I have a question regarding your mandarin dragonette pair. I do believe you have a mandarin pair in your tank, right? I am interested in getting a female for my male. I do believe my system, 120g and 15g refugium can and will support a pair. I designed my whole system around this one fish. I have had the male, he has a large dorsal spine, for about 6+ months. He is fat, healthy, and growing. There are huge amounts of those very tiny pods in my tank and refugium despite his constant foraging. My overflows are like a whirling mass of tiny insects. This is a good thing. Now that 6+ months has past and I feel I could support a female as well I need some help in assuring that what I get is a female and info on how they pair off. Is it likely that they will pair off or is it a big risk? I hope I am right in assuming you have a pair.
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Question for Minh, are ya out there?
- Thread starter slojmn1
- Start date
The female should be smaller than the male. She should have minimal first spike of her dorsal fin. Be careful because male often lost the first dorsal fin though fighting or trauma because of tangle in the net. You may add a male into your tank thinking it he is a female.
Good luck
Good luck
Not the best pic, but
here's my pair...
When I released the female into the tank, the male immediately rushed up to her and went into his display mode. It seemed very aggessive, but within seconds he seemed to realize the new mandarin was a female. He followed her around the rocks for the rest of that day, and since then she has followed his lead. They began spawning behavior within a week or two.
To get my female, I chose a much smaller mandarin in a tank containing several. There were some obvious males in the tank, and 'she' was followed without the aggressive display behavior that the males engaged in with each other.
Good luck in your quest. I know I have been very lucky with mine and that my positive experience with my two first (and only!) mandarin purchases is the exception in this hobby.
[ November 25, 2001: Message edited by: houston ]</p>
here's my pair...
When I released the female into the tank, the male immediately rushed up to her and went into his display mode. It seemed very aggessive, but within seconds he seemed to realize the new mandarin was a female. He followed her around the rocks for the rest of that day, and since then she has followed his lead. They began spawning behavior within a week or two.
To get my female, I chose a much smaller mandarin in a tank containing several. There were some obvious males in the tank, and 'she' was followed without the aggressive display behavior that the males engaged in with each other.
Good luck in your quest. I know I have been very lucky with mine and that my positive experience with my two first (and only!) mandarin purchases is the exception in this hobby.
[ November 25, 2001: Message edited by: houston ]</p>
Since keeping reef aquarium, I had two pairs of Mandarin and another friend of mine keep one pair. The first pair was very easy. I got a larger male and a female and they pair up. The female was later killed by my Six-line wrasses. I have to return several Mandarins to LFS before I got the current Mandarin pair. The first female I have to return to the LFS was a female that was larger than the male. She would fight with the male and they never settle down. Their fights were never really aggressive. I have to return her to the LFS. There is very small possibility that she was actually a male. The second time, I added a male thinking he was a female. I have to give him to a friend of mine with a female Mandarin. They paired up quickly. The last time I added a tiny female, she paired up with my male without any problem.
From research, I find that a few people agree that larger female often will not pair with a smaller male. Also, Mandarin pair up easy if you get a female and a male together in the same tank. I find that the male and female in my tank ignore each other until the evening of each day. The Male often display at the same place every night. Every few days, the female would join him and about once every 10-14 days, they would successfully spawned.
From research, I find that a few people agree that larger female often will not pair with a smaller male. Also, Mandarin pair up easy if you get a female and a male together in the same tank. I find that the male and female in my tank ignore each other until the evening of each day. The Male often display at the same place every night. Every few days, the female would join him and about once every 10-14 days, they would successfully spawned.
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