How hard are Scooter Dragonets to keep?

[jasonrusso]

I have my eye on a nice scooter dragonet. I keep reading that they will starve if there isn't enough food in the sand. Are they like mandarins where you need to keep seeding the tank? Are they hardy? They seem a bit wimpy, so I am concerned that my royal gramma might pick on it. It's a 34 gallon Red Sea that is about 3 years old so it's established with pods.

 

[Mkvc]

At my LFS they said they were like mandarins. Might be tough in a 34g.

 

[PatW]

I have seen some dragonets that will accept frozen food. The LFS will let you see if this fish accepts frozen food. If it does, you have a good risk. I have a tamarin wrasse which is a difficult fish. Mine eats everything I toss into the tank. They are not supposed to do that. On some fish, you can get lucky.

 

[Fishurama]

I have my eye on a nice scooter dragonet. I keep reading that they will starve if there isn't enough food in the sand. Are they like mandarins where you need to keep seeding the tank? Are they hardy? They seem a bit wimpy, so I am concerned that my royal gramma might pick on it. It's a 34 gallon Red Sea that is about 3 years old so it's established with pods.

A dragonet is a madarin they are not a blenny like their name suggests. They both belong to the same Callionymidae family. I have a scooter thats mated with my Psychedelic. Your Royal may bug it, but upon the first nip it will stop. Dragonets have a heavy slime coat with a type of toxin in there that wards of predators of around it's own size. You will have to keep adding pods, established or not. They don't have a normal intestinal tract like other fish and need to eat every hour to keep their nutrition up. Which can be hundreds of pods a day.
My snowflake eel doesn't bother mine for instance.(you can see it in the right hand corner under a rock right next to the pair)

 

[Cole.mormon]

Cool

 

[Cole.mormon]

Can I keep a red scooter amd a mandarin with a diamond watchman goby in a 60 gallon

 

[Uncle99]

If it’s the only POD eater in your DT and you have it established 3 years, both mandarin or scooter blennie will be fine.

 

[laverda]

First most are very under nourished that you see at LFS. You want one where its belly is not concave. You may have to watch it closely for a good while to tell. The eat pods off the rock and sand bed primarily. I have found them easier to keep that mandarins. My experience is mandarins require much more food and are less likely to eat pellets than scooter blennies. That said 34 gallons is questionable size wise. If you have a refugium then the chances are much better. Keep an eye on the belly to make sure it is getting enough to eat.

Can I keep a red scooter amd a mandarin with a diamond watchman goby in a 60 gallon

I would never add both. One or the other. I had a healthy spawning pair of scooter blennies in my 240 for a long time. I added a mandarin to the tank and really regretted it, as all three started losing weight. By the time I realized the had all gotten thin. I had a refugium and supplemented with pods and pellets. I guess i noticed too late.. Sadly I ended up loosing all three.