QT. go light on the blackworms when you drop them in. they only tend to last a few seconds in saltwater, but my mandy likes to gobble them down like spaghetti.



nutramar ova and frozen cyclop-eeze are also possibilities if you can find them. other frozen foods that are on the smaller side can also be tried for the short term. i've had more success getting my mandy interested in things soaked in selcon as well.



are you doing tank transfer, or just watch and observe?

Thanks! I always observe for a week to make sure they're eating and then I do TT w/ prazi. then I watch for another 2 weeks. I'm a little concerned that he hasn't eaten anything since I put him in. I put a few mysis, pellets, and a container of zoo plankton. I can't see the zoo stuff so he might be eating it, I just haven't seen him peck yet.

I have brine shrimp brewing now, hopefully they hatch today and I can put some in the tank. I would also like to see if I can catch a few pods somehow and get em in the tank. I'll see what happens when I get home later.

 

[jason2459]

If you don't see him pecking he's not eating. He should literally be pecking at something all day. The only time I haven't seen my mandarins not pecking at something is when they're sleeping in the middle of the night or when I had a pair and shortly after the daylight lights went out they would get their jiggy on.

 

[FishN00b83]

my wife actually caught a pod a tossed it in there...she said he's not interested at all

 

[jason2459]

my wife actually caught a pod a tossed it in there...she said he's not interested at all

I assume then it was a larger amphipod shrimp looking thing? Mandarins generally go for the tiny copepods IME. My wrasses and other fish devour the larger ones.