Anyone that knows anything about mandarin dragonets

[Dearth]

I have a male Mandarin and got a female from a tank shutdown(Two years ago) I was hesitant to add her but I did and it took about 3 days before they decided to swim with each other and a further week to feel comfortable with each other. Until that time they slept at opposite ends of the tank.

While they swam and ate together and did some interesting swimming after dark they never produced eggs that I am aware of. About three months after coming to my tank she died still not sure why or how she died she was healthy and had good colour but one day she was alive the next she was dead.

[lyall12]

Hey, I went through similar. Started with a Male and then added a Female.

I found it tough to tell the difference until you see a Male. Then it was easy to tell them apart. The Male top fin has a spike that's visible even when flat.

My female was smaller than the male which probably helped a bit. I'd look for a male that is noticeably bigger than your female.

I added her to the tank and for a while they seemed indifferent and at times a small amount aggression. Eventually they hooked up and all good. They do their dances at night and do spawn now.

From what I've read one of the keys is food. Eating takes precedence. Making sure they have enough pods to eat is key. I have a 100 gallon with the 2 mandarins (among other fish) and managed to get to a stable pod population without supplementing. The mandarins are fat and happy just eating what pods they can find.

[kengeroo]

I thought I had a male and decided add a female for him... Got home,, and bamm,, they are both females,, wow they scrap like a couple of female inmates in the courtyard over the last chatelaine magazine....
it gets nasty