Synchiropus splendidus also know as green mandarin or dragonet. The standard colors of the fish is a blue background with strange pattern orange lines. It is dominated by blue, yellow, orange, purple and green. They are native to the pacific ocean and are very popular in the aquarium trade. They shelter in lagoons and inshore reefs. Mandarin are shy and slow-moving, mostly easily seen at the bottom of the ocean bed due to their bottom-feeding habits.
Green mandarin
Mandarin can grow up to 4 inches in length and live up to 10 to 15 years in the wild. Green Mandarin need to be properly acclimatized and kept with care in an established aquarium with rock, sand, and plenty of hiding places. Mandarinfish are considered difficult to keep, due to its feeding habits which are very specific also some fish never adapt to aquarium food they only feed on live amphipods and copepods. Mandrinefish’s pair of eyes are ideal for food hunting and feeding in the dim light environments underwater, which offers a wide variety of tiny invertebrates suitable for their diet.
We can identify male and female mandarin by the long dorsal spine that rises up on its back. Similarly the female has no such spike. Now green mandarin is successfully paired and raised in tanks.
They tend to sleep on the sand during the night and some times they submerge themselves in the sand. The green mandarin fish is one of the few marine fish which does not have scales. Green mandarin fish has a protected mucous-coated slimy and smelly skin. Which not only protects them from most parasitic skin diseases, but also discourages predators due to its horrible taste.
They are closely related to the spotted mandarinfish (Synchiropus picturatus) which has a green background with orange, blue and black spots on it.
