Mini Dartfish, any recent success?

[Northwest_Scapes_]

So it looks like the time of the year when wholesalers are getting in Mini Dartfish / Aioliops megastigma. I've always been interested in these guys, and I think a group would make a great addition to my Macro Tank. The problem is they always seem to come in starved and they need lots of feedings.
Have there been any recent success with these guys? Especially with new foods like Pac-Pods from RN on the market now, would it be worth a shot? Everything I've seen from them has been up to 2016 so I'm interested to hear if anyone has kept them recently

 

[Chrisv.]

So it looks like the time of the year when wholesalers are getting in Mini Dartfish / Aioliops megastigma. I've always been interested in these guys, and I think a group would make a great addition to my Macro Tank. The problem is they always seem to come in starved and they need lots of feedings.
Have there been any recent success with these guys? Especially with new foods like Pac-Pods from RN on the market now, would it be worth a shot? Everything I've seen from them has been up to 2016 so I'm interested to hear if anyone has kept them recently

I'd never heard of these before your post, but they look super cool. Let us know how it goes!

 

[i cant think]

So it looks like the time of the year when wholesalers are getting in Mini Dartfish / Aioliops megastigma. I've always been interested in these guys, and I think a group would make a great addition to my Macro Tank. The problem is they always seem to come in starved and they need lots of feedings.
Have there been any recent success with these guys? Especially with new foods like Pac-Pods from RN on the market now, would it be worth a shot? Everything I've seen from them has been up to 2016 so I'm interested to hear if anyone has kept them recently

I personally think if you can’t keep up with their feedings then you shouldn’t keep them. These fish need multiple feedings for a reason and long term survival I find is extremely hard (I don’t think anyones kept this species in captivity long term).
Look into Trimma, Eviota, Coryphopterus or if the tank is small (20g is the max size I’d go with this species as they’re so small) then it could be the perfect home for a Discordipinna pair. The first three genera I’ve mentioned are all common genera known however the species in them are very varied and most enjoy being in groups of 3-5. The fourth genus I mentioned is more unusual but prefer being kept in pairs or singularly.

As for more information on this species here you go.
This species eats essentially constantly and the reason they are almost always starved when they hit the LFS is due to not being fed enough. They eat live and are almost never weened onto frozen/prepared (Even if they were they’d still need to eat it constantly). These guys usually eat pods and live brine, making macro algae tanks the heaven for them as Macro algae has everything needed for Pods and Live foods to thrive in. You can bring ones that aren’t too starved back however they will never eat prepared no matter what you do. These are strictly live foods only. And to feed them live you’d need to feed them at least 8 times a day during Day Light Hours with an autofeeder. Many will die due to starvation however as I mentioned you can bring back ones that aren’t too starved.
If you stick with this plan, be prepared to lose a lot of this species and constantly be feeding live.

 

[Chrisv.]

I personally think if you can’t keep up with their feedings then you shouldn’t keep them. These fish need multiple feedings for a reason and long term survival I find is extremely hard (I don’t think anyones kept this species in captivity long term).
Look into Trimma, Eviota, Coryphopterus or if the tank is small (20g is the max size I’d go with this species as they’re so small) then it could be the perfect home for a Discordipinna pair. The first three genera I’ve mentioned are all common genera known however the species in them are very varied and most enjoy being in groups of 3-5. The fourth genus I mentioned is more unusual but prefer being kept in pairs or singularly.

As for more information on this species here you go.
This species eats essentially constantly and the reason they are almost always starved when they hit the LFS is due to not being fed enough. They eat live and are almost never weened onto frozen/prepared (Even if they were they’d still need to eat it constantly). These guys usually eat pods and live brine, making macro algae tanks the heaven for them as Macro algae has everything needed for Pods and Live foods to thrive in. You can bring ones that aren’t too starved back however they will never eat prepared no matter what you do. These are strictly live foods only. And to feed them live you’d need to feed them at least 8 times a day during Day Light Hours with an autofeeder. Many will die due to starvation however as I mentioned you can bring back ones that aren’t too starved.
If you stick with this plan, be prepared to lose a lot of this species and constantly be feeding live.

Great info. These really sound like they are best left in the wild unless you can source them directly from a collector.

Modern auto feeders and nutrient export methods should make this possible if you ever got healthy ones in.

The other thing I found in my googling was that these guys apparently have a very short lifespan. I didn't see anyone specify what it was. Worth considering.

It's a shame that they are so difficult to care for. They look like a beautiful and fascinating fish!

 

[i cant think]

Great info. These really sound like they are best left in the wild unless you can source them directly from a collector.

Modern auto feeders and nutrient export methods should make this possible if you ever got healthy ones in.

The other thing I found in my googling was that these guys apparently have a very short lifespan. I didn't see anyone specify what it was. Worth considering.

It's a shame that they are so difficult to care for. They look like a beautiful and fascinating fish!

Their life span is extremely short yes, I’d probably say 1-2 years max as if it’s shorter than the common larger species of Dartfish then it’s similar to the life span of gobies but as the larger gobies can have decade long lifespans it would be closer to the smaller gobies which have lifespans of 1-2 years, 4-5 years max for the medium sized gobies.

 

[blaxsun]

These look like entirely too much fun to chase...

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

I personally think if you can’t keep up with their feedings then you shouldn’t keep them. These fish need multiple feedings for a reason and long term survival I find is extremely hard (I don’t think anyones kept this species in captivity long term).
Look into Trimma, Eviota, Coryphopterus or if the tank is small (20g is the max size I’d go with this species as they’re so small) then it could be the perfect home for a Discordipinna pair. The first three genera I’ve mentioned are all common genera known however the species in them are very varied and most enjoy being in groups of 3-5. The fourth genus I mentioned is more unusual but prefer being kept in pairs or singularly.

As for more information on this species here you go.
This species eats essentially constantly and the reason they are almost always starved when they hit the LFS is due to not being fed enough. They eat live and are almost never weened onto frozen/prepared (Even if they were they’d still need to eat it constantly). These guys usually eat pods and live brine, making macro algae tanks the heaven for them as Macro algae has everything needed for Pods and Live foods to thrive in. You can bring ones that aren’t too starved back however they will never eat prepared no matter what you do. These are strictly live foods only. And to feed them live you’d need to feed them at least 8 times a day during Day Light Hours with an autofeeder. Many will die due to starvation however as I mentioned you can bring back ones that aren’t too starved.
If you stick with this plan, be prepared to lose a lot of this species and constantly be feeding live.

Wow 8 times? I knew they eat a lot but I didn't think THAT much haha
definitely sticking with my orig plan of probably a big group of Longspine Cardinals, thank you for the info!

 

[i cant think]

Wow 8 times? I knew they eat a lot but I didn't think THAT much haha
definitely sticking with my orig plan of probably a big group of Longspine Cardinals, thank you for the info!

Some recommend between 6-10 and I personally find 7/8 to be around the correct amount of times to feed them.

It’s not impossible and I do believe it can be done in a tank designed for breeding pods and these species or similar species. This is one species I’d love to attempt as I have a love for gobies (Dartfish are also gobies however they often get separated from them) but I’d wait till I have a macro or Caribbean style tank (I love gorgs and have found pods to enjoy using them as hiding spots).