Green Mandarin – Philippines
Synchiropus splendidus
Green Mandarins are stunningly colored and have very interesting behavior. Provide an environment where there is a lot rockwork to provide areas for the Mandarin to hide and where Copepods can grow naturally. Housing them in small aquariums will help keep the density of food higher. These fish eat very slowly and can be out competed for food if kept in densely populated aquariums. It typically takes time and patience to get Mandarins to eat frozen or pelletized foods, so do not get discouraged if they do not take to those foods right away. Males (which are the most spectacularly colored with an elongated dorsal spine) are very territorial with other males, whereas females can be kept together (or together with one male) with little problem. The Green Mandarin will grow to be 3” in size and sport a maze-like pattern or blue, red, green and orange. They are found in the Western Pacific inhabiting shallow protected lagoons and inshore reefs.
