# no training needed :)



## acer (May 18, 2010)

So I just started feeding frozen mysis into my main tank with my spotted mandarin for some variety for the other fish... and guess who started eating it, the mandarin. I didn't even have to "train" it. He's been surviving off of a lot of pods for the last 4 months, there are still pods everywhere so not sure why he would go after the frozen food, maybe just bored. Mind you he doesn't eat a lot... maybe 2 or 3 full sized mysis each feeding, but he's started picking them out of the water and not waiting for them to hit the sand or rock.

oh... he's not an ORA tank-raised mandarin too, which is a bonus cause he only cost me 15 dollars 

don't mean to brag, but ... ok I'm kind of bragging ... it's exciting, lol.

I'll try and get an updated pic of him...

here's one of him 2 months ago








not much has changed... other then him having a higher crest and a tiny bit bigger.


----------



## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

nice, but skinny 

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


----------



## acer (May 18, 2010)

I can't tell if that's sarcasm. :/

if it is... I'm scared he's going to get stuck in his cave where he sleeps, he barely fits now....


----------



## Sunstar (Jul 29, 2008)

just keep an eye on him. But glee, he's eating the frozen noms. Always a good thing. I'd love a mandering, they are utterly stunning. we'll see once I get over to the 25 gallon.


----------



## marblerye (Jul 25, 2010)

i must be going blind because how can you tell if it's skinny from that pic? 

he looks absolutely stunning as all mandarinfish do. keep up the great work!


----------



## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

Sorry guys - did not mean to offend the owner of the nice fish. I am going to buy one also

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


----------



## acer (May 18, 2010)

sig said:


> Sorry guys - did not mean to offend the owner of the nice fish. I am going to buy one also


didn't offend... just wasn't sure how to respond. 

but yeah... not sure if its normal but he's now digging in my sand bed, like head first and popping up out of no where. It's kind of funny cause of his eyes and his face looking like he's a cartoon character. lol.

I'll try and get a picture of his fat belly in all it's glory tomorrow.

If you do get one, I'd suggest making sure your tank has a lot of pods, and if you aren't sure then buy either a bag of reefpods or a jar of DT's copepods and let the tank get seeded with them for a long while. annnd have a fuge, that's partially why my pod population isn't hurting as badly as it could be. I was going to get a wrasse instead to keep the pods in check cause they'd have more of a chance eating other foods if the pods had died out, but they can be such a pain later on and didn't want to risk it so I got him


----------



## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

acer said:


> didn't offend... just wasn't sure how to respond.
> 
> . I was going to get a wrasse instead to keep the pods in check cause they'd have more of a chance eating other foods if the pods had died out, but they can be such a pain later on and didn't want to risk it so I got him


Is this guy peaceful? I got two wrasses -one is sixlline and second is yeallow.
Sixline is always in front, but yellow hides in the sand for hours

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


----------



## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

sig said:


> Is this guy peaceful? I got two wrasses -one is sixlline and second is yeallow.
> Sixline is always in front, but yellow hides in the sand for hours


You'll probably need to get yours trained on prepared/ frozen foods, because both of your wrasses will have the pod population pretty much cleaned out... Might work if you have a well-seeded refugium... These guys are picky eaters and don't often live very long unless they can be trained, or they live in a larger mature tank with a substantial pod population.


----------



## acer (May 18, 2010)

sig said:


> Is this guy peaceful? I got two wrasses -one is sixlline and second is yeallow.
> Sixline is always in front, but yellow hides in the sand for hours


yeah he's peaceful, doesn't bother other fish and does his own thing even when they get mad cause he's in their area, he just brushes them off and they back down. lol. my yellow watchman goby is more aggressive than my mandarin, but they both get along now 

ummm like fifty said the wrasses would clean your tank out of pods, so I'd either wait for a much larger tank with more LR or get a huge fuge that can supply enough pods for all.

If all works out and I can get a larger tank running I'm putting the mandarin in that cause I think he'd be a lot happier with a lot more LR to explore... or keep him where he is and turn the 30 he is in now into a display fuge and he'll have the whole place to himself.


----------



## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

I've seen mandarins eat frozen food readily, without training. 

My current Mandarin eats sinking pellets readily, again without training.

I guess it all depends on luck, if these guys are supposed to be very picky. None if these were tank raised or trained before.


----------



## acer (May 18, 2010)

conix67 said:


> I've seen mandarins eat frozen food readily, without training.
> 
> My current Mandarin eats sinking pellets readily, again without training.
> 
> I guess it all depends on luck, if these guys are supposed to be very picky. None if these were tank raised or trained before.


cool, I think my next step is to get him to try pellets. what kind is your's eating? NLS?


----------



## marblerye (Jul 25, 2010)

conix67 said:


> I've seen mandarins eat frozen food readily, without training.
> 
> My current Mandarin eats sinking pellets readily, again without training.
> 
> I guess it all depends on luck, if these guys are supposed to be very picky. None if these were tank raised or trained before.


no offense to you personally, but with that statement it may encourage many others to try their 'luck' on these fish only to have them parish. it's a pretty hefty gamble when it involves toying with a life even if in this hobby many people see fish as expendable. sure fish die all the time for many different reasons, but preparing yourself through prior research and knowing the challenges ahead will increase the chances that your fish will not only survive but actually be happy to an extent, even though captivity isn't the place it may really want to be. i'm no greenpeace or peta, but i do believe in responsible reefing that's why i chimed in.

With that said, I still would like to push the requirements of a mature tank (8+ months) with lots of live rock and sand and hopefully a connected refugium. The idea of training a mandarinfish to take prepared foods such as pellets should only be done as supplemental feeding, as the times before and after feedings they still have a natural instinct to hunt for pods all day. I've attempted and trained quite a few dragonets already and in my experience training dragonets is hit and miss; some adjust really well to prepared foods and others take some time. There are also others that don't ever make that adjustment and will only eat live foods. No matter the outcome of training I'd always have a place for all dragonets whether they were successfully trained (given away to a respectable reefer who will know how to take care of it) or not (kept in a very large and mature tank) and I advise all others who want to keep any dragonets to keep that in mind as well.


----------



## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

marblerye said:


> no offense to you personally, but with that statement it may encourage many others to try their 'luck' on these fish only to have them parish. it's a pretty hefty gamble when it involves toying with a life even if in this hobby many people see fish as expendable. sure fish die all the time for many different reasons, but preparing yourself through prior research and knowing the challenges ahead will increase the chances that your fish will not only survive but actually be happy to an extent, even though captivity isn't the place it may really want to be. i'm no greenpeace or peta, but i do believe in responsible reefing that's why i chimed in.
> 
> With that said, I still would like to push the requirements of a mature tank (8+ months) with lots of live rock and sand and hopefully a connected refugium. The idea of training a mandarinfish to take prepared foods such as pellets should only be done as supplemental feeding, as the times before and after feedings they still have a natural instinct to hunt for pods all day. I've attempted and trained quite a few dragonets already and in my experience training dragonets is hit and miss; some adjust really well to prepared foods and others take some time. There are also others that don't ever make that adjustment and will only eat live foods. No matter the outcome of training I'd always have a place for all dragonets whether they were successfully trained (given away to a respectable reefer who will know how to take care of it) or not (kept in a very large and mature tank) and I advise all others who want to keep any dragonets to keep that in mind as well.


No offence to you, but having a mature tank won't be enough to supply pods for a single mandarin, unless there's no competitor (other fishes consuming pods, such as sixline) and the tank is large (100+ gallons). Refugium and what not, you MUST be prepared to train a mandarin if you plan to keep one. I do not suggest on relying pods as main food source for Mandarin fishes.

I'm not suggesting testing your luck. I just feel these fishes not as finicky as what people believe. You will NEED to prepare to train the fish, but with luck you may not have to work so hard.


----------



## marblerye (Jul 25, 2010)

ahhhh i had a feeling that was gonna happen.  forget i said anything.


----------

