Species Profile
Mandarin Dragonet
Synchiropus splendidus
Also known as: Green Mandarin, Striped Mandarin, Mandarin Goby
Dragonetspeaceful
Adult size
3″
Minimum tank
30 gal
Temperature
72–82°F
pH
8.1–8.4
Schooling
Solitary OK
Water level
bottom
Diet
Live copepods — most specimens won't accept frozen or prepared food. Captive-bred specimens sometimes eat frozen mysis.
Notes
Psychedelic green-blue-orange swirled patterns — among the most beautiful reef fish. Requires a mature tank (6+ months) with an established copepod population, or a refugium that breeds pods. Most wild-caught specimens starve to death over weeks; buy captive-bred only.
Photo: Luc Viatour / Wikimedia Commons · Source · CC-BY-SA-3.0