Mixing Dragonet Species

[Frost_Hydra]

I have been thinking of getting a Red Ruby Dragonet (Synchiropus sycorax) and a regular Green Mandarin Dragonet (Synchiropus splendidus). I'm planning one of them being male and the other female. I was curious if anyone who knows more about this me thinks added two different Dragonets may end in conflict. I'm fine if they don't pair, I just don't want them to be aggressive towards each other.

[Sk8r]

No. Mandys don't fight, except each other. The first in will kill the second in anything but an absolutely huge tank.

[Frost_Hydra]

So even if their different genders they will fight each other? Sorry, I'm just slightly confused.

[MondoBongo]

So even if their different genders they will fight each other? Sorry, I'm just slightly confused.

my mandy killed my scooter. still pretty upset about that.

[homer1475]

Even a mandy and scooter?

So glad I talked my wife out of the scooter because I wasn't sure since they are both dragonets.

[davocean]

My exp is usually a green or red will fight other males, not females, even multiples, and they usually do mix fine w/ both target mandy's and ruby reds.
I had a mated pair of red mandy's and a ruby single w/ no issues at all, my only concern would be tank needs to be big enough and have enough fuge to provide pods for all

[aznflyfisherman]

I have a green mandy n ruby red dragonet in my 110g, they did not fight. Mandarin is about 2yrs old n rubby red is about 1yr. Though they will eventually starve if your tank isnt big enough to support a lot of pods for them to eat, even if they eat mysis..

[Frost_Hydra]

I'm planning on getting a hang on refugium, but I can already see hundreds of white dots on the glass, so I'm not too worried about food. I guess the safer option would be to get 2 females instead of a male and a female.

[davocean]

Not sure your tank size but keep in mind they eat 1-3 pods per minute on the average, 24/7 nonstop, so even just one can wipe out a huge population of pods in no time.

Typically it's suggested 50g per dragonet and an established fuge, unless you are providing pods in another way like culturing your own.

[ReefNomad]

Like anything else, each mandarin is unique... we bring in several types of dragonettes, and mostly they'll cohabitate fine so long as we feed them live pods like crazy... once food gets scarce, some of them go a bit nuts though, and need to be separated.
In a home tank, I think you'd need to really watch them.

[MurphyLong]

Not sure your tank size but keep in mind they eat 1-3 pods per minute on the average, 24/7 nonstop, so even just one can wipe out a huge population of pods in no time.

Typically it's suggested 50g per dragonet and an established fuge, unless you are providing pods in another way like culturing your own.

Well, maybe no 24/7 but they are quite deliberate feeders. My scooter shuffles until he's buried under the sandbed around 10pm and stays there til 7am.

[MondoBongo]

Even a mandy and scooter?

So glad I talked my wife out of the scooter because I wasn't sure since they are both dragonets.

i had read other places that they could co-exist, and they did, for about a month.

my tank is large too, 155 oceanic. so there was plenty of room and plenty of food to spare.

[Sk8r]

I had a female kill a new male twice her size.

[davocean]

I had a female kill a new male twice her size.

That's very unusual, are you certain she was the reason?
Mixed or same species?

Usually it's having 2 males that is an issue, many have mated pairs or even a male w/ a harem of females is possible.

[davocean]

Here's a vid of one of my mated pairs, had the male maybe a year before getting the female.

There is a ruby red in tank as well, but this was focused on my mandarins doing their mating dance, but I had that ruby w/ them well over a year and they never even looked at it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM-ivmHab7g&t=38s