Synchiropus splendidus

See Talk:Synchiropus splendidus for individual experiences with this species, Synchiropus splendidus. Feel free to add your own personal experiences.

Common Name
Blue Mandarin
Binomial Name
Synchiropus splendidus

Scientific Classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Callionymidae
Genus:	Synchiropus
Species:	splendidus

Common Names

Blue Mandarin
Mandarin Goby
Psychedelic Fish

Characteristics

Description

Information about the body shape, skeletal characteristics, how it appears, colouring etc.

Similar Species

None.

Maximum Size

Something about what size the it grows to in the wild, plus in captivity.

Associated Organisms

N/A

Behaviour

Their days are spent in pursuit of minute invertebrates, oblivious of other tank mates. Mandarin fish are best kept as individuals or pairs if the tank is large enough. Two fish of the same sex will likely fight, and it is generally best not to mix different species.

Captive Care

Tank Size

Ideally the tank should be large enough to maintain a breeding population of pods, so that the fish can continue to hunt without extinguishing the pod supply. A smaller tank is acceptable if the fish can be trained to eat frozen food.

Water Flow

Low - Moderate

Lighting

Moderate

Feeding

Mandarins hunt tirelessly throughout the day searching for minute worms and copepods, that are usually found in well established tanks with plenty of live rock. Establishing a Mandarin Diner is one way to ensure a mandarin gets it fair share of frozen food in a tank with bold eaters and where pod supplies are low. However this will only work if there are no similarly sized fish that eat in his diner and if the mandarin can be trained onto frozen food. While some mandarins can be taught to take frozen food, many refuse and die from starvation.