Ok, this will seem odd, cause it did to me. I was just looking in my tank and say my Mandarin's belly is HUGE! It was originally paired with another, but he passed about 6 months ago. Is it possible that she is pregnant? Could some other fish in the tank have accosted her and reproduced with her? I find this unlikely, but who knows what sexual tendencies will develop in a closed invironment... All I know is the fish has never looked this way. Her belly is really big. Uh oh, another thought, could it be some intestinal thing, that could eventually cause her stomach to burst. OK, now I'm concerned. This fish is by far my favorite. Any thoughts?
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Mandarin a-sexually reproduce?
- Thread starter jsteinman
- Start date
She is just full of eggs. With few exceptions, fishes have external fertilization mechanism. My female Mandarin would be so full of eggs and look like she will busted befor she spawned eggs in her matting dance with her mate.
Can your tank support another Mandarin? I would be cool to have a pair and watch them spawned every few days. My pair only actually produce eggs every two weeks or so, the rest of the time no egg or sperm produced.
Can your tank support another Mandarin? I would be cool to have a pair and watch them spawned every few days. My pair only actually produce eggs every two weeks or so, the rest of the time no egg or sperm produced.
We have a blue/green male named Spike because of his long spiked dorsal fin. We just presented him with a bride - Spikette - she of short dorsal fin and red/green color. They are aware of each other but we haven't seen any romancing yet. It's a 200 gal. tank so they can have separate bedrooms if they don't like each other.
Spawning of mandarindish in captivity is commonplace. They spawn as often as once per day (per female- the male could spawn with two or more females), always in the evening just before or just after the lights go out. The timing is dependent on how much background light there is in the room. If the room is completely dark, they will spawn just before lights out. If they can see each other after lights out, they will spawn afterwards.
The fat female has a belly full of eggs. The eggs hydrate in the late afternoon.
In 1989 I raised 1 mandarinfish larva through metamorphosis after several attempts, using copepod nauplii and ciliates grown in a marine infusoria culture. I described what I did in an article in FAMA magazine- sorry I don't have the reference handy.
Mandarinfish grow VERY slowly. My baby mandarin was only 1 inch long a year after it was raised. Some years later the fish farm C-Quest in Puerto Rico raised mandarins and had the same experience as I did- very slow growth rate, so they decided it was not commercially worthwhile to raise them.
Julian Sprung
The fat female has a belly full of eggs. The eggs hydrate in the late afternoon.
In 1989 I raised 1 mandarinfish larva through metamorphosis after several attempts, using copepod nauplii and ciliates grown in a marine infusoria culture. I described what I did in an article in FAMA magazine- sorry I don't have the reference handy.
Mandarinfish grow VERY slowly. My baby mandarin was only 1 inch long a year after it was raised. Some years later the fish farm C-Quest in Puerto Rico raised mandarins and had the same experience as I did- very slow growth rate, so they decided it was not commercially worthwhile to raise them.
Julian Sprung
One more thing-
regarding the length of the dorsal spine, females essentially don't have a prominent first dorsal spine- their first dorsal fin looks much like the first dorsal fin of a percula clownfish. Males have the "spike."
I mention this because males with short spikes are sometimes mistaken for females... witchdoctor's description is inaccurate. Two males placed in the same tank usually fisht to the death.
The sexes of spotted mandarins are a bit more difficult to separate because the male has a relatively short dorsal spine. The female has a dorsal fin like that of the female of the other type of mandarin.
Sincerely,
Julian Sprung
regarding the length of the dorsal spine, females essentially don't have a prominent first dorsal spine- their first dorsal fin looks much like the first dorsal fin of a percula clownfish. Males have the "spike."
I mention this because males with short spikes are sometimes mistaken for females... witchdoctor's description is inaccurate. Two males placed in the same tank usually fisht to the death.
The sexes of spotted mandarins are a bit more difficult to separate because the male has a relatively short dorsal spine. The female has a dorsal fin like that of the female of the other type of mandarin.
Sincerely,
Julian Sprung
The pair that I had before would often engage in mating behavior, spiralling up toward my moonlight on the tank. I watched them spawn once, but obviously no products of that. I've only found one report of successful spawning in captivity at the Waikiki Aquarium a few years ago. None of the offspring actually survived to adulthood.
Incidentally, that male has a much longer first dorsal spine. It will often extend to the end of the dorsal fin when laid flat. The females may extend for half of that. Also, the preopercular (cheek) spine may be a bit longer on the male, and the male is larger in size.
[ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: witchdoctor ]</p>
Incidentally, that male has a much longer first dorsal spine. It will often extend to the end of the dorsal fin when laid flat. The females may extend for half of that. Also, the preopercular (cheek) spine may be a bit longer on the male, and the male is larger in size.
[ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: witchdoctor ]</p>
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