Surfzone
Well-Known Member
if they are about the same size i wouldn't worry about it
Pairing Mandarinfish
- Thread starter SourAngelfish
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Hi again. I am a bit worried. Last night they seemed to be getting along fine. They even slept close to each other. Today, things are a little different. The male is going about his business, the female does not actually chase him around the tank or actively bully him, but she seeks him out sometimes and nips at his dorsal fin. He does not react, just tries to slightly get away. I noticed he has a slightly chewed up tail fin. Sometimes they hang out together, sometimes she nips at his back. And after she nips at him there is a stringy something coming out of her mouth. Slime from nipping at him? Should I be worried she is hurting him?
ThRoewer
Valuable Member
She will be "aggressive" towards him until he has grown to be bigger than her. I had a pair like that where male and female initially were of identical size. One time the female grabbed the male by the opercular spine and shook him like a ragdoll. Her hostilities towards him went on for a while until he had outgrown her enough so that she would respect him.
You will just have to let it play out and watch. Usually, it never gets life-threatening.
You will just have to let it play out and watch. Usually, it never gets life-threatening.
ThRoewer
Valuable Member
Just feed heavy. Ideal would be tigger pods (they are fairly easy to culture in buckets) or frozen Mysis. I found that males get the hang of frozen food rather quickly. Females seem to take a little longer, which in this case works to your advantage.
My current pair also seems to like red planaria. All tanks in the system are infested with them, some heavily, yet there is not a single to be found in the tank the mandarins are in.
My current pair also seems to like red planaria. All tanks in the system are infested with them, some heavily, yet there is not a single to be found in the tank the mandarins are in.
FreeEnergyReefer
Active Member
I know this post is old but before reading this I asked around about what to look for in a female specimen for my 1yr old male everyone said get a small female like half his size so after looking for 2months I found one a third his size. She's been in the tank for a week I dont see them hitting it off they dont battle but the big male nips at the small female and she goes running for the caves. I'm gonna give it another week and if she starts to look like she's loosing weight or stressing I'll give her back to the lfs and try to find a female his size. Any body have any input on the topic would be great my clowns paired then my ywg's now I'm doing the mandarins then my fire shrimp and hopefully soon I'll find 2 tailspot blenny and the tank will have everyone
ThRoewer
Valuable Member
It depends a lot on the size of the male. The female should be smaller than the male but this rule is especially important for specimens who are sexually mature.
Pairing a tiny sexually immature female with a twice as large sexually mature male will not necessarily end well. In such a case where the male is still relatively small but already sexually mature it is better to get a female who is only slightly smaller than the male.
Also, the female should be fully acclimated, eating well, and fattened up before being added to a horny male....
Runninlow
New Member
sorry old thread, but ive had my male mandarin for about 5 months now. he eats frozen and pellets which is a relief. He is about 2.0-2.5 inchs but for sure not fully mature yet. I decided to pick up a female about the same size and since trained her to also eat frozen which is a good thing.
2 days ago i decided to add her to his tank, at first the male just flared and ignored her swimming off to eat, but I guess the female though she was the boss and went after him. Once he fought back and every since he chases her whenever he see her. As of now all he does is chase her when he sees her and all she does is hide. Will this attempted pairing work or should i just get forget about these guys and get an actual pair.
2 days ago i decided to add her to his tank, at first the male just flared and ignored her swimming off to eat, but I guess the female though she was the boss and went after him. Once he fought back and every since he chases her whenever he see her. As of now all he does is chase her when he sees her and all she does is hide. Will this attempted pairing work or should i just get forget about these guys and get an actual pair.
Paul B
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Any healthy "pair" of mandarins will spawn as almost all healthy fish will. But they need to eat enough for a few weeks or months to get in shape. Prepared foods won't do it as they need to eat constantly.
If you can raise whiteworms mandarins will eat those all day because those worms, (not blackworms) wil live in salt water for 5 days. I shoot them all over my tank and my mandarins, ruby red dragonettes and scooters hunt them for days.
If you can raise whiteworms mandarins will eat those all day because those worms, (not blackworms) wil live in salt water for 5 days. I shoot them all over my tank and my mandarins, ruby red dragonettes and scooters hunt them for days.
DaJMasta
Well-Known Member
My currently spawning pair took about 5-6 months to get along well enough. The male chased the female a bit before they paired up, but they would mostly ignore each other otherwise and just did their own thing, sometimes in the proximity of each other. Both were adults (2-2.5" or so) when I got them, wild caught, and I trained both to eat frozen before they were introduced to each other. Given the tank size (E170, ~45g including rear chamber), the vast majority of their nutrition comes from frozen food fed daily, and while I haven't gotten continuous spawning, they seem to have bursts of a few consecutive days spawning followed by a few days without.
Karen00
2500 Club Member
Is there a specific white worm? I was culturing white worms for my freshwater fish but they were terrestrial soil worms so don't last long in water. You mentioned worms that survive five days in saltwater which makes me think the worms I have aren't the same.
Paul B
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They are called White Worms. You can order a culture of them on Amazon. They live in soil and are very easy to propigate. My culture is many years old and I get more worms than I know what to do with.
Karen00
2500 Club Member
Thanks! That does look like them. Mine are Grindal worms. You say they survive in salt water? Interesting. The ones I dropped in my freshwater didn't seem to live that long soaybe mine were different. My culture became contaminated so I didn't get a chance to use them for very long. I will try these.
