Picturesque Dragonet (Synchiropus picturatus)

The Picturesque Dragonet (Synchiropus picturatus) known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the , Picture Dragonet, Spotted Mandarin, Spotted Mandarinfish, Target Mandarin, Psychedelic Mandarinfish, and Psychedelic Fish is native to the Western Pacific Ocean throughout Philippine, South East Asian, Indonesian, and northwest Australian seas.

The Picturesque Dragonet is a shy, secretive species normally encountered alone, in pairs and occasionally in loose groups on the sandy bottoms of the shallow sheltered reefs of their range, sheltering among rubble rock below living corals at depths up to 650 feet.

The Target Mandarin is a peaceful, slow moving species that prefers faster moving water. Like the Mandarin Goby (Synchiropus splendidus), the Picturesque Dragonet has no scales. They have a thick, bitter tasting, unpleasant smelling mucous coating on their skin that protects them from predators and diseases.

Although they have a body shape that is similar to that of a goby, the Synchiropus picturatus is really a Dragonet.

Picturesque Dragonet (Synchiropus picturatus)

Picturesque Dragonets are brilliantly colored with broad, depressed heads, yellow to red eyes with black pupils, and large pelvic fins (frequently mistaken for pectoral fins) that are used to “walk” on the seafloor. They have a green to brownish colored body color with several large, blue, orange, and black spots that resemble targets randomly arranged on the body. Although the dorsal fins can have broad wavy lines or “targets” on them, the pectoral, anal and part of the caudal fins are mostly transparent.

Males have a large, tall, dorsal fin and are noticeably larger than females. Females are smaller, stockier, and have a more rounded abdomen than males.

Synchiropus picturatus and the closely related Synchiropus splendidus are the only two vertebrates known to have blue cellular pigment coloring.

A single Picturesque Dragonet can be housed in a mature 30 gallon FOWLR or reef tank with a thick live sand substrate and plenty of active live rock for them to feed on and hide among. In order to keep a mated pair, at least a 60 gallon capacity tank packed with plenty of mature live rock for the fish to feed on and hide among is required.

Because the Picturesque Dragonet lives naturally in moderate currents; they require an oversized filtration system (10 to 20 times the tank volume) to provide the current flow and strong oxygenation needed in an aquarium environment. Plan on changing 20% to 30% of the water volume each month to keep Nitrate levels below 50mg/L.

Mature live rock populated with copepods is an essential food source for the Picturesque Dragonet. At least 75 pounds of live rock is recommended to adequately feed a single Dragonet.

When enough populated live rock is not provided to feed each individual, the fish will often eat all the copepods on the rock and eventually starve to death.

For that reason, adding a Target Mandarin to a new setup without an established food supply is highly discouraged.

Spotted Mandarinfish in a FOWLR aquarium usually get along well with other non aggressive species of similar size and temperament such as the Coral Beauty, Firefish, Pajama Cardinal, etc.

Because the males are slightly territorial, they should not be kept in groups with their own kind unless housed in very large tanks.

Picturesque Dragonets are pelagic spawners that have been successfully spawned in an aquarium environment. Because Synchiropus picturatus larvae are among the smallest ever recorded at hatching, they are extremely difficult to raise into adulthood.

In anticipation of the spawn, small groups of up to five male and female gobies will gather up after sunset. A single male, usually the largest in the group will pair up with an available female to spawn. Spawning pairs will rise towards the surface in close contact with each other to release clutches of 12 to 205 small, spherical, colorless, buoyant, 0.7 to 0.8 mm dia. eggs and sperm for external fertilization. The males create a funnel with their anal fin when releasing the sperm to insure successful fertilization. During the spawning ritual, males frequently mate several times during the night with multiple females, whereas the females can only spawn once per night. Because there seems to be a sexual preference by the females for larger males, the larger and stronger males mate more frequently.

Synchiropus picturatus larvae have a short incubation time and develop quickly. The clumped together egg masses slowly break apart in the water column and about 36 hours after fertilization, the eyes become pigmented and the mouth becomes developed. After 8 to 11 days the fins become developed and the tiny larvae are active and feeding. After 12 to 14 days, the juveniles look like the adults with a large head and a triangular shaped body. In 18 to 21 days, the body turns a dark orange brown color with greenish banding and the dorsal spines can be observed. The adult color pattern does not develop until the second month when the fish are 10 to 15 mm long.

Picturesque Dragonets breed throughout the year with spawning occurring at weekly intervals for several months.

In their natural habitat, Picturesque Dragonets feed throughout the day on small crustaceans and benthic invertebrates that they find in the substrate. Their mixed diet includes fish eggs, harpacticoid copepods, polychaete worms, small gastropods, gammaridean amphipods, and ostracods.

In an aquarium environment Synchiropus picturatus have specific dietary requirements which is why many tropical fish keeping enthusiasts considered them difficult to keep. Some individuals refuse to eat anything but live amphiopods and copepods but if they can be successfully acclimated to eating aquarium fare such as frozen copepods, vitamin enriched brine shrimp, cyclops, live black worms, and small mysis shrimp; the dragonets are hardy and resistant to disease. A turkey baster or syringe can be used to target feed small portions directly onto the live rock or near the fish several times a day.

Most successful tropical fish keeping enthusiasts cultivate robust populations of copepods to feed their Picturesque Dragonets by attaching a refugium to the sump in the tank. A mass of macroalgae such as chaetomorpha in the refugium allows the copepods to breed and multiply without being preyed on. Detritus and microfauna produced by the macroalgae provide shelter and food for the copepods. Robust copepod populations can also be cultivated by allowing the tank with ample live rock to mature for at least six months or so before adding fish.

The Picturesque Dragonet (Synchiropus picturatus) is readily available to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as wild caught and aquacultured specimens from a variety of online retailers, wholesalers, and transhippers.   Prices for approximate purchase sizes Small: 1″ to 1-1/2″; Medium: 1-1/2″ to 2-1/4″; Large: 2-1/4″ to 3″ vary from $33.00 to $46.00, depending on size and seller.

Picturesque Dragonet (Synchiropus picturatus)

Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallon (60 gallons for pairs)
Aquarium Type: Reef or FOLR
Care Level: Difficult
Temperament: Peaceful
Aquarium Hardiness: Hardy when acclimated
Water Conditions: 75-82° F, dKH 8 – 12°, pH 8.1–8.4, sg 1.023-1.025
Max size: 3″
Color Form: Blue, Black, Green, Orange,
Diet: Carnivore
Compatibility: Reef Safe
Origin: Philippine, South East Asian, Indonesian, and northwest Australian seas.
Family: Callionymidae
Lifespan: 5 – 15 years
Aquarist Experience Level: Intermediate/Expert