- Size
- Up to 7 cm
- Tank
- Mature reef, plenty of live rock
- Temp
- 24–27 °C
- pH
- 8.1–8.4
- School
- Pairs
- Lifespan
- 10–15 yrs (wild)
Identification
A small reef dragonet with swirling blue, orange, and green. The psychedelic mandarin (Synchiropus picturatus) is similar but spotted rather than striped. Sexes differ: males have a taller first dorsal spine.
Tank size
An established reef with plenty of live rock, not a new tank. They need rockwork to graze, not open water, and a steady supply of copepods.
Temperament
Peaceful and slow. Males fight; keep one male. They ignore other fish and are ignored until a faster mouth takes the food first.
Diet
Copepods all day. Frozen mysis only after a captive-bred fish has already been trained onto it. A new tank has none of this food.
Breeding
Pair-spawning at dusk in a mature reef. Eggs float. Home breeding is rare; buy captive-bred when you can.
Compatibility
Safe with other peaceful reef fish that do not compete for the same small crustaceans. Avoid fast, active feeders that pick over the rock.
Common diseases
Starvation is the usual cause of death in aquariums: it eats tiny live crustaceans and cannot compete with faster tank mates for food.
Lifespan
10–15 years in the wild; typically 2–4 years in aquariums, mainly because of feeding.
Difficulty
Advanced because of feeding, not because the fish is fragile in stable water.