Mating Mandarin Dragonets

MediTank · 04/26/2013, 11:14 AM

I am interested in trying to mate a pair of mandarin dragonets.... has anyone out there had any good experiences? I have been keeping these fish for a while now but have never tried breeding.... where should i start?

kre8ivairbrush · 04/26/2013, 08:15 PM

I have read that these are the hardest to get to breed. Or should I say. They dont breed well in captivity..

I can be wrong. I have a pair.. i am Happy with just having a male and a female..

Ive spoke with a few ppl and have walked away happy. They cannot find a female and just have a single male because their second male that they thought was a female was a bully so they sold/traded him..

If my pair mate.. ill be winging it!!

Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk 2

GreshamH · 04/28/2013, 10:24 AM

males are by far the most collected... but females come in quite often (I worked in the wholesale liestock side for many years).

billsreef · 04/28/2013, 05:19 PM

Getting them to breed is the easy part, it's rearing the larvae that is the hard part. For breeding, they need to be well fed, fat and happy. They also need a fairly deep tank in order to do their spawning dance in the water column at dusk...the dusk thing also means you need to set up lighting to simulate a gradual sunset.

MediTank · 04/28/2013, 11:21 PM

thanks for all the input so far.... I really appreciate it.... another question on the mind is it ok to mix green mandarins and psychedelic mandarins? as long as they are male and female of course! I have kept either green or psychedelics but I have never tried mixing them but I think that the mixing colors would be a wonderful sight to see! let me know what the community is thinking!

billsreef · 04/29/2013, 05:16 AM

Mixing is going to really depend on how large the tank is. They need the space to be able to get away from each other instead of fighting all the time.

Paul B · 04/29/2013, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Getting them to breed is the easy part, it's rearing the larvae that is the hard part. For breeding, they need to be well fed, fat and happy.

Bill is correct. If they are healthy and well fed, you can't stop them from breeding as mine do all the time. I have been keeping mandarins since they started importing them in the 70s
My tank is old and there is plenty to eat but if you feed them extra, they will constantly breed. I don't believe in supplementing mandarins diet with frozen food or pellets (although very few will eat those) But to get them to spawn I feed them every day with newborn brine shrimp that I put in this DIY feeder.

She was new here and skinny. That is the same female that is spawning above

Here is a video of them eating from the feeder.

This video is when I got this young female, she was very skinny here. Now she spawns every month or so.

MediTank · 04/29/2013, 08:23 AM

wow i didnt no that they would spawn that often.... i have reared clowns before so im up for that challenge.... what was the DIY feeder that you were using at the bottom of the tank? it looked like a piece of tuperware with holes poked in the lid?

Paul B · 04/29/2013, 09:04 AM

Quote:

.... what was the DIY feeder that you were using at the bottom of the tank? it looked like a piece of tuperware with holes poked in the lid?

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2113800

MediTank · 04/29/2013, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul B

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2113800

wow this is a really good idea and i WILL use this in my tank so thank you for the advice... i saw that you were the one who patent the feeding station.... good for you thats awesome

Paul B · 04/30/2013, 04:12 AM

No I didn't patent that feeding station. I patented this one that used adult brine shrimp, but it is not for sale any longer. http://breedersregistry.org/Articles...l_b/paul_b.htm

The one in that article I linked you have to build yourself. Good luck.
Paul

04/26/2013, 11:14 AM	#1
MediTank Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Chicago, Illinois Posts: 53	Mating Mandarin Dragonets I am interested in trying to mate a pair of mandarin dragonets.... has anyone out there had any good experiences? I have been keeping these fish for a while now but have never tried breeding.... where should i start?

04/28/2013, 10:24 AM	#3
GreshamH Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: SF Bay Area, CA Posts: 9,474	males are by far the most collected... but females come in quite often (I worked in the wholesale liestock side for many years). __________________ Gresham _______________________________ Feeding your reef...one polyp at a time

04/28/2013, 05:19 PM	#4
billsreef Moderator 10 & Over Club Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Long Island, NY/North Miami Posts: 36,538	Getting them to breed is the easy part, it's rearing the larvae that is the hard part. For breeding, they need to be well fed, fat and happy. They also need a fairly deep tank in order to do their spawning dance in the water column at dusk...the dusk thing also means you need to set up lighting to simulate a gradual sunset. __________________ Bill "LOL, well I have no brain apparently. " - dc (Debi) Current Tank Info: Far too many tanks according to my wife, LOL.

04/29/2013, 05:16 AM	#6
billsreef Moderator 10 & Over Club Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Long Island, NY/North Miami Posts: 36,538	Mixing is going to really depend on how large the tank is. They need the space to be able to get away from each other instead of fighting all the time. __________________ Bill "LOL, well I have no brain apparently. " - dc (Debi) Current Tank Info: Far too many tanks according to my wife, LOL.

04/30/2013, 04:12 AM	#11
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	No I didn't patent that feeding station. I patented this one that used adult brine shrimp, but it is not for sale any longer. http://breedersregistry.org/Articles...l_b/paul_b.htm The one in that article I linked you have to build yourself. Good luck. Paul __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

04/26/2013, 08:15 PM	#2
kre8ivairbrush Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 7	I have read that these are the hardest to get to breed. Or should I say. They dont breed well in captivity.. I can be wrong. I have a pair.. i am Happy with just having a male and a female.. Ive spoke with a few ppl and have walked away happy. They cannot find a female and just have a single male because their second male that they thought was a female was a bully so they sold/traded him.. If my pair mate.. ill be winging it!! Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk 2

04/28/2013, 11:21 PM	#5
MediTank Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Chicago, Illinois Posts: 53	thanks for all the input so far.... I really appreciate it.... another question on the mind is it ok to mix green mandarins and psychedelic mandarins? as long as they are male and female of course! I have kept either green or psychedelics but I have never tried mixing them but I think that the mixing colors would be a wonderful sight to see! let me know what the community is thinking!

04/29/2013, 08:23 AM	#8
MediTank Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Chicago, Illinois Posts: 53	wow i didnt no that they would spawn that often.... i have reared clowns before so im up for that challenge.... what was the DIY feeder that you were using at the bottom of the tank? it looked like a piece of tuperware with holes poked in the lid?