Where to buy Curve-Spined Dragonet
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About Curve-Spined Dragonet
Curve-Spined Dragonets display a slender, elongated body with a slightly curved or arched dorsal profile. Coloration is typically tan, cream, or pale yellow with subtle dark banding or reticulated markings. The distinctive tall, elongated first dorsal spine (which gives the species its name) curves backward; males possess notably larger dorsal fins than females.
Key facts
- Family
- Callionymidae
- Max Size
- 7
- Care Requirements
- • Minimum 75-gallon tank with fine sand substrate for burrowing • Water: 72–78°F, pH 8.1–8.3, SG 1.020–1.025 • Low to moderate flow; hide among rock crevices and sand • Feed small meaty foods: copepods, mysis shrimp, amphipods • Peaceful; avoid aggressive tankmates and strong currents
- Common Health Issues
- Starvation (if insufficient microfauna), parasitic infections, sudden death in inadequately established systems
- Min tank size
- 75 gallons
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Diet
- carnivore
- Difficulty Level
- This is an expert-level fish requiring meticulous care. Success depends on establishing a well-established, heavily-stocked live rock system to provide abundant copepod and amphipod populations, as this species is an obligate micropredator that rarely accepts prepared foods.
- Diet Details
- Curve-Spined Dragonets are obligate micropredators that feed primarily on small copepods and amphipods in the substrate and on rock surfaces. In captivity, they require an established system with abundant live rock and sand to forage naturally; prepared foods are rarely accepted. Siphoning the substrate or frequently changing water can deplete their food supply.
- Care Level
- Expert
- Reef safety
- Reef Safe
- Appearance
- Curve-Spined Dragonets display a slender, elongated body with a slightly curved or arched dorsal profile. Coloration is typically tan, cream, or pale yellow with subtle dark banding or reticulated markings. The distinctive tall, elongated first dorsal spine (which gives the species its name) curves backward; males possess notably larger dorsal fins than females.
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