Biota’s captive bred Mandarin Dragonets readily feed on prepared foods, making them an easier to keep and ethical alternative to difficult wild caught mandarins!
Synchiropus splendidus - Mandarin Dragonets are inarguably one of the most beautiful species on earth, which makes them very popular aquarium fish. Our mandarins have a mix of blue-green and red coloration on the body and deep blue accents on the fins. The coloration may appear different in varying lighting spectrums. These photos show what our mandarins typically look like.
Unfortunately, the natural diet of wild caught mandarins is live food, which can be tedious and costly for many new hobbyists to provide, especially in immature or small tanks. Even if provided the best captive conditions, wild caught mandarins often succumb to wounds inflicted by spear guns or toxic cyanide used during the wild collection process. An overwhelming number of wild caught Mandarin Dragonets die in captivity for these reasons.
Our Biota captive bred Mandarins are sustainably and ethically raised on prepared commercial diets that are easily accessible and inexpensive to aquarium hobbyists. Biota Mandarins arrive to you already familiar with foods like Hikari frozen baby brine shrimp, Piscene Energetics frozen Calanus, Easy Reefs Masstick, and tiny pellets such as small Easy Reefs DKI pellets, TDO B2 pellet, and PE Hatchery pellet 400 μm. We've had so many happy customers report that after acclimation, their Biota captive bred Mandarins will eat just about any small, meaty food that lands in front of them and is small enough to fit in their tiny mouths. Young mandarins should be fed 3 - 4+ x a day while they're still growing. Read more about feeding HERE
Mandarins are small, peaceful, and completely reef safe. Mandarins employ a toxic, unpalatable mucous coat to help them stave off predatory fish and parasites. The ideal minimum tank size is 30 gallons or more. They can be kept in male/female pairs in larger tanks, as they may fight with conspecifics and similar species.
Mandarin fish are experts at camouflage and can even bury themselves in the sand. Many customers with very large tanks add them directly to the tank with great success, but we recommend using an acclimation box if you'd like to keep a close eye on them during the acclimation period. Mandarin pairs should be kept in tanks no smaller than 30 gallons with plenty of territory and hiding spots. We recommend introducing new fish with an acclimation box.
small 3/4"+