Mandarin: she's the man?

[Sorcha2]

So I bought this "female" mandarin about 2-3 months ago. Well she's started going through a bit of a growth spurt and I think she may be a he. She's started developing a bit of spine in her top fin. She's super shy except for a short while in the evenings so this is the best picture i've managed to get of her lately. Am I correct in thinking she is actually a he?

 

[this is me]

That is a male.
Mandarins are born sexed. If you've seen a female with a male together in person, you will know the next time even if the mandarin is small.
The female dorsal spine is rounded tip while the male has a little spike(even when it's small).
I saw a nice female at the LFS two days ago. Almost bought it to pair with my other pair in the auxiliary tank. But I'm planning on breaking down that tank and I already have a pair in the display.

 

[Sorcha2]

That is a male.
Mandarins are born sexed. If you've seen a female with a male together in person, you will know the next time even if the mandarin is small.
The female dorsal spine is rounded tip while the male has a little spike(even when it's small).
I saw a nice female at the LFS two days ago. Almost bought it to pair with my other pair in the auxiliary tank. But I'm planning on breaking down that tank and I already have a pair in the display.

Thanks for confirming my suspicion I kinda think the spike might have been broken off during shipping because that fin was close to flat across the top when I got him from the lfs.

 

[this is me]

It's not just flat or not. The female has a very distinct roundness to it. You will know what I'm talking about when you obtain one.

 

[this is me]

Here's my female.

 

[Eva Rose]

Nice! Is he a Biota mandarin?

 

[davocean]

Happens quite a bit, spike gets broken in collection, but agree obvious male

 

[Sorcha2]

Here's my female.

That is quite a easy to see difference.

 

[Sorcha2]

Nice! Is he a Biota mandarin?

Considering he was $20 I very much doubt it. I have gotten him somewhat trained to eat frozen however he's a super shy scaredy cat so he hides from me and the Turkey baster when I try to feed him[emoji58] Oddly enough he gets super macho for a short while in the evenings and will go around flaring at everything. That's the only time I can get a picture of him cause otherwise as soon as he sees me he goes and hides in his cave.

 

[this is me]

All of the Biota Manderins I've seen available are tiny!

 

[OrionN]

These mandarin picture belong on this thread;
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lets-see-those-mandarin.400390/

 

[Jesterrace]

Happens quite a bit, spike gets broken in collection, but agree obvious male

Agreed. The spike is often damaged in the collection process and so you don't always know for sure if it is male or female.

 

[kirstyflash]

I must ask as I hear they can be difficult to keep...does yours eat only live foods or have you been able to feed frozen/pellets?

 

[Sorcha2]

I must ask as I hear they can be difficult to keep...does yours eat only live foods or have you been able to feed frozen/pellets?

I feed some frozen roe and he will eat it but with as shy as he is I have to broadcast feed it which isn't nearly as effective. I also feed freshly hatched brine shrimp every so often though he doesn't really seem to like them that much. I'm considering added live white or black worms to his diet as well to help keep his weight up as he depletes the pod population.