Marbled Dragonet - Medium

The Marbled Dragonet has a cylindrical body, a very large head, and a tubular muzzle with a small mouth at the end. They have very developed fins and they use its ventral fins as small paws to move. The pectoral fins are used for swimming with the Callionymidae family's characteristic wave movement. The body is white with a mottled colour with red that extends from the head to the caudal fin. A grey-black spot can be found on the pectoral fins. The dorsal fin is vibrantly coloured, with arabesques ranging from red to different shades of orange, brown and black. The male has the longest dorsal fin radius and a larger and more colourful fan than the female.

The Marbled Dragonet can be found as far south as Delagoa Bay, Mozambique, and up the African coast to Sumatra.

Tank Recommendations for Marbled Dragonet

It prefers a 200-litre or larger reef aquarium with plenty of live rock to hide in and graze on. The substrate should be live sand, and the aquarium inhabitants should be peaceful. It is possible to keep more than one species together, when doing this it is best to introduce them all to the tank at the same time. The female to male ratio should be 2 or 3 to 1. If more than one male is to be kept, a 280 litre or larger aquarium is required.

These fish have a high resistance to white spot and other parasites, but they are not completely immune. They do on the other hand, have a poor tolerance for copper and other types of medicine.

Suitable Tank Buddies

Marbled Dragonets are very peaceful, sociable, and shy fish that enjoy searching for food in the tank's rocks and sandy substrate. When the lights are turned off, they sleep beneath the sand, revealing only their head.

Usually Compatible

Marbled Dragonets are compatible with a wide range of aquarium fish, including Dwarf Angelfish, Batfish, Seahorses, Pipefish, Anthias, and Clownfish, amongst others.

Sometime Compatible

Because this species is shy and docile, it should be kept separately from more aggressive fish. Marbled Dragonets can sometimes coexist with Large Angelfish, Filefish, Wrasse, and Parrotfish. If you are keeping them with Rays, ensure they have plenty of places to hide and keep an eye on them as the Rays may try to eat them.

Rarely Compatible

Multiple Dragonets can be kept together, but two males should not be kept together. Males can be identified from females as they typically have a brighter colouration and a larger front dorsal fin. They are not compatible with Triggerfish, Sharks, Groupers, or Scorpionfish, as all of them will eat your Dragonet at the first opportunity they get.

Feeding your Marbled Dragonet

They prefer to feed on small benthic animals found in the sandy substrate or in rock niches. Fortunately, it also feeds on live, freeze-dried, or frozen food. The important thing is that it is of sufficient quality and size for the Marbled Dragonet to eat. Examples of meals they will eat are such as Artemia Salina, mysis, mollusca pulp, cyclops, lobster eggs, frozen plankton, and copepods. They will also become accustomed to eating dry granulated food in some circumstances. It is best to feed it large amounts of food at least twice a day.

This species does best in an aquarium with plenty of food on live rocks. Before acquiring this species, it’s worth adding copepods to establish a population in your tank. Then when a large number of pods are visible in the aquarium the tank is ready for your Dragonets. If kept in a small or newly established aquarium, be prepared to supplement with live zooplankton.