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Male or Female Mandarin?

magnetar68

magnetar68

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Is this a female red mandarin dragonet (Synchiropus splendidus)? She does not have the spike as shown on the male in the bottom photo, right? I am asking because I thought I read somewhere a long time ago that juveniles were hard to sex because the males develop the spike later, but I am not sure.

Mandarin1-1.PNG

Mandarin1-2.PNG

mandarinfish3-male.jpg
 
One thing to keep in mind when you add the second. Your older one may attack the new one for about 24 hours or so and it's going to freak you out because she will actually latch on with her mouth and shake the new one. I was amazed how strong that little mouth is. After a day or so they likely will ignore each other for a week or so and then you'll start seeing them swim side-by-side at dusk as your lights ramp down.
 
Ah, I definitely see a spike now. So a male :) Will have to find a female one now. Can a green pair with a red... or they have to be the same?

Well, if I make a mistake and I do have a female... no issues with two females? I assume they don't change sex like clownfish?
 
No issue between greens and red. Definite issues between male/male or female/female though. They don't change sex but they are very territorial. However, if you see the spike then you know it's a male simply be sure you get a female. You may have to watch one at the LFS for 10 minutes or so tro be sure, but it's fairly foolproof.
 
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