ruby red dragonet

[FishN00b83]

yeah I'm guessing it was the biggest one she could see in the sump.

 

[FishN00b83]

having a fish in QT that only eats live food is very stressful lol

 

[jason2459]

having a fish in QT that only eats live food is very stressful lol

Yep. lol

I generally will setup an established tank when planning something like a leopard wrasse or dragonet. Pull out some sand and rock from my sump and be prepared to toss it after it's all done. Sand can be placed in a Tupperware container so you don't have to pull out so much. Get some cheato or other macro can help a lot too.

 

[FishN00b83]

Yep. lol



I generally will setup an established tank when planning something like a leopard wrasse or dragonet. Pull out some sand and rock from my sump and be prepared to toss it after it's all done. Sand can be placed in a Tupperware container. Get some cheato or other macro can help a lot too.

I never see pods in the cheato always in the sand bed of my sump...I don't want to dig some of that up...you think if I pulled some cheato out it would have stuff for it to eat?

 

[jason2459]

I never see pods in the cheato always in the sand bed of my sump...I don't want to dig some of that up...you think if I pulled some cheato out it would have stuff for it to eat?

I would pull some of both out. Doesn't have to be a lot to see if he'll start pecking.

 

[MondoBongo]

do you have any hiding spots for him in QT? PVC pipe, etc...

he really should be foraging about and pecking, but maybe is stressed from the move.

you can also buy some of the bottled pods from the store, then use a pipette to squirt some near him, see if you can interest him.

 

[snorvich]

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.

I agree. Does your LFS run copper in their system? Did you personally see this fish eat at the LFS?

 

[rssjsb]

I've watched scooters (and other pod-eaters) hunt. Most of the time whatever they're pecking at is far too small to see. What you're seeing on your sand bed are probably mysids or amphipods. So don't assume your chaeto has nothing in it just because you don't see anything.

 

[fearyaks]

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.

Ah, thanks for clarifying.

 

[FishN00b83]

do you have any hiding spots for him in QT? PVC pipe, etc...

he really should be foraging about and pecking, but maybe is stressed from the move.

you can also buy some of the bottled pods from the store, then use a pipette to squirt some near him, see if you can interest him.

I do have pic in there. I might have to try that if the brine shrimp didn't hatch yet.

I would pull some of both out. Doesn't have to be a lot to see if he'll start pecking.

I'll do that as soon as I get home

I agree. Does your LFS run copper in their system? Did you personally see this fish eat at the LFS?

I saw him pecking the sand for a while before I asked to take him...idk about the copper

I've watched scooters (and other pod-eaters) hunt. Most of the time whatever they're pecking at is far too small to see. What you're seeing on your sand bed are probably mysids or amphipods. So don't assume your chaeto has nothing in it just because you don't see anything.

I hope so...I'll see what happens when I get home tonight

 

[FishN00b83]

do you guys think tigger pods might be small enough? I might pick a bottle of them up on my way home from work

 

[rogersb]

Not to derail your thread, but are there members here who have kept these fish for a year or longer?

 

[paul87]

Close to 4 months on my pair now. Love these little guys, very active. By far my favorite fish in my tank.

 

[MondoBongo]

Not to derail your thread, but are there members here who have kept these fish for a year or longer?

these little ruby reds are super cute, but i don't personally keep them. however i do keep a closely related type of dragonet, the mandarin dragonet, aka Sinchiropus splendidus.

this is Mushu. she's been with us over a year and a half at this point, and hopefully with many more to go.

 

[rogersb]

MondoBongo - I have a mandarin as well. It's been with me atleast a year if not closer to two years. I've just never seen one of these ruby reds last very long and wanted to know what size they get to if kept a year or more.

 

[Dapg8gt]

I had one for about 6- 8 months until it ended up on the floor one day. I was bummed that it happened, it went from about 3/4" to 1 1/2" over the course of that time and was super healthy. I am fairly confident it would have been around for a long time based on health and activity while it was with me.

The fish is a must have for me for the future, I really liked it's personality and colors. My Lfs hasn't had any in a while though..

 

[paul87]

I had one for about 6- 8 months until it ended up on the floor one day. I was bummed that it happened, it went from about 3/4" to 1 1/2" over the course of that time and was super healthy. I am fairly confident it would have been around for a long time based on health and activity while it was with me.

The fish is a must have for me for the future, I really liked it's personality and colors. My Lfs hasn't had any in a while though..

So sorry to hear! Mine stay very active and are in prime health. My male has ended up in my fuge twice since I've had it. Slips through the overflow box teeth, down the drain, and over a baffle. I hope to have these guys for a long time. Mine do eat prepared foods also. They love Nutramar Ova & Reef Chili. They are very bright, personable fish (as are most dragonets).

 

[paul87]

Here is a video I posted shortly after they where introduced to the tank during feeding in my old 38 gallon.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zm-DyNXjyNY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[neontreefrog5]

i agree with everyone that has suggested the chaeto. ive had dragonets that i personally weaned onto frozen, but no matter how much frozen they eat their brains are wired to look for those little pods running around. they constantly feed, and no pods are going to be too hard for them to eat (copepods at least, not amphipods). the chaeto has been my biggest success in feeding these guys, as my fuge has a ton of chaeto and some caluerpa and it is just covered in pods. you may not see many, but in the dark if you shine a flashlight on a corner of your fuge or look closely at the glass, you will see them scooting around. if you can manage to see some in your fuge you can try to remove some and place them in the DT with the dragonet, maybe it would help get more to him. if keeping a fish that requires live food seems too daunting for you, i would suggest maybe trying to find someone who has had success in keeping them. better watching him go to a new home than to see him die. i can provide a reference photo of my glass to what you should expect to see looking for the copepods, just in case.

 

[FishN00b83]

he's still not eating. I put some cheato in and I did see little pods all over it. the brine shrimp hatched and I put a bunch in there as well...I have literally tried to feed him everything and I've seen him peck 4 or 5 times. right now it's not looking so good. hopefully tomorrow things start to turn around. he's got every kind of food imaginable right now.