Mandarin Dragonet

[Cyclura]

I know these guys traditionally should be placed in a mature 55-75 gal tank with plenty of live rock. However, Ive been considering the possibility of adding one to my 29gal horse tank.

Now, given that i realize this is not common, how would i go about locating a mandarin that is eating frozen foods? How much could i expect to pay and above all....if i through some miracle come across this particular animal, would it be a good idea to add one into this small of a tank with 2 seahorses?

I have read that they are very slow swimming and non-aggressive feeders which to me means if i could solve the feeding issue, one would be perfect for my tank.

Comments on this?

[saxman]

your question has plagued many a SH keeper. the only way to find such a fish is to get your booty over to the LFS and ask them if they have a mandy that takes prepared food. if they tell you "yes", ask to see the fish eat. as you're watching the fish eat, look it over for damage, thinning (it should be nice and fat), signs of disease, etc.

one thing to remember is that a mandy that eats prepared food can suddenly stop for no apparent reason and you'll need to be prepared to feed it live foods. at that point, your SH will be in direct competition with the mandy for food, altho most adult SH will ignore copepods and BBS, which the mandy will eat with relish.

there's a nice article in the Reefreaders Articles section of this site that may help a bit more.

[Seahorsedreams]

Reefreaders - Mandarin Dragonette (http://www.reefreaders.com/content/view/24/)

:-)

[saxman]

Reefreaders - Mandarin Dragonette (http://www.reefreaders.com/content/view/24/)

:-)

yeah...i know...i was too lazy...er, busy to post the link...yeah...busy, that's it! :D

[Cyclura]

thanks to both of you. Now that theres some hope for us nano-keepers to keep mandarins the possibility seems exciting. Tomorrow ill start making some calls to some area LFS and see what people have available.

If anyone has any more info on training mandarins to take frozen myself, id appreciate it. The only thing thats stopping me is lack of knowledge and intimidation of sustaining a pod culture for long enough to get them trained on frozen.

[Seahorsedreams]

It's going to be a daily exposure thing to train them. And there is no guarantee they will ever take it. If you are going to undertake one, make sure you have the option to bring it back to the LFS or secure some other plan for it if you feel you can't support it long term.

One time I had 4 WC horses in a tank... the 2 Barbs would eat everything...frozen BS, live brine and live ghost shrimp. The femle Reidi would eat the live brine and shrimp and the male Reidi would only eat the live shrimp. Could not get him to take it no matter what I did.

While placing them in QT is the best place for him to be. Just introduce the prepared every day before the live.

[PreauxPhoto]

There is no doubt that you can keep one alive in a 29gal but the question is for how long? The biggest problem will come from starvation. The pod population will not be able to support it. Even if it takes frozen BS it will eventually starve to death. Frozen BS have little nutritional value as far as what a mandarin needs. Toy could supplement but it would be VERY expensive $12-$20 once to twice a week for pods. You could consider a HOT fuge but it will take several months to mature this would be a good start but you would still need to supplement.

[Seahorsedreams]

Actually, I wasn't recommending frozen BS for the mandarin. The "seahorse story" was just a reference to the fact that some can be taught to take anything while others will only take a single food item. You have to be prepared for the worst.

My mandarin ate frozen mysis for most of his life. He died a couple of weeks ago at the age of 6 (in captivity)... was an adult when acquired. But he brought up an interesting point. You have to be prepared for them to go OFF eating frozen... no matter how long you've had them. Ours went of eating frozen in the past few months. He was being outcompeted for pods by the pipefish in the reef along with the fact he was blind in one eye. From there he went to the fuge and then on to a pod-loaded 40 gallon tank and died some time later. We didn't really know what we were going to do with him when he ate his way through the 40.

[petunia]

i've always wanted one but, i don't want it to die. it will be interesting to follow this thread.