How big do green mandarin dragonets get in captivity?

[mello_dank]

Hello all,

I recently purchased a captive-bred mandarin, and was wondering how big they will grow. Anyone here have experience with growing CB mandarins out? I've seen huge ones at LFS before. Does sex affect size? (i.e males are biggger than females?)

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello all,

I recently purchased a captive-bred mandarin, and was wondering how big they will grow. Anyone here have experience with growing CB mandarins out? I've seen huge ones at LFS before. Does sex affect size? (i.e males are biggger than females?)

Up to 4”
Male generally larger

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

feed it lots of pods it will grow, dont and it will croak fast on you.

 

[Zionas]

I’m curious whether these captive bred ones take dry food easily enough. Though I’m not considering one any time soon.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

This was my chubby dude, total sausage. Had him for 5-6 years before he passed and is still the largest ive seen.

 

[Zionas]

Nice fish. Was he an adult when you got it!

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Nice fish. Was he an adult when you got it!

Id say he was bigger than the usual tiny mandarins you find but he was not anywhere near as big when i first got him.

 

[i cant think]

I would assume this fish got to Atleast 3.5” but it depends on which species your on about:
Blue/green
Red
Spotted
Yes all three are different fish, the red and blues look similar however the blue mandarin has blue fins and the reds have bright red fins (Hence the names blue and red mandarin dragonets).
I’d say they all got to 3.5” no matter what gender but I can believe in enough space a male can hit 4”.

 

[homer1475]

My biota female was just at very tiny thing when I got her. She may have been the size of a thumbnail.

2 years later she's probably close to 3". I know females do not get as large as males, but there is not much size difference.

My female is nice and plump, but not a sausage like @Dragonsreef .

I know biota advertises they will eat prepared foods, but mine lives on pods, and I have never seen her eat anything but. I feed PE mysis, LRS reef frenzy, TDO chromoboost, NLS, and algae max pellets, as well as a home made mix of frozen raw seafood. She touches none of it.

 

[Zionas]

Ouch, I wonder why even the captive bred ones don’t take prepared food. :(

 

[i cant think]

Ouch, I wonder why even the captive bred ones don’t take prepared food. :(

I’ve heard of many of the CB mandarins going back to just eating pods even after they’ve been eating mysis and brine quite regularly.

 

[homer1475]

I will say, I have in the past had wild caught mandy's, and they eventually took to frozen. I think it's just from seeing everyone else it. They try it, and find out it's actually food. My last wild mandy, would eat frozen and pellets after about 6 months in the tank.

This biota mandy, never even looks at any other food. Could just be I have enough of a pod population(I throw out about a dozen amphipods out of my socks every 3 days) to keep it happy?

 

[mello_dank]

My biota mandarin came today - it seems to be already pecking at stuff in my acclimation box