Target Mandarin Pair

[Zack K]

What are your guys thoughts on adding a male to my already female Target Mandarin. l really love these little guys and was looking into possible a male to pair up. l have a 55gallon but pods are added monthly. My female is eating LRS and RODS, and is fat and happy.

 

[Maritimer]

Haven't tried her with a male target, but my own female target mandy was pretty savage when I tried to add a green mandarin pair to my 65. Yours might be more appreciative of a potential boyfriend.

~Bruce

 

[Zack K]

So I finally found one and he was added Friday. At first, he went down and settled into a large cave on the opposite side of the tank of the female. As he took a few minutes to kinda settle in and realize where he was, the female cane briskly across the sand bed right over to him, and like a curious dog peered over the rock and swam around him turning her head. She eventually took to him and they are together now. Thanks for the story Bruce.

 

[ae87]

So I finally found one and he was added Friday. At first, he went down and settled into a large cave on the opposite side of the tank of the female. As he took a few minutes to kinda settle in and realize where he was, the female cane briskly across the sand bed right over to him, and like a curious dog peered over the rock and swam around him turning her head. She eventually took to him and they are together now. Thanks for the story Bruce.

20 min until I introduce my male target to my female...was seeing if there was a trick to it, but I guess we just see what happens! Fingers crossed! :)

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

my purple tang picked mine up and shook it. It died 2 days later. If you have any aggressive fish turn the lights out when you add him.

 

[ae87]

my purple tang picked mine up and shook it. It died 2 days later. If you have any aggressive fish turn the lights out when you add him.

That is so sad! I’m so sorry to hear that! I’ve been so patiently waiting to find the perfect mate. I didn’t want to “special order” him, told myself when the time was right it would happen.
I feel like it went as good as it could last night for me. During acclimation they noticed each other. Upon releasing him, he swam right to her...

He laid on the sand and let her inspect him. She checked him out, swam a few circles around him, and even tested his boundaries with a jump or two towards him...

She showed him around the place a bit...

Introduced some family...

And ended the night with some cuddles :)

One of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced.

I hope you give it another shot one day! :)

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

That is so sad! I’m so sorry to hear that! I’ve been so patiently waiting to find the perfect mate. I didn’t want to “special order” him, told myself when the time was right it would happen.
I feel like it went as good as it could last night for me. During acclimation they noticed each other. Upon releasing him, he swam right to her...

He laid on the sand and let her inspect him. She checked him out, swam a few circles around him, and even tested his boundaries with a jump or two towards him...

She showed him around the place a bit...

Introduced some family...

And ended the night with some cuddles :)

One of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced.

I hope you give it another shot one day! :)

Have they done the spawning dance yet?

Oh, make sure to have a lid. Lol.

 

[ae87]

Have they done the spawning dance yet?

Oh, make sure to have a lid. Lol.

The twirly vortex?! No. I haven’t seen THAT yet. I think they’re still in the dating phase[emoji23]

These guys too?? So many jumpers out there! LOL!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The twirly vortex?! No. I haven’t seen THAT yet. I think they’re still in the dating phase[emoji23]

These guys too?? So many jumpers out there! LOL!

Lol. I had a couple of ruby reds. It somtimes got ,um, acrobatic. Lol.

 

[Sonnyred]

Is it just me or does anyone think that it’s weird that the target are so small in size compared to the normal mandarins. I’ve yet to see a decent big size target. If you have one post them up so I can see lol

 

[Zack K]

My male was as big as a Common Mandarin. Females are generally small yes.

 

[Sonnyred]

My male was as big as a Common Mandarin. Females are generally small yes.

That’s just awesome. I’ve just never been able to witness such size. Maybe one day I can grow mine to be so lol. Now I know it’s possible. Didn’t know if they were just dwarf lol

 

[ae87]

Interesting! My female was the smallest I could find. I like watching them grow from babes, but for the male I knew he had to be bigger for her to like him :) I’ll keep this in the back of my mind and update with size later on...

 

[ae87]

Holy cow. I think she’s carrying eggs...if she is, any suggestions on how I prepare for this!? Just FYI- I don’t have a separate tank...I only have a small seclusion/holding tank that floats at the top...where will she have them? what do they do for food? Protection? How often do they spawn!?

 

[Maritimer]

She'll release the eggs (which are pretty micro-tiny - they'll look like a little puff of smoke) into the water column. I know these guys have been bred in aquaria, but I'd be surprised if they didn't have a planktonic larval stage, during which the offspring will eat microscopic free-floating organisms. Challenging!

~Bruce