Spotted Mandarin (Synchiropus picturatus)

The Spotted Mandarin, also referred to as Target Mandarin, is a member of the family Callionymidae that grows to a maximum length of 3”. They originate in the Western Pacific from the Philippines, eastern Indonesia, and northwest Australia. In the wild they are found on sandy bottoms hovering over rubble below coral heads. In the aquarium, provide them with plenty of rockwork in which to hunt and hide.

ORA Spotted Mandarins have light green bodies with unique turquoise, black and orange bull’s-eye patterns. Their face masks have beautiful turquoise and orange stripes. They can be kept in mated pairs or singly.

ORA was the first to introduce significant numbers of captive-bred Mandarin Dragonets, also known as Mandarin Gobies, to the commercial aquarium market. The striking colors and patterns of the Mandarin make them one of the most popular and common marine aquarium fish on the market, but the wild-caught specimens have a reputation as being difficult to feed and maintain. Those concerns are resolved as ORA Mandarins have been raised on a variety of prepared foods. Hobbyists of all levels can now own and enjoy these easy to keep Mandarin Dragonets thanks to the research and production efforts of ORA.

All of ORA’s captive bred mandarins will accept a variety of prepared frozen and dry foods upon acclimation to their new tank. They may be offered Nutramar Ova, finely chopped Hikari Frozen Blood Worms, fish roe, frozen or live baby brine shrimp, frozen daphnia, and New Life SPECTRUM Small Fish Formula pellets. Some have also shown interest in Cyclopeeze. However in a reef tank, they often will default to the naturally occurring live copepods found among live rock.

Synchiropus picturatus is a peaceful fish that will fare best in the established reef tank provided there are no aggressive tank mates that may compete for food.