Age for dragonets

[ThRoewer]

For Callionymus filamentosus the maximum age was found to be 5+ years:

Age, growth and mortality of the Red Sea invasive blotchfin dragonet, Callionymus filamentosus Valenciennes, 1837 from the Northeastern Mediterranean, Turkey (Full PDF)

 

[Moort82]

Mandarins don't form harems. The males occupy and defend a certain territory in which they do not tolerate other males. The females just roam around and spawn with whichever male they are impressed by. But there is no grouping or bonding like you have with damsels, angels or anthias.
In that regard they are more like many blennies.

That same observation has been found with lyretail anthias where a male essentially patrols a defined territory and all the females within it are his, some may move and other come (think average was 9-11) but there was movement. This was reported over the whole wall of anthias with their close proximity. So I don't see how that is different to the mandarin example using the definition of a harem as "a group of female animals sharing a single mate" which doesn't imply there needs to be a bond or it needs to be a fixed group.

 

[ThRoewer]

For once, Anthias are engaged in a permanent power struggle. The males constantly have to keep the females in line to maintain their status and prevent females from turning into males.
At the same time they also have constantly to defend their spot on the wall against other males.

Mandarin males don't have that problem. In fact, during the day they go about their own business and largely ignore the females. Only at dusk they join the bar scene and start going after females to mate with.
There is not too much stress involved, not even in chasing off the competition.

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[Natalya]

ThRoewer, thanks a lot for refrence!