SYNCHIROPUS SPLENDIDUS

Origin: Western Pacific Ocean from the Ryukyu Islands to Australia.

Habitat: Live associated with coral reefs among which find shelter in depths between 1 and 18 meters.

Morphology: It has an elongated body, bulging eyes and a small mouth, slightly projected forward. It has two dorsal fins and ventral fins adapted to facilitate its movement on the substrate. It has 4 spines and 8 soft dorsal rays, and 6-8 anal soft rays. It has a preopercular spine. In its coloration highlight several green, orange, and yellow stripes, with blue or bright green as a background color. The tail fin is red-orange with the margin in blue.

A fatty film that covers your body makes it more resistant to characteristic diseases of the skin, while producing bad odor and releasing substances with some toxins. It has been suggested that they use it as a repellent against predators and competitors. Its striking coloration could be aposematic, that is, as a warning for predators.

The males which are noticeably larger than the females, reach 7 cm in length.

Maintenance: Its maintenance in captivity depends in extreme of its initial adaptation both to the new aquatic parameters and to the main problem that is the dead feed. It is more than convenient to introduce it in mature aquariums, which have benthic fauna and worms to provide it with food. Acclimatization should be very slow even in the light aspect. Its life expectancy in captivity is around 6 years.

PH: 8.1 - 8.4                         Salinity: 1022 - 1025                Temperature: 24-27ºC

Behavior: It is a calm and associable fish with most species available in aquarium, except the combination of more than one male in the same habitat, which will end with the death of one of them.

Feeding: They feed mainly on small crustaceans and other invertebrates. They are mainly carnivores, especially non-insect arthropods (such as amphipods and isopods) and small worms, although they are also omnivorous. You can eat microbes (protozoa). Much of its intake is found in rocks. He also eats frozen artemia and mysis.

Reproduction. The spawning in captivity is relatively simple with adult animals. However, going forward with the larvae is very complex because of their small size  they are very difficult to feed.