All fish / Callionymidae

Morrison's dragonet

Synchiropus morrisoni

Also known as morrison's dragonet, morrison dragonet, morrisons dragonet, morrison's mandarin, red dragonet, spotted dragonet, モリソンズドラゴネット, 莫氏连鳍䲗

Morrison's dragonet is a small bottom-dwelling fish with a mottled red, white and green body, large eyes and males that carry a tall, banded first dorsal fin. Reefkeepers like it for its busy, hopping way of picking over rock and sand, and many specimens accept frozen foods more readily than the related mandarin.

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

115 litres

Keep as

Single or a male and female pair; never two males

Diet

Carnivore: live copepods and amphipods from a mature refugium, plus frozen mysis, baby brine shrimp and fish roe once trained

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

3 to 5 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western and central Pacific, from the Philippines and Indonesia to Fiji and Micronesia

Breeding

Pairs rise up from the bottom at dusk to spawn, releasing floating eggs that hatch into tiny planktonic larvae. Spawning sometimes happens in home tanks, but raising the larvae needs very small live foods and is rarely managed.

Good to know

Do not add it until the tank is mature and has a healthy population of copepods, and avoid keeping it with other fish that eat pods or with aggressive tankmates. Males fight one another, so keep only one male per tank.