All fish / Callionymidae

Ladd's Dragonet

Synchiropus laddi

Also known as ladd's dragonet, ladd's mandarin, red dragonet, ladd's scooter, blood red dragonet

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Ladd's dragonet is a small bottom-dwelling dragonet, mottled in red and orange with paler spots, and males carry a tall, ornate first dorsal fin. It lives on rubble slopes and deeper reef areas, and fans keep it for its striking colours and the way it hops across rocks and 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 one male with one or more females in a larger tank

Diet

Carnivore: copepods, amphipods and other small live crustaceans, with some individuals learning to take frozen foods

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

3 to 5 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Pacific: Ryukyu Islands, Philippines, Indonesia, Fiji and Marshall Islands

Breeding

Pairs spawn in the evening, rising up through the water to release floating eggs. Spawning sometimes happens in captivity, but raising the very small larvae is difficult and seldom works.

Good to know

It needs a mature reef tank with plenty of live rock and a steady supply of copepods, and it often starves if competing with fast feeders. Keep only one male per tank, because males fight.