[Vince S.]

Hello, I purchased a small (2 inches) mandarin few days ago. Currently, it is in a 100 gallons reef tank. Would it be alright to get another one?

Also, would it get along with clownfish/chromis?

[SomeHairyOldGuy]

How much LR do you have in your tank? If you have plenty of LR (I would say 150LBS minimum) with plenty of nooks and crannies for them to hide in and get away from each other I would think things will be ok.
How long has your tank been set up? Its best only to add a Mandrian(let alone 2) to a well established tank or else they are going to starve and die. I would say atleast 6 months old minimum. Hope this can help.
SHOG

[FishTechie]

I would NOT go with two mandarins, when threatened they can release toxins into the tank detsroying it and two will not get along. put a mirror in front of your mandarin and youll see what i mean, notice the dorsal fin shoot straight up....hth

[organicreefer]

fish techie,i have never heard of mandarins releasing toxins...only that they may be poisonous if eaten by other fish .
therefore, vince ,to answer youre question about other fish,they generally ignore mandarins,ime,probably because of their aposematic(sp?) coloration(warning sign)
as far as two in a 100 gallon reef,i think it would probly work,especially if you have lots of liverock/a refugium/ alot of macros/ pod piles etc.

just make sure you dont add 2 males they will surely fight to the death

[FishKid]

yeah, mine went APE SH!T on its reflection last week lol

[Elmo18]

How do you sex a mandarin?

I've seen several in my LFS but they were in separate tanks. THey all look the same to me, greenish, with spackles of reddish/brown and blue.

Just wondering,

Ilham

[SomeHairyOldGuy]

Simple, Look at the crotch!
SHOG



that was so stupid...

[organicreefer]

males have an elongated dorsal spine..females dont males tend to be brighter too.

[FishTechie]

This is from a charles Delbeek article:

Mandarin fish lack scales and instead have a rather thick, slimy,
mucus coating on their bodies. This coating tends to make them rather
resistant to parasitic skin diseases. If a Mandarin does get sick DO
NOT use any heavy metal based medications (e.g. copper sulfate). Such
medications cause an increase in body slime production and the fish
can literally suffocate in their own body slime (Achterkamp, 1986).
In fact, this holds true for most scale-less fish such as gobies and
blennies.

Mandarin fish are one of the few marine tropicals which can be easily
sexed. There are a number of morphological features which can be used
to differentiate between the sexes. The males tend to be larger and
more robust than the females. The caudal and soft dorsal fins are
larger in the male and the male tends to have more orange on it's
face. However, the most distinctive difference is in the dorsal fin.
The males have a greatly elongated first dorsal spine while females
do not. In fact, in some males this dorsal spine is long enough to
actually reach the base of the caudal peduncle when laid flat. During
the day both males and females will display a total lack of interest
in each other, however, just before the tank lights go off or shortly
afterward, the male will search out the female. They will then slowly
circle each other while rising in the water column. When they reach
the apex of their "dance" the eggs and sperm are simultaneously
released into the water and the pair then return to their separate
ways.