Where and when to see mandarinfish

Tiny, psychedelically patterned dragonets that emerge from coral rubble at dusk to mate, giving a reliable sunset show at known sites.

This guide documents sightings in 9 Good Dives regions.

Colored-pencil illustration: one mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus).

Mandarinfish sighting calendar

Calendar months, every year

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
AlorIndonesia	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
AnilaoPhilippines	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Banda SeaIndonesia	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Dauin & Apo IslandPhilippines	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Lembeh StraitIndonesia	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
MalapascuaPhilippines	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Raja AmpatIndonesia	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
WakatobiIndonesia	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
YapMicronesia	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●

Peak = best odds · ● = regularly seen · blank = unlikely.

Calendars describe animal presence, not weather or site access; check each region’s dive season. For grouped animals, a marked month may apply to only one member of the group. Sightings vary by site and dive.

Where and when to see mandarinfish

Mandarinfish sighting calendar

Explore all 9 documented regions