Mandarin Goby (Dragonet), what to feed him?

Doo_Dadd · 10/04/2010, 02:27 PM

Hello again to all. I have recently picked up a mandarin dragonet for part of my CUC, and am wondering if he will be able to thrive with just the 10 lbs. of live rock in my tank, or if I should implement another food source for him. If another source is a good idea, what would you suggest?

This is a smaller tank, just 20 gallons, and he is currently living with a percula clown, purple damsel, electric blue hermit, and a sea urchin.

Ohiomom · 10/04/2010, 02:34 PM

Honestly as harsh as this is going to sound you should have done a lot more research on this fish. It will most likely starve in that size tank as it has a very specialized diet and only a few can be trained to eat other food. Do a lot of reading before purchase to have better success as this fish is by no means part of a CUC. You are also pretty full for a 20 gallon..good luck.

singold · 10/04/2010, 02:34 PM

They generally only eat copepods which will quickly be depleted in a tank your size. I would recommend taking it back to your LFS.

chimmike · 10/04/2010, 02:35 PM

mandarins are not clean up crew, nor are they considered small-tank friendly unless you refill the pod population in the tank daily.

I'd catch the little guy and return him before he slowly starves to death, unless you have the money to spend on 2 containers of pods/day for however long you have the fish!

EllieSuz · 10/04/2010, 02:52 PM

I agree with the previous responses and want to add one more thing. Even if you are successful in "training" this Mandarin to eat some kind of frozen food, it will require you to overfeed your tank, resulting in all kinds of problems with Cyano and bacteria. We cannot depend on LFS employees to point us in the right direction when choosing livestock for our tanks. They are in the business of making money, not saving the lives of inappropriate fish. That's why we have to do our homework before we buy.

JTL · 10/04/2010, 02:54 PM

Where in the world did you get the impression this fish was part of a clean up crew? They are perhaps one of the most difficult fish to keep in an aquarium. I have one and I have spent huge money over the past year developing my pod population. I got lucky and he now eats prepared food as a supplement, but that is not usually the case. They should be left in the wild because most will starve to death in captivity, but the fish vendors don't care.

Jstdv8 · 10/04/2010, 03:02 PM

Mandarins need copepods and lots of them. You need a sump for the pods to reproduce in without fear of being eaten.

Doo_Dadd · 10/04/2010, 03:07 PM

Thank you to all who have replied, again I greatly appreciate your input. I'll see if I can get him back to the LFS. I was sure that Goby's were listed in the CUC information I did read online, guess I'll have to double check and see what else I may have read incorrectly.

reelfishy · 10/04/2010, 03:15 PM

Yeah I agree with all of the above unless he/she starts eating prepared food but thats like 1 in 50 chance that it will unless its ORA.

Its not that the Mandarin gets too big for your tank, its that a 20G tank wont supply enough food (pods) sources for it.

reelfishy · 10/04/2010, 03:19 PM

They are not "Goby" although they are called Mandarin Goby most of the times.

Here is a good article about them. http://www.pet-memorial-urns-online....arin-dragonet/

10/04/2010, 02:27 PM	#1
Doo_Dadd Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 18	Mandarin Goby (Dragonet), what to feed him? Hello again to all. I have recently picked up a mandarin dragonet for part of my CUC, and am wondering if he will be able to thrive with just the 10 lbs. of live rock in my tank, or if I should implement another food source for him. If another source is a good idea, what would you suggest? This is a smaller tank, just 20 gallons, and he is currently living with a percula clown, purple damsel, electric blue hermit, and a sea urchin.

10/04/2010, 02:34 PM	#2
Ohiomom Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,586	Honestly as harsh as this is going to sound you should have done a lot more research on this fish. It will most likely starve in that size tank as it has a very specialized diet and only a few can be trained to eat other food. Do a lot of reading before purchase to have better success as this fish is by no means part of a CUC. You are also pretty full for a 20 gallon..good luck. __________________ .....Sandra “Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.” Current Tank Info: 75 galllon reef, T5HO love em!

10/04/2010, 02:34 PM	#3
singold Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Lake Saint Louis, Missouri Posts: 1,827	They generally only eat copepods which will quickly be depleted in a tank your size. I would recommend taking it back to your LFS. __________________ "If there is no wind.....row." Current Tank Info: 75gal Reef w/29gal Refugium

10/04/2010, 02:35 PM	#4
chimmike oxygen abuser Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Parrish, FL Posts: 5,089 Blog Entries: 2	mandarins are not clean up crew, nor are they considered small-tank friendly unless you refill the pod population in the tank daily. I'd catch the little guy and return him before he slowly starves to death, unless you have the money to spend on 2 containers of pods/day for however long you have the fish! __________________ -Mike Tankless wonder Geaux Noles!

10/04/2010, 02:52 PM	#5
EllieSuz Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 3,858	I agree with the previous responses and want to add one more thing. Even if you are successful in "training" this Mandarin to eat some kind of frozen food, it will require you to overfeed your tank, resulting in all kinds of problems with Cyano and bacteria. We cannot depend on LFS employees to point us in the right direction when choosing livestock for our tanks. They are in the business of making money, not saving the lives of inappropriate fish. That's why we have to do our homework before we buy. __________________ "You can't learn this hobby one question at a time." (Mr. Tuskfish) Eileen Current Tank Info: I'm out of the hobby, but used to have a60 gal. reef, refugium in sump, Internal Mag 9 return, SC 302 skimmer, two Maxi-Jet 1200's modded, four bulb T5 Lighting, Reefkeeper Lite Controller with three PC4's, Little Fishes GFO reactor.

10/04/2010, 02:54 PM	#6
JTL Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Venice Island, FL Posts: 2,532	Where in the world did you get the impression this fish was part of a clean up crew? They are perhaps one of the most difficult fish to keep in an aquarium. I have one and I have spent huge money over the past year developing my pod population. I got lucky and he now eats prepared food as a supplement, but that is not usually the case. They should be left in the wild because most will starve to death in captivity, but the fish vendors don't care. __________________ John 100 gallon DT and 50 gallon sump with refugium. Reefbreeders Photon V2+.

10/04/2010, 03:02 PM	#7
Jstdv8 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Wasilla, Alaska Posts: 1,420	Mandarins need copepods and lots of them. You need a sump for the pods to reproduce in without fear of being eaten.

10/04/2010, 03:07 PM	#8
Doo_Dadd Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 18	Thank you to all who have replied, again I greatly appreciate your input. I'll see if I can get him back to the LFS. I was sure that Goby's were listed in the CUC information I did read online, guess I'll have to double check and see what else I may have read incorrectly.

10/04/2010, 03:15 PM	#9
reelfishy reelin and dealin Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Korea Town, Cali Posts: 1,440	Yeah I agree with all of the above unless he/she starts eating prepared food but thats like 1 in 50 chance that it will unless its ORA. Its not that the Mandarin gets too big for your tank, its that a 20G tank wont supply enough food (pods) sources for it. __________________ Punch you in your forehead! Imma make all my ching chongs sing songs!

10/04/2010, 03:19 PM	#10
reelfishy reelin and dealin Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Korea Town, Cali Posts: 1,440	They are not "Goby" although they are called Mandarin Goby most of the times. Here is a good article about them. http://www.pet-memorial-urns-online....arin-dragonet/ __________________ Punch you in your forehead! Imma make all my ching chongs sing songs!

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