The "Psychadelic" Mandarin Fish

The Mandarin fish is easily one of the prettiest fish in the sea, which explains why it is one of the most popular fish sold for reef aquarium tanks. Its scale-less body features a beautiful display of blue, green, orange and yellow designs and squiggles.

Although the Mandarin fish is highly sought after for fish tanks, their finicky eating habits make it hard for them to survive in a closed environment. According to this website, they feed only on "amphipods and copepods, which are found in sufficient numbers only in larger and well established reef tank." Many Mandarin fish starve in pet shops or new tanks.

In the wild, Mandarin fish is native to the Pacific Ocean area, from the Philippines to west of Australia. The travel in groups or pairs and live in lagoons and the sandy bottoms along coral reefs.