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Spotted Mandarin
Dragonet

Spotted Mandarin

Synchiropus picturatus

A small green dragonet marked with black-ringed blue and orange ocelli, hopping slowly over rock and sand on its pectoral fins all day. Its problem is not aggression or hardiness but food: it hunts live copepods and amphipods almost continuously and a single fish can take hundreds of pods a day, so it needs a mature tank — six months minimum, ideally with a refugium and plenty of rock — before it stands a chance. Many individuals never accept frozen or prepared food, and a mandarin in a clean, young, well-skimmed tank simply starves over a few months while looking fine at first. Keep one per tank (males fight), never with fast aggressive feeders that outcompete it, and treat pod supply, not tank volume, as the real requirement.

Temperament
Peaceful
Max size
2.8"
Min tank
55 gal
Reef-safe
Reef safe
Diet
Carnivore
Zone
Bottom, Rockwork, Sand bed
Keep just one per tank — two will fight.
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Tankmates

How Spotted Mandarin gets on with the rest of the reef, checked pair by pair by the same engine as the live pre-flight.

Best kept apart

A real clash — aggression, predation or a same-genus fight.

Maroon ClownfishMaroon Clownfish (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.Purple TangPurple Tang (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.Mandarin DragonetTwo dragonets in one tank drain the copepod population roughly twice as fast, and a single system rarely regrows pods quickly enough to feed both. Same-sex dragonets also spar with each other.Scooter BlennyBoth are dragonets that live off the same pod and micro-crustacean population picked off rock and sand. Keeping two of them doubles the drain on a food supply most tanks can only just sustain for one.Rainford's GobyRainford's goby grazes the same live-rock and sand-bed pods the mandarin depends on, and it feeds far faster. Neither fish is aggressive, but the mandarin is the slow, methodical hunter and is the one that tends to waste away.Antennata LionfishAntennata Lionfish has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Spotted Mandarin.Picasso TriggerfishPicasso Triggerfish (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.Twinspot GobyThe twinspot goby sifts mouthfuls of sand for the same tiny invertebrates the mandarin hunts. Most tanks cannot sustain two dedicated microfauna grazers, and the twinspot already has a poor survival record on its own.Domino DamselDomino Damsel (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.Marine BettaMarine Betta has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Spotted Mandarin.Dragon WrasseDragon Wrasse has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Spotted Mandarin.Volitans LionfishVolitans Lionfish has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Spotted Mandarin.Zebra Dwarf LionfishZebra Dwarf Lionfish has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Spotted Mandarin.Snowflake MoraySnowflake Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Spotted Mandarin.Zebra MorayZebra Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Spotted Mandarin.Chainlink MorayChainlink Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Spotted Mandarin.Golden Dwarf MorayGolden Dwarf Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Spotted Mandarin.Rectangle TriggerfishRectangle Triggerfish (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.Clown TriggerfishClown Triggerfish (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.Miniata GrouperMiniata Grouper (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.

Keep an eye on these

Usually fine, but worth watching in a smaller tank.

Kole TangSpotted Mandarin and Kole Tang both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Sailfin TangSailfin Tang (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.Powder Blue TangPowder Blue Tang (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.Sixline WrasseSpotted Mandarin and Sixline Wrasse both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Melanurus WrasseSpotted Mandarin and Melanurus Wrasse both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Coral HawkfishSpotted Mandarin and Coral Hawkfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Springer's DottybackSpotted Mandarin and Springer's Dottyback both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Purple DottybackSpotted Mandarin and Purple Dottyback both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Midas BlennySpotted Mandarin and Midas Blenny both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Longnose HawkfishSpotted Mandarin and Longnose Hawkfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Potter's AngelfishSpotted Mandarin and Potter's Angelfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Bicolor BlennySpotted Mandarin and Bicolor Blenny both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Red Coris WrasseRed Coris Wrasse (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.Convict TangConvict Tang (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Spotted Mandarin and may harass it.Flame HawkfishSpotted Mandarin and Flame Hawkfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Saddleback ClownfishSpotted Mandarin and Saddleback Clownfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Cherub AngelfishSpotted Mandarin and Cherub Angelfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Multicolor AngelfishSpotted Mandarin and Multicolor Angelfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Starry BlennySpotted Mandarin and Starry Blenny both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Rusty AngelfishSpotted Mandarin and Rusty Angelfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.