The Psychedelic Mandarin, or Spotted Mandarin, is an incredibly beautiful fish with a mesmerizing pattern of green, blue, and orange 'psychedelic' swirls and spots. It is a slow-moving, peaceful fish that 'hops' along the rockwork and sand bed. This species is for expert aquarists only due to its specialized diet. It feeds exclusively on live copepods and amphipods. A large, mature aquarium (at least 6 months old) with a thriving, refugium-supported pod population is essential for its survival. An interesting fact is that they lack scales; instead, they are covered in a thick, smelly mucus layer that deters predators.
