The Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) is an extremely small fish that has very bright and pretty colour markings. It is a tropical species that is distributed throughout the Western Pacific from the Ryukyu Islands to Australia. It can be found hiding in amongst the soft corals of coral reefs and living amongst broken reef rubble. It is generally an orange or orangish brown with broad curved bands that are coloured green and blue.
The Mandarinfish is a very popular fish with aquarium collectors and is highly sought after for display in private aquariums. Many images that you see of the Mandarinfish in fish books and magazines make it look quite large but it is very rare for this species to grow beyond 5cm.
