[4] Overall the mangrove rivulus is widespread and not threatened,[1] but in the United States it is considered a Species of Concern by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

[10] Spawning has not yet been observed in the wild in the mangrove rivulus, but captive studies show that the eggs are positioned in shallow water, sometimes even in places that periodically are on land during low tide.

[11][12] The species consists mostly of hermaphrodites which are known to reproduce by self-fertilization, but males do exist,[7] and strong genetic evidence indicates occasional outcrossing.

[16] In nature, this mode of reproduction can yield highly homozygous lines composed of individuals so genetically uniform as to be, in effect, identical to one another.

[17] Meiosis can also provide the adaptive benefit of efficient recombinational repair of DNA damages during formation of germ cells at each generation.

[20] This benefit may have prevented the evolutionary replacement of meiosis and selfing by a simpler type of clonal reproduction such as ameiotic or apomictic parthenogenesis.

[22] Overall the mangrove rivulus is widespread and not threatened,[1] but in the United States it is considered a Species of Concern by the National Marine Fisheries Service.