Mandarin Fish
Scientific Name : Synchiropus Splendidus
Origin : Indo-Pacific Ocean
Temperament : Peaceful
Temperature : 72F - 82F
Maximum Size : 4 Inches
Diet : Carnivore
Difficulty : Hard
Reef Safe : Yes
Tank Size : 75 Gallons
Given the scientific name Synchiropus Splendidus, the Mandarin Fish is a breathtaking marine aquarium fish. It is known as the mandarin fish, mandarin goby and the mandarin dragonet. Only one of these names is accurate. It is actually a dragonet and not a goby at all.
Its coloration is best described as an intricate combination of red, blue and green. Its entire body is lined by these bright colors to produce probably one the most stunning marine fish that are found in our oceans.
They are commonly found throughout the Indo-Pacific and are heavily collected for the marine aquarium trade. Due to their common nature, they are also a very cheap fish to purchase. Unfortunately, over ninety percent of them will go on to perish in our aquariums as we cannot provide them with the proper food items required. Too many marine enthusiasts buy them without first doing their research on their specific needs. The end result is thousands collected only to live no more than a few months in captivity.
They can reach a length of about 4 inches and are a very peaceful fish. They simply go about their business looking for tasty morsels to consume throughout the day.
Probably the only fish that it may be aggressive towards are other mandarin fish. Otherwise, it not only leaves other species alone but is left alone in kind most of the time.
They require a large marine aquarium that has been established for at least 6 months. It is not because they need the such large spaces to live in. A 100 gallon tank is suitable for a single mandarin fish. This is a very conservative figure but it is always better to err on the side of caution. While mandarin fish are known to be extremely resistant towards external parasites, they should still be put in a quarantine tank to treat any diseases or fungal infections present.
Their primary food item, which is the copepod, requires a large enough aquarium to sustain its numbers while still being able to feed the mandarin fish. In the wild, they will only consume copepods, gammarus amphipods, other small crustaceans and some small worms.
Getting them on prepared foods in captivity is a difficulty endeavor. But there are ways to go about achieving this. First, you need a live food of some sort. Preferrably live adult artemia that has been gut packed before feeding. As it recognizes live brine shrimp as prey, begin adding frozen brine shrimp every time you feed.
Eventually, it will start recognizing frozen artemia as food. At this point, you will have to get the mandarin fish to consume something more nutritious, namely mysis shrimp. Begin adding mysis shrimp into the mix everytime you feed it. Getting it to consume mysis shrimp is the end goal as brine shrimp is nutritionally poor and cannot possibly sustain the mandarin fish in the long term.
However, even after they begin feeding you will have to target feed them. This is because they are painfully slow eaters that simply cannot compete with other tank mates for food. In the end, unless you have a large established aquarium for them, it is better to pass on the mandarin fish.
