The Spotted Mandarin is an extremely docile and friendly species
and it should not be combined with aggressive species in the aquarium.

 Even species that leave the Spotted Mandarin alone can cause problems by
gulping down all the food before the dawdling Mandarin gets a chance to catch
any. They are known to be quite intolerant of their own species when kept in
small aquariums.

The Spotted Mandarin is considered reef safe, but it may nibble at small coral
polyps.

The aquarium where you keep your Spotted Mandarin should contain plenty of
suitable hiding spots, such as caves and crevices. A Spotted Mandarin that is
kept in a barren aquarium can become very stressed and shy. If you have a
Mandarin that stays hidden all the time, try including even more hiding spots in
the set up.

If you want to keep Spotted Mandarin, you should ideally wait until you have a
well established aquarium with plenty of live rock  because this will make
it possible for the Spotted Mandarin to eat naturally occurring tiny animals
just like it would do in the wild.

Generally speaking, the aquarium should have been active for at least six months
before you introduce any mandarins.

Ideally avoid using  ultraviolet filters in the aquarium when keeping
Mandarin, because such filters can kill organisms necessary for a well
functioning ecosystem that provides the mandarin fish suitable food.