Another Dragonette Question..ugh.

[Gunzen]

So I know the routine. You cannot have a dragonnete in a nano (or should not)

I have a Fluval 13.5 and my tank is thick with copepods.



The front glass looks like Tony Montana sneezed on it.

Do you think that type of population could support 1 Psych goby? I heard they are easier? I actually like them better.

I also have a ten gallon tank DIY sump with a large refugium that is full of them as well.

I could occasionally add some but I plan on spot feeding with Reef Nutrition pods, the chilled dead ones.

Thoughts? Too small of a tank?

 

[Tahoe61]

Nope they eat hundreds of smaller copepods a day. It will be hard to keep up with that in that size tank and sump area.

 

[Gunzen]

Nope they eat hundreds of smaller copepods a day. It will be hard to keep up with that in that size tank and sump area.

Yeah, gonna have to train her to eat mysis and the reef nutrition reef feast.

 

[Carterfish]

Your copepod refugium will help but your gonna have to add a lot of like gunzen said train it to eat other things

 

[theMeat]

If you could get one that eats other foods, maybe worth a shot. Otherwise think a well established 40 gallons or more at a minimum is needed

 

[Rispa]

Look through PaulB's posts and consider your feeder http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/diy-target-feeder-mandarinfish-pipefish-2804/

 

[davocean]

Even if you did get it to eat prep'd foods, I still would not do one in that size tank.

They eat 1-3 pods per minute, it won't take long to wipe out your pod population, so you'd have to provide food at that rate, which usually is not practical

 

[Gunzen]

Even if you did get it to eat prep'd foods, I still would not do one in that size tank.

They eat 1-3 pods per minute, it won't take long to wipe out your pod population, so you'd have to provide food at that rate, which usually is not practical

If I fed it every day, what would it matter the size tank? They don’t get that big? I don’t think the poss will last, you guys know your stuff, but I think I can keep it alive if I spot feed with a dropper

‘I have never seen one over 2-3 inches. If I Kept it for a year and traded it in, cool.

I don’t think tank size matter with a 1 1/2 to 3 inch fish tho.

I am going to try a small one and just try the reef feast supplement with a baster. If not, ill take it back.

But I was just hoping with such a head start and maybe a supplement of 20 bucks of reef nitritiin triggers every few months could have a shot.

Reef nutrition has doubled their size in their bottles. They give a lot for 24 bucks.

 

[Rispa]

If I fed it every day, what would it matter the size tank? They don’t get that big? I don’t think the poss will last, you guys know your stuff, but I think I can keep it alive if I spot feed with a dropper

‘I have never seen one over 2-3 inches. If I Kept it for a year and traded it in, cool.

I don’t think tank size matter with a 1 1/2 to 3 inch fish tho.

I am going to try a small one and just try the reef feast supplement with a baster. If not, ill take it back.

But I was just hoping with such a head start and maybe a supplement of 20 bucks of reef nitritiin triggers every few months could have a shot.

Reef nutrition has doubled their size in their bottles. They give a lot for 24 bucks.

It's because they do best and are healthiest if they are eating throughout the day. A tank that small cannot sustain enough live food for one of these.

 

[Flexin]

https://www.liveaquaria.com/ Consider researching the fish here.

https://reefhacks.com/mandarin-goby-fish-care/ Here is a good article

You already knew the answer and are just looking for what exactly? You can't say in one breath these people know their stuff and then discredit them and their experience.

Just be kind enough post your success in a year, or, most importantly, if it does not work out, please post the follow up, as a PSA. That would be helpful. Hopefully you will consider the comments from experienced people and hold off until you have a larger more mature tank.

 

[davocean]

It's not about their size like most other fish, it's about their metabolism

 

[Rispa]

https://www.liveaquaria.com/ Consider researching the fish here.

https://reefhacks.com/mandarin-goby-fish-care/ Here is a good article

You already knew the answer and are just looking for what exactly? You can't say in one breath these people know their stuff and then discredit them and their experience.

Just be kind enough post your success in a year, or, most importantly, if it does not work out, please post the follow up, as a PSA. That would be helpful. Hopefully you will consider the comments from experienced people and hold off until you have a larger more mature tank.

Yes, please update especially if you start by raising the live food and using the feeder and live food to compensate for you tank size. I don't think anyone has done that and reported about it in a smaller tank.

 

[Gunzen]

It's because they do best and are healthiest if they are eating throughout the day. A tank that small cannot sustain enough live food for one of these.

Oh, yes, I thought you meant they needed more space. If my fish starts to get skinny I will just give em back to the LFS. They are cheap.

 

[Rispa]

Oh, yes, I thought you meant they needed more space. If my fish starts to get skinny I will just give em back to the LFS. They are cheap.

Do try to culture the live food. From what I've read they do way better with that plus frozen. It's a simple as a couple of buckets with water, an air stone each that can be attached to the same pump, and light if you do phyto. Or you can get slightly fancier and do soda bottles or even nicer than that soda bottles or jars with spigots. Different foods have different nutritional profiles, so gut loaded bbs, some type of small cope pod, and amphipods would be a nice mix. I think I recently saw a clip involving feeding them white worms and that can be done in a Tupperware. If you do it right you will probably have excess you can bring to local fish stores for credit.

 

[DanConnor]

The pods won't work. But if you can offer two live food sources you would be in good shape. One can be brine nauplii, because that is simple and reliable. The other can be white worm cultures or a reliable source of black worms. It will take a couple of months to get the white worms up to production levels. Eventually they may take frozen, but that can't be counted on.

 

[Rispa]

The pods won't work. But if you can offer two live food sources you would be in good shape. One can be brine nauplii, because that is simple and reliable. The other can be white worm cultures or a reliable source of black worms. It will take a couple of months to get the white worms up to production levels. Eventually they may take frozen, but that can't be counted on.

Also according to PaulB (and after reading through his posts in inclined to believe he has the experience to back up his claims) even if they are taking frozen they should be supplemented with live because they thrive that way.

Why wouldn't pods work?

 

[Gunzen]

https://www.liveaquaria.com/ Consider researching the fish here.

https://reefhacks.com/mandarin-goby-fish-care/ Here is a good article

You already knew the answer and are just looking for what exactly? You can't say in one breath these people know their stuff and then discredit them and their experience.

Just be kind enough post your success in a year, or, most importantly, if it does not work out, please post the follow up, as a PSA. That would be helpful. Hopefully you will consider the comments from experienced people and hold off until you have a larger more mature tank.

I was hoping a tank with a sump would sustain one. But I don’t need a larger tank if I can get it to feed in other food sources or supplement the pods.

I was curious if others were able to just have one fish and just sustain.

There are a few posters here that seem to have rubber stamp type answers regarding tank size.

I don’t think a 13.5 is too small for a dragonette.

 

[Rispa]

I was hoping a tank with a sump would sustain one. But I don’t need a larger tank if I can get it to feed in other food sources or supplement the pods.

I was curious if others were able to just have one fish and just sustain.

There are a few posters here that seem to have rubber stamp type answers regarding tank size.

I don’t think a 13.5 is too small for a dragonette.

It seems that usually when a person tries a small tank with them they don't try to go the extra mile with the food. I've been keeping an eye out because I'm wondering if it can be done too.

In my opinion your better off culturing externally as well. I don't think it'll be easy to get a huge density in a sump. Oh and get some nice macro algae for your tank, so when you add them they have some place to hide and hopefully multiply.

There is all kinds of information on culturing live food. Here is one source that has information on several types of live food. http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/library/library.shtml

 

[Gunzen]

It seems that usually when a person tries a small tank with them they don't try to go the extra mile with the food. I've been keeping an eye out because I'm wondering if it can be done too.

In my opinion your better off culturing externally as well. I don't think it'll be easy to get a huge density in a sump. Oh and get some nice macro algae for your tank, so when you add them they have some place to hide and hopefully multiply.

There is all kinds of information on culturing live food. Here is one source that has information on several types of live food. http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/library/library.shtml

That’s not gonna happen. I am a one tank guy. I worked in an aquarium store growing up in the nineties and I did my share of wires and pumps and tanks all over my apartment.
At some point I will just take the plunge and try to get her to eat other stuff.

There is a lady I met at a LFS who says she feeds her Mandarin the tigger feast from reef nutrition and has had it for two years and is doing great.

I believe the peeps here who say a dragonette will deplete them. But she would never get them all, because there will always be a few drifting in from the sump, and I will try he tigger feast.

If It doesn’t work, I will just give it back to the LFS. I won’t let it starve.

Thanks.

 

[DanConnor]

Also according to PaulB (and after reading through his posts in inclined to believe he has the experience to back up his claims) even if they are taking frozen they should be supplemented with live because they thrive that way.

Why wouldn't pods work?

I mean growing them in-situ, because you won't produce enough. If you can make cultures externally it is fine, but a lot more trouble than the food sources I mentioned.