Dragonet Fish

Dragonets are small exotic looking fishes with their beautifully colored bodies covered in intricate designs and their long elegant fins. They are found in the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific, mainly among coral rubble or sandy areas near reefs, where they hunt for worms and small crustaceans.

Successfully keeping Dragonets presents quite a challenge for most marine aquarists. Many specimens will only accept live food and simply starve to death without it. Therefore, it is best to keep them in a reef tank or one that has a lot of live rock where they can feed on the worms and other little critters that inhabit them. Also, if possible, an attached refugium should be provided to culture additional live foods for the Dragonets. They will accept live brine shrimp but will not do well if other live foods are not available.

Dragonets can be kept in groups but they will require a lot of room and there should be only one male per tank (males can be differentiated from females by their longer dorsal fin and they are generally larger and more colorful than females).

Because they are slow moving, bottom dwelling fish Dragonets should only be kept with other peaceful species.

Breeding Dragonets is very difficult. Some species have been known to spawn in captivity but successfully raising the fry remains a challenge.

TankConditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12

Compatibility: Foxface and rabbitfish, gobies, jawfish, hawkfish, puffers, seahorses, pipefish, tangs and surgeons, live corals, invertebrates, live rock, sand.