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  #1  
Old 09/15/2005, 05:40 PM
clutch clutch is offline
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Mandarin Fish help...

i have recieved a free starving mandarin fish from the pet store. My first one is big and full growing like mad (doing very well). I added the second one today and oddly enough they where ramming thier mouths into each other gills. Is this norma like feeling each other out or shall i remove one of them.
  #2  
Old 09/15/2005, 05:56 PM
d34532 d34532 is offline
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They normally don't get along if they are the same sex. I had 2 that I though was male and female but was both male. They will always fight and never really get along. If your tank is large enough 2 might be fine in the same tank. I would remove one if you know or can find someone that can support it. If they are in your 210 it will probably be fine if there are not a lot of fish competing for pod unless you can train them of frozen or other food.
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  #3  
Old 09/15/2005, 05:59 PM
clutch clutch is offline
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No they would be the only fish competeing for pods. They are now just swimming around eating. I'll have to watch them. Thnxs for reply.
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  #4  
Old 09/15/2005, 06:15 PM
d34532 d34532 is offline
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Good luck with them. I think 2 would be fine in the 210. what you said earlier might have been a met and greet thing. I want another one in my 110 but I can't tell if mine is male or female because its probably not mature yet. See if you can tell if you have a male/female or they are the same sex. It would be cool if they pair up.
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  #5  
Old 09/15/2005, 06:52 PM
clutch clutch is offline
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ya it would be cool that's y i kindof wanted to keep them.
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  #6  
Old 09/15/2005, 07:55 PM
peecook peecook is offline
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you can tell sex by their dorsal fin, i think the large one that sticks up is the male. someone correct me if i'm wrong.
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  #7  
Old 09/15/2005, 10:18 PM
hollywd hollywd is offline
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Yes, the male has a 'spike' in his dorsal. I have a pair in my 90, but I am very lucky because they both eat prepared. It is neat to watch them spawn, but sometimes I feel bad because the female seems to be perpetually pregnant.. poor thing.
  #8  
Old 09/16/2005, 01:27 AM
TheGrimmReefer TheGrimmReefer is offline
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They are actually one of the easiest fish to identify by sex. Like the other two have said, they either have a spike (and are therefore male) or they don't. I'm surprised that you didn't know that until now, d34532, it would just take a two second conversation with any mildly competent LFS employee to find that out. (Sorry for how that must sound but if you were interested in pairing up the mandarins, why wouldn't you just ask someone that question before you tried it? Of course, if the people at your LFS really didn't know that, then I apologize, and I personally wouldn't take their advice on too many subjects in the future, as that is one of the most commonly known facts in the saltwater fishkeeping trade).

Anyway, my point is that there doesn't have to be any experimentation when pairing these fish (unlike so many other species), you can usually spot the males from the females a mile away, figuratively speaking.

But I don't know if 2 males of the same species (there are 2 mandarin species that I am aware of) will coexist at all, even in that sized tank. Maybe someone else knows exactly how that works. I've always been told that it is a major no-no, and that they will fight to the death. But perhaps space settles all conflicts in reefkeeping, and I know that 210 gallons should be able to meet the needs of 2 mandarins. It's just the matter of mandarin territoriallity I'm not sure about.

Of course, that's assuming they are both males. If you find that one is a male and one is a female, they should get along fine. If that is the case, there is also probably a good chance that they will spawn in the future.

Last edited by TheGrimmReefer; 09/16/2005 at 01:38 AM.
  #9  
Old 09/16/2005, 02:01 AM
Thunil Thunil is offline
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people have seen two male mandarin fish fight to the death
  #10  
Old 09/16/2005, 05:05 PM
d34532 d34532 is offline
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TheGrimmReefer

I know which is male and female but im not sure if mine is male or female becuase I don't think it is mature yet. Im leaning to male since the dorsal fin is getting longer then when I frist got it but Ive seen it that long (still on the short side where it can still be female) but its grown since I got it. That is the reason why I said that I don't think it is mature yet.
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