Adding a second mandarin

[sumant19]

I have 72G aquarium. In December of 2019 I added a female green mandarin and she is doing awesome. So much so that I am thinking of adding a male mandarin.

Food wise they will be fine- refugium has tons of pods and i also cultivate separate pod culture.

Size wise I am thinking of getting a male larger than female. I read in few forums that despite the looks some mandarins viciously fight with each other and kill the weak one. Mostly the cases describing the fight had both mandarins of same sex.

Anyone has any guidance/ personal experience of adding another mandarin?

 

[nickeg79]

I have 72G aquarium. In December of 2019 I added a female green mandarin and she is doing awesome. So much so that I am thinking of adding a male mandarin.

Food wise they will be fine- refugium has tons of pods and i also cultivate separate pod culture.

Size wise I am thinking of getting a male larger than female. I read in few forums that despite the looks some mandarins viciously fight with each other and kill the weak one. Mostly the cases describing the fight had both mandarins of same sex.

Anyone has any guidance/ personal experience of adding another mandarin?

I purchased 2 mandarins that were in the same tank at a local fish store. The fish were not sold as a mailed pair but they were both in the same tank at the store. No aggression. I figured they would get along so i bought both.They were introduced to my tank at the same time.
They got a long for about 2 days. The female actually killed the larger male because I could not catch them without removing everything. I went to bed and when I woke up he was dead.
The tank was mature plenty of pods. The surviving Mandarin ate lrs reef frenzy so it wasn’t a food issue. I think once they got to the tank with rocks the female became territorial. The Male chased her a little in the beginning but not constantly the first day or so. I’m not saying it can’t be done but it definitely did not work for me.

 

[afboundguy]

What about doing a different mandarin like the spotted/target mandarin? If you get the opposite sex and a different kind I wonder how that would work? I've stupidly wanted to get a 2nd one since my first one is doing so well but that would be really not kosher and even 'd be upset at myself for going that far over the edge...

 

[Lilys]

I would go opposite gender and an acclimation box, so they can dance and recognize each other. Worked well for me in the past.

 

[sumant19]

Thanks everyone.. i will put a plug in my plan of getting a second mandarin for now.. i m extra cautious when things are going well in this hobby.. poof.. and it can all go south

 

[JeanR]

I've tried it twice and had it go both ways.

In my first 40g aquarium I had a large green mandarin male for a while and was able to add a second small red female successfully. In a second 90g aquarium I first had a small spotted/target mandarin. I added a large green male 5-6 months later and the small female killed him in 2 days.

I don't know if there is any recipe for success.