Mandarin Dragonet Feeding

Mandarins are soo slow at deciding what to eat and I was curious what techniques people use?

I've gotten mine to eat from a turkey baster. Since she seems to be able to see the frozen mysis in the tube while its coming out, it gives her enough time to inspect and snatch it up as I slowly drain it out. I've also tried to feed her at night when there's less competition for food and that can sometimes work.

 

This is debated often on here. IMHO without an endless supply of pods, mandarins will still eventually starve even if they eat frozen foods.

 

Some one uses a small neck bottle that the mandarin can get in to but not other fish and put food inside.

 

+1. They eat a pod every few seconds. You literally cannot keep up with feedings. You'd need to feed quite a few times per day, like they are anthias.

Mine was trained by the previous owner, who just put live brine in the tank. Once it started eating the brine, she started putting in pellets at the same time as the brine, and it caught on that the pellets were also food. This is totally NOT the experience of the vast majority of owners, though, and they tend to be MUCH harder to get eating frozen/pellets.

 

2in10 that's a good idea I'll have to try it out.

offensetaken you really think that? My Mandarin is pretty fat and I attribute that to the amount I target feed her as to oppose the pods she eats. Don't get me wrong, I have a large pod population in the tank and a farm tank where I raise more so she could be getting fat on that but there so tiny compared to a few pieces of mysis. I also buy tigger pods occasionally too and those she goes crazy for(and everyone else in the tank), but 20 bucks a bottle isn't ideal haha. Either way, 5 months so far and if anything she's gotten healthier. When I first bought her she had a tear in her back fin. It's completely healed now so figure that's only encouraging.

 

I honestly have never had a problem with my mandarin eating well. It may be that the people I bought her from had gotten her on frozen food, but she will eat anything that I put in the tank, as long as some gets near her. I seen her eat pellets, frozen mysis, and also the copeopods in the tank.

I really like the idea that 2in10 mentioned. A bottle would be a great way to get her away from the competition and eating well.

 

I'm going to get another one of these. It's been years and I miss that fish.

 

I disagree with it starving, if it eats frozen and its fat....then why would it starve? as long as theres some pods in the tank and its eating frozen your good to go.

 

My mandarin was eight years old when it died. He shared his tank with a very active six year old leaopard wrasse... pods were not bountiful. He ate a very varied diet. He died after what we suspect was a sting of sorts.He had a white line down through his eye and down his side. Kind of looked like a Tube Anemone tentacle. His side healed, but he was blind in that eye and didn't survive more than a year after that.... he just withered away.

My first mandy lived in a 44g SPS tank for four years. He was the sole occupant, so I never fed the tank. He died due to a fault of my own. I had the tank equipment plugged into an outlet controlled by a wall switch. Of course I never messed with it..... but my house sitter did. Everything died. Ammonia through the roof..... only found his skull bone in the sand some time later :-(

These were both splendidus.

 

I should add I'm not trying to downplay how difficult it is to keep these guys. I really feel people should have a few years under their belts before taking on these critters. Their really not a fish to just plop into a community tank setting but require special consideration and prep.

I think I had 2 mandarins when I first started the hobby, (1 or 2.... not sure now) like in the first couple of years. Those did not fare so well. :-(