image credit: eco-divers.com
image credit: animalworld.tumblr.com
image credit: Pet Info Club
image credit: baywood16105
image credit: alastair.pollock
image credit: divegallery.comHabitat: native to the Pacific, ranging approximately from the Ryukyu Islands south to Australia.
Status: No conservation concerns
Status: No conservation concerns
Here’s a brilliantly colored little fish to brighten up your Monday! This is a Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) and you will probably recognize it since they’re very popular as salt water pet fish.
To date, the Mandarinfish is one of only two animal species known to have blue coloring because of cellular pigment. The name “cyanophore” was proposed for the blue chromatophores, or pigment-containing and light-reflecting cells.
Even though they are quite common in the aquarium trade, these fish are quite difficult to keep because of their specific diet. In the wild, they are restricted to eating live copepods and amphipods and some never get over these tasty requirements.
