Adding mandrin dragonets?

[rusty hannon]

Hi all, n sorry I havent been around n a while. Broke phone and computer 3 weeks ago n just had phone replaced a week ago. So my question is this, I have a pair of green dragonet's and they are doing great . the rest of my tank are corals. I know n the wild a male will have a small harem. I'm hoping for them to breed someday but they don't reach that age for a while. I'm wanting to add a few more females to the tank for more fish and movement. They will not b wild caught and planning on younger ones than the ones I have, but can't find any info on this being done. And I certainly don't want any losses. Does anyone know anything about this situation. Thanks. In advance

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Hi Rusty, I’ve often thought of getting another female or 2 or 3. I’ve had a spawning pair for years, still do. I’ll be following this thread. These fish are beautiful and it’s great to witness their little breeding rituals, something not witnessed with most fish. Good luck bud.

 

[rusty hannon]

Hi Rusty, I’ve often thought of getting another female or 2 or 3. I’ve had a spawning pair for years, still do. I’ll be following this thread. These fish are beautiful and it’s great to witness their little breeding rituals, something not witnessed with most fish. Good luck bud.

Thank you for your input. If I'm understanding right you have a pair and like me want to add more. Correct? I totally agree their dance dance and corting ritchual is beautiful às well as elegant. Please do follow as I have a few other sources to hopefully help. Thanks for the response

 

[Tamberav]

How big of a tank? I don’t ask because of the obvious pods question but that females will fight other females sometimes if they don’t feel there is enough space or food. Actually males and females will fight too if they reject the other as a mate. Often if the sizing is incorrect.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Thank you for your input. If I'm understanding right you have a pair and like me want to add more. Correct? I totally agree their dance dance and corting ritchual is beautiful às well as elegant. Please do follow as I have a few other sources to hopefully help. Thanks for the response

I’d definitely add more.

 

[rusty hannon]

How big of a tank? I don’t ask because of the obvious pods question but that females will fight other females sometimes if they don’t feel there is enough space or food. Actually males and females will fight too if they reject the other as a mate. Often if the sizing is incorrect.

The tank is 60 g display. Pods will b no problem as I raise them and have to harvest every 3-4 days. I figured there will b a hierarchy among the females but not sure if it would b to the death as males do. I'd b Interested i n your opinion with those parameters. And realize w tank size can't have a " harem", but seems there should b enough room for 1-2 more females,

 

[Tamberav]

The tank is 60 g display. Pods will b no problem as I raise them and have to harvest every 3-4 days. I figured there will b a hierarchy among the females but not sure if it would b to the death as males do. I'd b Interested i n your opinion with those parameters. And realize w tank size can't have a " harem", but seems there should b enough room for 1-2 more females,

I would say you can try it but realize some females can fight as nasty as the males. The captive ones come in pinky nail size and I have seen bigger males kill them due to them being too small. They are not breeding material. This was in a smaller tank though.

This wasn’t really surprising. I had 3 breeding pairs of different types many years ago. The male would reject a female not worthy aka not ready or able to carry enough eggs or if she was skinny. A female would reject and attack a male that was too small. You want a decent size difference ideally. Two males would ofc fight but I found females would also go at it for various reasons. The spotteds were more aggressive than the blues and the scooters were fine together. Some of this comes down to individual personalities.

At my LFS the ruby scooters are all in one tank. Sometimes 20 or so and chilling but each mandarin is in a separate tank due to their nasty let’s fight behaviors.

When you think about it. It is not much different than pairing most fish. Generally they have their preferences for mates and territories.