I have a PAIR. A PAIR!!!

[Europhyllia]

My Mandarins are trying to spawn!!!
I am so happy.
Bruce was putting a lot of effort into it - Bob was a little luke warm about it (but she also doesn't appear to be pregnant yet so she'll probably be more enthusiastic when there's a purpose for it)
They did a few practice ascents and it was awesome to watch.
I took some crappy photos of it:
http://www.dominopads.com/spawn2.jpg

http://www.dominopads.com/spawn1.jpg

I'm going to keep feeding them prawn eggs and hopefully soon I'll get to watch a real spawning ascent.
I am so excited. I was getting pretty frustrated with the whole pair thing (GSEclipse and corkyGramma have the Mandarins that didn't work out :blushing: ) but now it seems like it's all been worth it.

[JimD]

Wait a second, Bruce and Bob? Spawn?? 'Scratches head'.. lol It would be seriously cool if they followed through full term, good luck!

[Europhyllia]

My 3 year old names the fish. We also have a female chicken named Jay. ;)

Thanks :)

[txmaverickmh]

haha, I love it, way to go little kiddos, gotta love them and their imagination

[Kristy]

I love the way it seems like they are holding fins! I can just imagine how you are feeling over this new development.

[Crazyeyes]

Maybe Adam and Steve might have been a better title lol. That would be amazing if they spawned.

[diego]

Maybe Adam and Steve might have been a better title lol. .

Now that's funny!!!!!!!!!!!!:rofl:

[Rychek]

Congrats! I haven't been able to get a pair to survive (the female kept beating up the male until he died) let alone spawn. Good luck with them!

[Europhyllia]

Wow Rychek, that's terrible. :(
Was your female bigger than the male? I always heard it was important to have a larger male.
There's still a lot of quarreling going on sometimes but prawn eggs seem to calm them down for some reason. If you get another one maybe give the prawn eggs a try (in addition to regular foods)

[Mr Cob]

Awesome. Congrats, keep us updated.

[Rychek]

Wow Rychek, that's terrible. :(
Was your female bigger than the male? I always heard it was important to have a larger male.
There's still a lot of quarreling going on sometimes but prawn eggs seem to calm them down for some reason. If you get another one maybe give the prawn eggs a try (in addition to regular foods)

My problem was a crowding issue. I had a green female. A few months later I added a spotted female. I then added a green male who was twice the size of either of the females. The spotted female was a aggressive toward both of them, but one the green female realized there was a male around, she started picking on him as well. The spotted female left them alone once they found each other, but the green female was not kind to the male. He didn't last two days. :( In retrospect, I think he might have been a little ill when I got him though. Next time I'll do things more carefully.

[Sherri]

My 3 year old names the fish. We also have a female chicken named Jay. ;)

Thanks :)

Gotta love children! Too cute. :applause:

Keep us updated....exciting!

[vman181]

Congrats and keep trying to take pictures.

[Europhyllia]

Bob is developing eggs. She now has a very noticable belly. I am guessing I will soon see a 'real' spawning ascent.
I wish I had a second female but they are so hard to come by.
Bruce isn't aggressive (no fin nipping, etc.) but he's persistent and it would be easier on Bob if I had a second one to divert Bruce's attention a little bit.

[Pennies2Cents]

Congrats on the pair! :) Cant wait to hear for more updates in the future.

[Europhyllia]

http://www.dominopads.com/dragsnov16.jpg

I think Bob is developing eggs for the second time as far as I can tell. Tried to take a picture of her belly but my photos are still terrible. :)

[ErikH]

Have you read up on how they breed?

[Europhyllia]

Have you read up on how they breed?

yes, I've been reading and asking questions on MOFIB before I even got them ;) Got Matt Wittenrich's book and the special Mandarin Issue from Coral Magazine, etc.
Right now every evening they're courting. The real spawning will be a spawning ascent with egg release.
I've watched her get fat before and then suddenly she'd lost the bulge so I may have already missed one :)

Pictures are always terrible because they tend to wait for the white bulbs to go off and get active when just the blue bulbs are on.

I don't really have any hopes of actually raising any mandarins since they require super small food (smaller than regular rotifers).

[los.tejanos83]

Good luck on the breeding...i'll take the pair...how much. :wink_smile:

[swiatrek]

That is awesome, cant wait to hear updates. One of my favorite fish, great job

[nubz]

congrats. i think Calvert13 has a mated pair of greens