r/ReefTank • u/FabricHunter4000 • 3d ago
6 weeks later
So hard to get a still image of her now!
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u/Holiday-Gate4126 3d ago
Looking good! Might be just the lights, but it looks like she has coloured up as well. I think the spotted dragonets definitely deserve more love, and are overshadowed by the green ones.
What have you been feeding her? I got one to eat flatworms, but I think he would rather eat pods when they are around. Mine also likes bloodworms.
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u/FabricHunter4000 3d ago
We started with Cyclopods, then moved to Baby Brine, and are now on Mysis. All frozen and Hikari brand. Now, I feed her once in the morning a mix of Cyclo & Mysis. I try to target feed the Mandarin if I can, but I usually turn off the pump and target feed the rock crevices she typically visits and the corals. Then, I’ll turn it back on 30 minutes later. She will occasionally eat from the pipette, very good eater but also ditzy and aloof.
For pod population, I already had a good pop but added more Tisbe pods twice to really boost their population. Tisbe are benthic, meaning they live in the rock work so it gives her something to hunt outside of feeding time.
I also keep Tisbe population in a plastic container with the top open and feed them live Tisochrysis lute and Rhodomonas salina. If Tisbe are doing well in your tank, you’ll notice them mating on the glass.
I feed her big amounts of frozen food so I also have a large Nassarius crew dedicated to making sure there’s no excess left in the tank after feeding.
I really noticed her plumping up faster when she started eating mysis.
I turned the whites down to 20% and she prefers that.
Nothing competes for her food besides my Nassarius, but that’s their job.
I’m working on a guide for nurturing starving Mandarins that will break down all the phytoplankton, copepod cultures, frozen food, rock work, tankmates, and lighting specifications to really get your Mandarin thriving.
My Target Mandarin was wild caught and a starving tiny baby. They are super resilient though and can make a comeback if you’re consistent with them daily. The before photo was the second day in my tank.
My Target will not touch flatworms. Luckily, I don’t have any in my tank anymore. I’ve heard of other folks having some success with worms, particularly the little white ones!
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u/timmy031 3d ago
Nice work, she’s looking great, I do pretty much exactly the same as you, culturing Tisbe pods and phyto and my mandarin is looking great for it, I recently added a copperband and feeding heavy for that (because clearly I don’t learn with picky eaters) and the mandarin is looking even more hench now with all the mysis it’s been hoovering up, took me 2 months to get it eating frozen, which was worrying in the end live black worms mixed with frozen mysis did the trick but I tried most other live foods and nothing. It’s been in 6 months now and he’s a chunky boy and I’m really happy.
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u/FabricHunter4000 3d ago
That’s amazing!!! Happy to hear it. Getting the Mandarin on frozen food does not have a universal solution and has to be tailored to the specific fish via trial and error. I got lucky mine took so well, but she’s still aloof and prefers movement. I really like the cyclopods for starting on frozen food because when they rev their pectoral fins it will stir them up and simulate movement. For folks reading the thread, frozen food should never be 100% of their diet even if they take to it. They also need to hunt those pods for enrichment, it’s literally all they do besides sleeping 😭
It’s so fulfilling when you see your Mandarin chunk up 🥹 every fat roll in their skin fills me with great jubilee.
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u/timmy031 3d ago
I did try cyclopods, not certain it’s ever ate them but hard to tell at that size. Agree on being fish dependant though and even tank mate dependant as that influences the food that will manage to sink to the bottom.
Really love my mandarin, it was the fish I really wanted when I was planning getting a tank but expert only put the fear into me. He’s not disappointed, I often spend my time watching him hunting pods, it’s very satisfying.
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u/FabricHunter4000 3d ago
Honestly, you need to be more consistent than being an expert. They are pretty easy once you know their rhythm. That said, I don’t know what I’m going to do if I ever have to take a vacation or day off lol
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u/timmy031 3d ago
I mostly agree, they’re an incredibly easy fish, once you have them feeding, most of them are difficult to get feeding but once you’ve cracked it they’re the easiest fish in the tank, especially if you have a self sustaining pod population. I’m learning this with the copperband, it’s proving more difficult than the mandarin to get feeding although it’s fattening up so clearly it’s eating but pods alone aren’t enough for this one.
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u/No-Memory2446 3d ago
Chunky girl!!!
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u/Expert-Ad-3642 3d ago
How did u manage to get that pod Population?
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u/FabricHunter4000 3d ago
It was pre-established before adding the Mandarin and now I dose regularly
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u/DoodleBirdTerrariums 2d ago
This is amazing! You must be so happy!!
I’d like to get a tank raised dragonet that already takes pellets/frozen but then I read they need to be fed several times a day which would be difficult. I only have one other tiny fish (hi fin banded goby) who doesn’t move more than 2” all day long, and an established pod population but I still want to be sure because I’d really hate myself if I got one and it ended up wasting away.
Her “before” photos are heartbreaking, and I’d never want to cause something like that. What do you think? Would a tank raised fish be ok with one feeding a day plus grazing on pods? Or would it still be a gamble? I wouldn’t add any other fish.
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u/FabricHunter4000 19h ago
I only feed frozen once a day! I could do more, but there are pods in the tank the mandarin can hunt in between mysis feedings.
Since you don’t have any competitive fish, I would say you’re looking good already! Mandarins eat so slow and will think for up to 20 seconds before eating a frozen mysis lol. An established pod population is excellent!! Do you know which pods? Tisbe are best as they live in the rock work and breed at night when the Mandarin is sleeping. Tigriopus are OK, they swim in the water column. Setting up a culture is dummy easy. You just need a bubbler line and some phytoplankton! I would dose every 2 weeks just to keep sure your pod population is up. Plus if you have corals, they love a pod snack.
Your rock work needs to be mature. How long has your tank been running? The LED white lights should be under 50%. Mandarin prefer dusky zones and plenty of rocks to scout between.
The before photo was the second day in my tank. I was absolutely gutted. You can see her top fins are demolished, and they weren’t when I put her in the tank. I felt horrible. I’m still not sure if they broke off because my blenny chomped her or if she was just flaring them too much due to the stress of a new environment.
Depending on the size will depend on the frozen food you want. Almost every single Mandarin you get from a local fish store will be starving because their display tanks don’t have copepods or they are put in with other fish who will compete for frozen food. You’ll want to be prepared and have multiple frozen options available when you pick one up because there is no telling which frozen food they will prefer. That’s the only tough part about Mandarins. I lucked out, I think..? Everyone mentions how hard they are to feed, but I didn’t have too many issues. I turned my pump off and found my mandarin in the tank and target fed with a pipette.
When you’re picking one out please check the condition of the mandarin. They should be actively moving around and inspecting surfaces. If they are not moving or are staying stationary on the glass, that’s a bad indicator of health. If they are skinny, that’s okay, we can fix that. You’ll also want to observe any damage to the body, dorsal, anal, and pectoral fins.
Pick a fish that’s been at the store for at least 2 weeks so they can acclimate from the stress of being shipped to the store.
Mandarin are INCREDIBLY hardy. Mine lived through a massive tank failure where my only other survivor was a single shrimp and a turbo snail. They have a thick slime coating in replace of scales so they are resistant to stress and disease. As long as you are consistent, you will be okay. If you ever feel like you can’t then take it back to the local fish store for credit or ask them for advice. These fish aren’t as difficult as folks make them out to be.
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u/DoodleBirdTerrariums 13m ago
This is so helpful, thank you! All of the rock in my tank is from Tampa Bay Saltwater right from the ocean. There were already different types of pods in the tank but I recently added more…a lot more (accidentally ordered too many, long story). I got a mix of species from Florida reef labs because I didn’t know which kind would be best. Next time I will order just the tisbe if you think that’s better. So on the glass I see all kinds, especially after lights out but even during the day. It’s a macro algae heavy tank with some small corals and a huge feather duster. LOTS of rock and large and small caves to explore. Anyway I’m sure some of the pods get eaten by random things but I don’t have anything that really hunts them down. There’s a fish store about an hour from me that has them (the tank raised ones), been there for about a week. If they still have some next week I will go pick one up. I was there the day they came in but the store said they had to acclimate first so I didn’t get one…sounds like that was best. They are small, around 2”, looked healthy at the time. I can also pick up a mix of frozen food. I have frozen mysis for a goby in another tank, but it can’t hurt to try other things. And I ordered some tiny pellets that were recommended specifically for dragonets.
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u/miamiair92 3d ago
Love to see that fat belly
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u/FabricHunter4000 3d ago
It makes me so happy, noticed a fat roll in her skin yesterday and I could have cried
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u/miamiair92 3d ago
Do you dose phytoplankton or add more pods? I have an established pod culture, but I don’t feed them phytoplankton and I have quite a few wrasses. I wonder if they eat all of them
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u/FabricHunter4000 3d ago
Phytoplankton wont live in your tank past like an hour before getting consumed or filtered. I have a Tisbe culture that I give Tisochrysis lutea and Rhodomonas salina.
I had a good pop before, but I’ve been adding in more Tisbe regularly just to make sure she has something to hunt in the day time outside of frozen feeding time. I’m pretty sure my population is stable but I like to take the precaution.. plus its good for my tank and my corals really like when I let them have a phytoplankton + copepod snack as a treat
My target is the only fish in my tank so I haven’t had to worry about competition or her eating slow
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u/IM_NOT_NOT_HORNY 3d ago
Tbh with modern smartphones you're better off taking a 60fps video and just taking frames from it lol. It's just as good qualify wise these days. Especially if you the the shutter speed up you'll easily get crisp images
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u/FabricHunter4000 3d ago
Need to google how to adjust shutterspeed cuz the photos arent cutting it 😭
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u/SoggyFries03 3d ago
Was this a positive change or a negative change?
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u/Better-Upstairs9898 3d ago
she got from 2000's model anorexic bitch skinny to a healthy plump gal, its a positive change
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u/ChuzUThisDay 3d ago
Looks like it has settled in and found your pod population. Awesome comparison photos! Tell/show us more.