Trouble with my dragonets

[Katze]

Hello everyone!

On tuesday I've bought a pair of mandarin dragonets (Pterosynchiropus Splendidus), I had a dragonet 1-2 years ago, she was very healthy. So I can say that I have experience with these creatures.
They are eating frozen, so that's not an issue though they could be more active during feeding times -I spot feed them-
The main problem I'm experiencing is that they are hiding quite often, they are never in plain sight. This causes trouble for me during feeding times, because they usually choose hard to see and reach places, it's also harder to determine whether they are losing weight or not.
Furthermore it seems to me that the male has a slightly damaged fin. This is very weird, since he is the larger specimen and all of my other fish are generally peaceful
They are a healthy pair, with no diseases.

The tank is 1-2 years old, with plenty of pods and microfauna

Stocking:
1x Scopas tang
2x Dragonets (1 male and 1 female)
1x Fire goby
1x Azure Damsel
2x Clown fish
1x Forceps fish

They get 1 cube of quality frozen artemia which is spiced with Aquaforest fish V -vitamins basically-

What could I do?
I really don't want to lose them

 

[Baby Damsel 219]

when you go to the LFS ask for them to feed them and the one that eat the fastest is your cash. Also if the dragonets have already paired up they may be the ones killing it.

 

[Baby Damsel 219]

but also the damsel may be the one I love damsels but the other fish may also be the butthole

 

[bubbgee]

I rarely see my mandarin but she floats around somewhere hidden during daytime. It's always a treat when I have a sighting of her.

I know she eats because she's chunky and I have a ton of pods in the tank (feed the tank Reef Brite Reef Enhance and you'll see pods grow overnight https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/reef-enhance-reef-brite). I broadcast Benepets reef sinking pellets, frozen cyclops and mysis to keep her fed along with the pods in the tank.

 

[Katze]

when you go to the LFS ask for them to feed them and the one that eat the fastest is your cash. Also if the dragonets have already paired up they may be the ones killing it.

They were kept in their own tank as a pair, just the two of them. And I remember that they were eating atleast as well as here

 

[W31Olds]

Katze, if you have a very large POD population maybe that's why you don't see them much. When my Mandarin was in QT she didn't move all that much. I attributed it to being hunter that didn't need to hunt. I would target feed multiple times a day, so she wasn't all that hungry. Could be that yours are finding plenty of food in secluded area so don't need to be that active. I don't feed mine much in my DT so she's on the move a lot.

 

[Katze]

Katze, if you have a very large POD population maybe that's why you don't see them much. When my Mandarin was in QT she didn't move all that much. I attributed it to being hunter that didn't need to hunt. I would target feed multiple times a day, so she wasn't all that hungry. Could be that yours are finding plenty of food in secluded area so don't need to be that active. I don't feed mine much in my DT so she's on the move a lot.

I agree that this could indeed be a cause for not moving around much.
However I personally believe that dragonets should be properly fed, the way one would feed a clownfish for example.
I wouldn't like to rely on theories for now, I'm really worried about their health. They have a quick metabolism and I'd think that they would kick the bucket in a week if something is wrong. Make no mistake I really like the idea and I thought about this too, but this feels like an issue due to aggression. Which would be surprising, since I haven't really seen/heard/read about any fish go after mandarins other than conspecifics

 

[Katze]

They are genuinely hiding, I have no idea what to do with them. The dragonet I had before was very active and always out in the open hunting for microfauna. I'm puzzled

 

[Cheese Griller]

They are genuinely hiding, I have no idea what to do with them. The dragonet I had before was very active and always out in the open hunting for microfauna. I'm puzzled

Different fish have different personalities, and this pair may just be more skittish. They have also been in the tank for less than a week. I’d give them time to settle in. But as other posters have mentioned, mandarins can and will “disappear” for long periods of time when they’re hunting deep within the rock work

 

[twentyleagues]

I would say that its been less than a week give them time to acclimate. As long as there are lots of pods and no aggression, they will be fine. On the aggression, both the damsel and clowns are very territorial this would include the dragonettes as those fish are not looking to eat the dragonettes but want them out of their territory. Most fish leave mandarins alone because the colors indicate they are toxic so fish that may attack them to eat them wont and most fish realize they are not competition for their food sources. Territorial aggression is completely different. If they were or are being attacked every time they venture out that is not good. They will hide and you are correct they will not get the proper amount of food and wont do well. It only take a couple of times for a fish that really cant defend itself to just hide and not come back out. It also only takes a couple time from the attacker to learn they can push that fish around to do it every time they see that fish. Very much like bullies, let them intimidate you once and they'll try it every time they see you.

 

[Katze]

Hello everyone!

Waiting seems to pay off -as many of you suggested-, they are becoming bolder and bolder each day.
They are still not eating quickly and as well as I want them to.
During feeding the main issue seems to be my surgeonfish, who is very quick to devour every piece of artemia leaving very small amounts for the dragonets.
What could I do to make the tang less annoying during feeding?

 

[twentyleagues]

Hello everyone!

Waiting seems to pay off -as many of you suggested-, they are becoming bolder and bolder each day.
They are still not eating quickly and as well as I want them to.
During feeding the main issue seems to be my surgeonfish, who is very quick to devour every piece of artemia leaving very small amounts for the dragonets.
What could I do to make the tang less annoying during feeding?

Probably nothing Tangs are going to Tang. You can try feeding the Tang first and then feed the artemia but I am guessing the Tang will eat whatever you give it and then go for the Artemia. Feeding the mandarins is a good idea but they should and will eat pods all day as long as you have enough pods you should be good. Mandarins can eat 10000 pods a day so when I say a lot take that into consideration.

 

[W31Olds]

I have the same problem when trying to feed my Mandarin. Even though the food is tiny, my other fish bulldoze their way in and often the Mandarin will swim off. I try to feed all the fish at once so as to distract all the big pigs. One thing I have learned is they sleep at night and do not hunt so are very hungry in the morning when the lights start to turn on. I fed mine Pellets this morning and she ate approx. 8-10. Tried again an hour ago and wasn't at all interested.

 

[Katze]

The female dagonet is getting easier to feed, each day gets more active and eats quicker, her hiding place is also very accessible to me but not for the surgeonfish.
The male is another case, he still likes to hide, he is also very slow and skittish. As for his hiding place... well it's not the best, it's accessible to me but to the tang as well.
It seems to me that when I turn off the wavemakers, the dragonets go into hiding, this is strange to me.
(I have seen similar cases when I experimented with Pseudanthias Tukas or Saddleback anthias, they always went into their hiding place when the wavemakers got disabled.)

I think I can try a few things during feeding:
1. Feed a bit more artemia
2. Get mysis for the dragonets
3. Retrofit a coral feeding cylinder or a plastic bottle into a dragonet feeder
4. Get mosquito larvae -the tang won't eat anything living, while the dragonets seem to be more enticed by it
5. Feed the dragonets early in the morning
Anything else?

 

[W31Olds]

I feed mine TDO Chromaboost small pellets and you may need to crush them slightly. Mine will also eat frozen food but it tends to drift away in the current and she loses interest. The Pellets are easily target fed and sink to the bottom without drifting away.

 

[twentyleagues]

The female dagonet is getting easier to feed, each day gets more active and eats quicker, her hiding place is also very accessible to me but not for the surgeonfish.
The male is another case, he still likes to hide, he is also very slow and skittish. As for his hiding place... well it's not the best, it's accessible to me but to the tang as well.
It seems to me that when I turn off the wavemakers, the dragonets go into hiding, this is strange to me.
(I have seen similar cases when I experimented with Pseudanthias Tukas or Saddleback anthias, they always went into their hiding place when the wavemakers got disabled.)

I think I can try a few things during feeding:
1. Feed a bit more artemia
2. Get mysis for the dragonets
3. Retrofit a coral feeding cylinder or a plastic bottle into a dragonet feeder
4. Get mosquito larvae -the tang won't eat anything living, while the dragonets seem to be more enticed by it
5. Feed the dragonets early in the morning
Anything else?

Feed white worms. Start a white worm culture and feed them. They are kind of gross and there is a bit of work involved. I think @Snoopdog and his wife sell cultures online. @Paul B feeds them to his reef. I didnt even think about feeding them to saltwater fish I have used them in freshwater breeding for years. I just (about a year ago) got totally away from breeding fish and trashed my white worm cultures (yes dumb I know). Pretty sure the mandarins will go for these once they realize they are food they are a good size for mandarins when the mandarins are bigger you can try blackworms. Blackworms are not as easy to keep, I had mine in a cement mixing tray the largest I could get from HD with just an air pump in my basement on the floor. They dont like deep water and it needs to be cooler typically the basement was around 65-70f and seemed perfect for them. A little fish food to feed them. Both are live so if your tang wont eat live (weird) it may stay away from them although most fish go crazy for them so I doubt the tang will shy away.

 

[Snoopdog]

Yes, we still sell them. It maybe be a bit longer before we can reduce shipping cost, it is still rather hot here in the South East. We spent the hot summer basically restarting all of our cultures, trying a new process to keep any pest away. So far it is working.

Funny this came up, we just purchased a target Dragonet two weeks ago.

 

[twentyleagues]

Yes, we still sell them. It maybe be a bit longer before we can reduce shipping cost, it is still rather hot here in the South East. We spent the hot summer basically restarting all of our cultures, trying a new process to keep any pest away. So far it is working.

Funny this came up, we just purchased a target Dragonet two weeks ago.

Are you feeding it white worms?

 

[Snoopdog]

Are you feeding it white worms?

He has not shown interest so far. Seems to just pick off the rocks, he has a belly on him so he is eating something. We have quite a large amount of rock per gallon, he will be fine until we get him eating worms.