two mandarins in a 125?

[fishforlife]

I have a spotted mandarin that is growing and eating well. I would like to add a red or green as well. Do you think a 125 with lots of live rock will be able to sustain 2 mandarins?

Anyone have two in their tanks? If so what is the size of your tank and do you do anything special for them?

[Pennies2Cents]

Well we dont have two but we have a Christmas Wrasse, Cleaner Wrasse, Diamond Goby and a Mandarin in a 125 with lots of LR. Everyone is doing perfectlyfine. The only thing i can reccomend is that your tank is established well enough with lots of copods and anthropods.

[dustint21]

It has been done. You will have a better chance if you keep a male and female, rather than two of the same sex. Good luck!

[fishforlife]

My tank is about 10 months old. the one mandarin is always moving and is fattening up nicely. they are such beautiful creatures, i would love to have two different kinds, but only if the tank can sustain them both.

[Rychek]

I have two female (one target, one green) mandarins in my 90 gal tank. I've got a fuge to keep my pods going as well as some cheato in the display. My target mandarin (despite being the smaller of the two and added several months after the green) is the boss.

If your 125 is well established with a strong pod population, you should be fine with two. If you decide to go the male/female route, make sure the male is larger than the female by a fair amount. Otherwise, the female is very likely to kill him (it happened to my last male green mandarin).

[OrionN]

If your mandarin is healthy and fat, add another in a 125 g should be OK. I would add the male of the same species so that you have pair. If you like Green Mandarin better, then get a pair and trade in the Spot Mandarin. Keeping fish in breeding pair is so much more rewarding even if you don't plan to raise the babies.

[BigKGlen]

I've had 2 in my 180 for over 2 years. They are Male and Female. Like Rychek, I have a very healthy population of pods and bugs in my fuge and rock.

[Gilbertg78228]

i have a 125 with a male and a female Manderin. they eat frozen food and have been in my tank over a year. they are doing very well.

[fishforlife]

how can you tell the sex of themandrin?

Also, if I have a spotted and a green, will they fight?

[Rychek]

Males have an elongated ray on their dorsal fin. In plain English, they have a spike on their back whereas the females do not.

My female spotted mandarin chases my female green mandarin. The green doesn't fight back, so I don't classify it as fighting.