mandarin dragonette(susiepan)any one else also

[lnarobbins]

susiepan I remember awhile back you were talking about mandarin dragonettes. to the point you said you could identify between male and female.
could you or someone else repeat the identification. also will they mate? If so I would like to try it
thanx all
Alan

 

[tankstolove]

thaught I'd answer since I'm the first to see this. The males have an easily identified by the extended first dorsal ray. Yes a male and a female will get along very well together and will mate very often in a roomy tank. However never add two males together they will always fight to the death. You can often even purchase them as mated pairs, though the price is high. They are not picky about there mates if you chose to add the oppisite sexes yourself.
Good keeping, a beautiful fish.

 

[jakob4001]

you should have a large enough tank w/ a well establish pod pop as well

 

[dinhouse]

Or just make sure they are eating frozen before you purchase them. That is what I did. Dont take the LFS word either make them feed it in front of you.

 

[lnarobbins]

hey guys thanx. I've had my male dragonette for about a year. I told the wife that some people on the board were talking about male and female and she wants another dragonette, so I figured I would talk to you guys and get the info on identifying the sexes.
so the female will not have the long thing on the dorsal fin. and by the way I ALWAYS ask the LFS people to feed the fish before I buy I only made the mistake once
thanks
alan

 

[lnarobbins]

jakob my tank is 90g and has been going for 3 years like I stated my dragonette has been in for 1 year. so..... I have a silly question
what is a pod population.

 

[susiepan]

Ina,
Sorry, I didnt see your post till now..
A POD population, is what your Mandarin eats..They are flea like, semi-transparent bugs..
When you see him swimming around looking at a rock, or the substrat, then jus pecking his head foward...thats what he is eating..
Amd MOST Mandarins do not eat frozen/flake or anything other than copepods..and I dont believe you can "train" them to do it...Either they do or they dont...and if you try to train one that will not eat anything other than pods, it WILL starve to death...
The females fin, is more like a fatty very tiny

[hr]
, with a small fin, as opposed to the males dorsal which comes directly out of his back..and is noticably longer..its almost the length of the fish...
Sorry again, I didnt see the post..
GL..
~Susie, Oh, and I am sure with your tank being up for over three years you have enough pods to feed two Mandarins..

 

[lnarobbins]

hey susiepan glad to talk to you I just wasn't sure what the pods were I know that the mandarin has been eating off the live rock I just didnt know what. is their any way to increase my pod population just to play it safe?
thanx
ALan

 

[lnarobbins]

also the females dorsal will be noticably different in apperance the length of the fish and almost flat right? I just don't want to get another male by mistake.

 

[susiepan]

Hi Alan,
I really dont think that you would need to, I only had mine up for about a year before I added my guys, and they chow all the time..
If your really worried about it, you could add some more LR...but watch out for a mini-cycle again..
~Susie

 

[susiepan]

Alan, I actually ordered my female from this site...and she came a girl...
Most places if at all reputable, know a female from a male, and yes, you should be able to tell the difference..
Did you say you have one now?? And if so, what is it??
Susie

 

[lnarobbins]

yeah I've had my male for about a year now he is almost 3in long and his name is marvin I'M NOT CRAZY NAMING MY FISH I just like to name things.
<img src="graemlins//urrr.gif" border="0" alt="[urrr]" />
Alan

 

[susiepan]

Hey,
Nothing wrong with that, not only do I name my fish, I also name my corals, and inverts etc..
My Mandarins name is Foo,,The females was choo, but I lost her to ich...Im still pissed about that, I QT my fish, but I guess not for a long enough period...Like a week shy..
Well Im out of here, ITs late, and Ive got my kids coming tomorrow for their weekly feeding..
So I, hitting the hay..
Have a Great weekend..and GL with your choice..
Susie

 

[lnarobbins]

thanx Susie, have a great weekend
Alan