Mandarin Dragonet/Mandarinfish

ANIMAL:
Mandarin Dragonet/Mandarinfish Synchiropus splendidus

Type of Animal:
Dragonet

Habitat:
Reefs, coral areas, lagoons, broken coral rubble beds, under dead coral, reef crests, ocean rubble beds, open ocean (for spawning), found at depths of 3-59.06 ft in warm water

Location(s):
Indo-Pacific from Ryukyu Islands to Australia

Appearance:
Vividly-colored broad-headed elongated fish w/ large pelvic fins, males have taller dorsal fins-3 main color variations occur-green form has bright blue background, swirly orange stripes, blue-greenish face w/ bold blue stripes, striking orange-blue dorsal fin, red form has red stripes & red-blue on dorsal fin (sometimes red w/ black stripes), spotted form light gray-green w/ black/pink/blue spots

Food/Diet:
Copepods, amphipods, isopods, small snails, worms, fish eggs, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, protozoans, fish poop, detritus, benthic algae

Status in Wild:
Stable

Conservation:
Breeding in aquaculture & aquariums. Captive breeding reducing demand for wild-caught fish.

Lifestyle:
Solitary or small harems of a male w/ 1-4 females

Additional Info:

Called:
Male
Female
Young: Fry
Group: School

Gestation:
12 hours 

Life Span:
10-15 years in wild, 4-5 years in captivity

Body Length:
Male: 2.9-3 in
Female: 2.7 in

Only predators are scorpionfish & lionfish since they’re not deterred by foul taste of this fish nor bright coloration warning potential predators. This fish has smelly foul-tasting toxic mucus to deter potential predators.
 
While stable, popularity in aquarium trade is a potential threat.
 
Males extremely territorial, often fighting to the death.
 
Also called Mandarin, Green Mandarin, Green Mandarinfish, Red Mandarin, Red Mandarinfish, Striped Mandarinfish, Green Dragonet, Striped Dragonet, Psychedelic Mandarinfish, Mandarin Goby, Green Mandarin Goby, & Red Mandarin Goby among others.
 
Popular in aquarium trade due to its beauty.
 
Clutch size ranges from 12-205.
 
When eggs hatch, they’re free-swimming larvae, becoming juveniles at 12-14 days old. Maturity reached as early as 2 months old.
 
Spawning occurs at night.
 
These fish breed year-round.
 
These fish are very shy in the wild.

Fun Fact(s):
In some Asian countries, these fish utilized as food.
 
Gets name from coloration resembling robes of Imperial Chinese scholars (mandarins).
 
These fish are rather difficult to keep in captivity & live much shorter lifespans in captivity than in wild.
 
1 of only 2 vertebrate species (other being closely Picturesque Dragonet/Psychedelic Mandarinfish/Spotted Mandarinfish) to have blue coloration due to cellular pigment.

18 thoughts on “Mandarin Dragonet/Mandarinfish

  1. Malcolm

    Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that
    it is really informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels.
    I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future. Many people will be benefited
    from your writing. Cheers!

    Reply
  2. Lizette

    Good day! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog.
    Is it difficult to set up your own blog?
    I’m not very techincal but I can figure things
    out pretty fast. I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any tips or suggestions?
    Many thanks

    Reply
  3. Thalia

    My brother recommended I would possibly like this web site.
    He was once entirely right. This post actually made my day.
    You can not consider simply how a lot time I had spent for
    this information! Thanks!

    Reply
  4. Thao

    When someone writes an article he/she keeps the thought of a user in his/her brain that how a user can understand it.
    Therefore that’s why this article is great. Thanks!

    Reply
  5. Jamika

    Howdy are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to
    the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you require any coding knowledge to make your own blog?
    Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    Reply
  6. Emilie

    Can I simply say what a relief to uncover an individual who
    really knows what they are discussing on the net.
    You certainly understand how to bring a problem to light and make it important.
    A lot more people really need to look at this and understand this side
    of your story. I can’t believe you are not more popular since you certainly have the gift.

    Reply
  7. Steffen

    I absolutely love your blog and find nearly all of your post’s to be precisely what I’m looking for.
    can you offer guest writers to write content in your
    case? I wouldn’t mind creating a post or elaborating on some of the subjects you
    write related to here. Again, awesome site!

    Reply
  8. Kerstin

    I blog quite often and I really appreciate your content. Your article has
    truly peaked my interest. I will take a note of
    your website and keep checking for new details about once per week.

    I opted in for your RSS feed too.

    Reply
  9. Mamie

    I know this web page presents quality based articles
    or reviews and other data, is there any other website which provides these kinds of data in quality?

    Reply
  10. Jodie

    Greetings from Ohio! I’m bored to tears at work so I
    decided to browse your site on my iphone during lunch break.

    I enjoy the knowledge you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
    I’m surprised at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile ..
    I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, awesome blog!

    Reply
  11. Beryl

    An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a
    coworker who has been doing a little homework on this.

    And he actually ordered me breakfast because I stumbled upon it for him…
    lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the
    meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this matter here on your web site.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *