All fish / Callionymidae

Big-eye Dragonet

Synchiropus grandoculis

Also known as bigeye dragonet, large-eyed dragonet, grandoculis dragonet, big eye mandarin, sand dragonet, メガネヌメリ, 大眼连鳍䲗

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A small, sand-coloured dragonet with large eyes and fine mottling that hides it well on sandy bottoms, while males raise a tall, patterned first dorsal fin when displaying. Hobbyists keep it for its unusual hopping behaviour and to add interest to mature reef tanks with open sand.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

6 cm

Temperature

23 to 27 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

150 litres

Keep as

Singly or as a pair; avoid two males

Diet

Carnivore: live copepods and amphipods, small live and frozen foods such as baby brine shrimp and cyclops

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

2 to 5 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Japan, Australia and Pacific islands

Breeding

It spawns in pairs, rising into the water column at dusk to release floating eggs. The larvae are tiny and need very small live foods, so it is rarely bred in home aquariums.

Good to know

It feeds almost constantly on tiny crustaceans, so it needs a mature tank with plenty of live sand and rock and should not be kept with competing pod eaters. Males fight each other.