Will mandarin dragonet outcompete my pipefish?

pixelhustler

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 20, 2020
Messages
206
Reaction score
170
Location
Los Angeles
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have 4 dragonface pipefish that have been doing great in my 75g for months. I feed frozen brine/mysis/cyclopods and they eat a bit of frozen but mostly forage for pods. I want a pair of mandarin dragonets but I wonder if they will outcompete my pipefish. My pod population is booming and I keep a large refugium as well as .1-.15 phosphates since they seem to do better with a bit of hair/film algae on the back glass. Will the mandarin pair clean up my pod population or are they more of a slow pod forager like my pipefish? I’m also considering getting them from ORA/Biota so that they lean less on pods for nutrition. Any experiences keeping these fish would be super helpful!

8489030B-7A61-4DBA-BB59-8C4C6DF19314.jpeg
 

Lasse

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 20, 2016
Messages
10,830
Reaction score
29,791
Location
Källarliden 14 D Bohus, Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
For the moment I have one blue pipefish together with two Scooter blennies and a lott of other pod eaters - see this video for some information of my fish population. The pipefish have been here for 3 months



I have a refugium.

I have had different pipefish in the past and normally I succeed for a year or two with them. The dragon pipefish have been the most difficult to keep - I just have lost them after a month or so. eating good one day - not to be seen the other day. I have some very large clams and they seems to love to rest in them. I suspect that it is the clam that have killed them.

1629966271760.png


Mandarins eat a lot of pod but the dragonface will be able to catch pods there the mandarins can´t.

It is impossible to say if it works but if they eat frozen already now - I think the problem is a minor problem.

By the way - my aquarium is 80 gallons (300 L)

Sincerely Lasse
 
OP
OP
P

pixelhustler

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 20, 2020
Messages
206
Reaction score
170
Location
Los Angeles
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
For the moment I have one blue pipefish together with two Scooter blennies and a lott of other pod eaters - see this video for some information of my fish population. The pipefish have been here for 3 months



I have a refugium.

I have had different pipefish in the past and normally I succeed for a year or two with them. The dragon pipefish have been the most difficult to keep - I just have lost them after a month or so. eating good one day - not to be seen the other day. I have some very large clams and they seems to love to rest in them. I suspect that it is the clam that have killed them.

1629966271760.png


Mandarins eat a lot of pod but the dragonface will be able to catch pods there the mandarins can´t.

It is impossible to say if it works but if they eat frozen already now - I think the problem is a minor problem.

By the way - my aquarium is 80 gallons (300 L)

Sincerely Lasse

Thank you, Lasse. I bought all 4 dragonface pipefish at the same time so that might help keeping them alive. I also don’t have any bottom feeders other than snails so whatever frozen food falls to the bottom is either eaten by pipefish or snails - my wrasses pick on it here and there but not too often. I think I’ll try a captive bred mandarin pair.
On a different note, you have a good amount of fish in your tank - any tricks to keep nitrates in check?
 

Lasse

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 20, 2016
Messages
10,830
Reaction score
29,791
Location
Källarliden 14 D Bohus, Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nope - I have a reversed DSB in my refugium. I pump water below the DSB and are able to add DOC in the plenum below the sand. The system is partly described here. I have around 2 - 5 ppm nitrate for the moment and more fish coming in :D. Will pick up 4 interesting fish this afternoon:D, For the moment it is 49 fish (at least). I love bouillabaisse :D

Sincerely Lasse
 
OP
OP
P

pixelhustler

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 20, 2020
Messages
206
Reaction score
170
Location
Los Angeles
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nope - I have a reversed DSB in my refugium. I pump water below the DSB and are able to add DOC in the plenum below the sand. The system is partly described here. I have around 2 - 5 ppm nitrate for the moment and more fish coming in :D. Will pick up 4 interesting fish this afternoon:D, For the moment it is 49 fish (at least). I love bouillabaisse :D

Sincerely Lasse
Fascinating thread - I read 10 pages so far but I have a question.
I have a refugium with a 10cm layer of Matrix, Siphorax and macroalgae but I’m still having issues keeping my nitrates down. Would I get similar benefits if I add an under gravel filter at the bottom of the refugium with reverse flow fed by the output of my GFO reactor? The flow would be slow, I assume <100 gallons per hour
12342F5B-C254-4B2F-83AD-EF3304A9738C.jpeg
 

Lasse

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 20, 2016
Messages
10,830
Reaction score
29,791
Location
Källarliden 14 D Bohus, Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Read some more pages - after a year I had around 20 ppm Si in my water (0,1 is more reasonable) The reason was that my siporax leak Si in the anaerobic environment of my DSB. If you go my route - take away the siporax. The flow must be much lower 100 to 200 L a day (30 - 60 G a day)

Sincerely Lasse
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 71 37.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 63 33.5%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.3%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 1 0.5%
Back
Top