FS/FT mandarin dragonet EDMONTON
 

hey guys,
i bought a mandarin dragonet a few days ago and at the store it showed intrest in the frozen food but didn't eat any because there was a female on the other side of the glass distracting him so i thought that he was trained or that he would at least be really easy to train at home. i don't see him eating and im starting to feel really bad that he might be starving. he still shows intrest in the frozen food but does not eat it. i don't want this guy to die because of me so im hoping to sell him for $30 or to trade for something else, to someone who can feed him pods. he is very healthy and was really plump when i first got him, he is around 3 inches.
if you want him or got anything to trade please let me know.

thanks

I can hook you up with live baby brine to feed him until he goes if you need. I have some ready now and live phyto to keep them

thanks a lot for the offer, where in edmonton do you live? and im going to wait an hour or so and see what happens. if i don't find a buyer i will contact you asap.
thanks a lot

I'm north central. By northgate. If you wanted to keep him long term I could help you out with live food and cultures until he eats dead. I have a Mandy on live brine now and pipefish so I'm always brewing live cultures. If it's a small enough tank it shouldn't be hard to keep him fed

your very kind for the offer and i really appreciate it, he is in a 65g and is going to have a few other tank mates who could out compete him for food really easily. i thought about setting up a copepod culture and setting up a rock rubble area where the copepods could breed but i really dont think it will be sustainable. long term.
i think the best thing to do would be to find him another home so that he never starves to death.

mandarin
 

I bought a female a few weeks ago. Wonder if anyone has tries raising young ones. Were abouts in Edmonton are you.Is it a spotted one or striped

i wish i had thought it through before i got him. this is just one of those times where you realize your mistake after and now im trying to fix it because i would feel really bad if he dies on me.

he is striped, i dont have any cameras to post pics but honestly he is very very bright in color and just an over all beautiful fish. there were others when i bought him but his colors stood WAY out.
and i live in north/central edmonton.
thanks

Yah i hear yah. This is why i go the brine shrimp route, i can feed several thousand babies at a time with the pumps off to guarantee that everybody fast or slow gets lots to eat. I probably feed over 100000 brine a week to a 30g tank and just skim and filter alot lol.

Mandarin
 

Would you take $20.00 for him, Tim the toolman you might have to show me how to feed brine and cultures.

Sure thing. Just make sure your tank is small enough that food can get around.

i bought him for $50 from aquarium central a few days ago so i don't really wanna go less then $30. sorry.

hey we just got a mandarin dragonet and have basically been told it's going to be hard to keep him fed...any tips? we have a five gallon tank and just him and some hermit crabs and snails in the tank.

Live baby brine shrimp enriched with selcon. This works basically every time. Especially works in a small tank like yours where the food can be given at a large concentration due to small water volume. A couple good options exist for keeping them alive and the hatching is quite easy to do as well. Gimme a shout if you would like any further info.

By the sounds of it you are not ready for a mandarin.

He is looking to find someone with a high chance of supporting the fish, and if you are asking for advice on feeding, then, no offense, but this is not for you.

Mandys are demanding and delicate. Requiring mature tanks with live pods.



Good luck with the sale.

Try ken at BW. Maybe he had white worms.

Im sure bwa has live pods for sale as well. Tough fish to keep in a newish tank.

Do you disagree with the brine shrimp approach then? It's basically all mine eats. I agree that they are sensitive but you seem to be disregarding the other options. Why go to Ken when I am offering him food?

actually BBS is not the best diet for mandarins. They are free swimmers, and don't stay on the rocks where mandarins hunt, unless the BBS are dying. Also not the best for nutritional value unless freshly hatched.

Best choices are copepods, but if you don't have enough, the second best choice are white worms. I have yet to see a mandarin refuse them, they sit on the bottom of the tank and wiggle for a few hours.

After white worms, the mandarin starts weating frozen, and if you are lucky pellets.

That is how we get our new arrivals to eat

Does the selcon enrichment not provide enough nutrition?
Also do you have white worms available? Would like to get some asap?
Copepods as well?

got both fully in stock now.

Copepods are doing great

If you want a RTF (ready to feed) culture of warms, I need 48 hours to prep it.

What would the other option be. (other than ready to feed)
I am not overly familiar with white worms?

Worms are easy to use, easy to culture.

feed them bread or rice and within 24hours you can just take some out to feed the fish.

btw, I have yet to see any fish not eat the worms. Great protein too

Sounds good to me I'll take some tomorrow if possible. I don't need em ready to feed I'll just culture them at home. I'll take some copepods as well. What time is good tomorrow.

I'll be in at noon or so, for a few hours.

Ok sounds good I'll come by for 12:30. (would like to meet you as I have heard many good things)

Are you serious???

That fish is going to die. 5 gallons??? You really should do your research. That's horrible conditions for a mandarin.

I wouldn't do 5 gal, mine lives in a 10 with my clowns (not recommended). But he eats pellets, and fat as heck.

Agreed. Mine is in a 30g and I feel bad. Thinking of going bigger already.

I can offer any source of known food. What's wrong with BW?
P

I can offer any source of known food. What's wrong with BW?

Brine is lower protein as well. Compared to some other things.

Also, i am saying a person should have
More experience before trying this fish. As in know how to keep it fed before buying. Long before. And have suitable conditions.

Anyone stating Also they have one in a 5g is uneducated on the fish in question.

I agree on all counts. As you can see above I'm going to hit Ken up for multiple food sources myself lol.

I have a decent pod colony in my tank but would love to culture multiple live food sources, mainly just because I'm a geek but also because I think that these fish deserve the best we can offer them.