420 Dive Log Australasia OCTOBER 2026

At Rainbow Reef we entered the water before dark to look for mandarinfish. These extraordinary little fish spend much of the day hidden among branching coral. As daylight fades they emerge, and the males begin looking for females.

At dusk mandarinfish, Synchiropus splendidus, look for a mate and leave the protection of the finger coral where they are found, Yap,

A pair comes together.

They rise slowly into the water column, side by side.

At the last instant they release eggs and sperm and vanish back into the reef.

The entire performance lasts seconds.

Photographing it can take considerably longer.

A pair formed in front of me.

They started upward.

I focused.

They separated.

Another pair tried.

There is something satisfying about wildlife that refuses to cooperate with a camera.

I missed them too.

It reminds you who is in charge.

Eventually I stopped trying to predict the exact moment and simply fired as they rose. Jennifer, forty feet away, had found her own group and was watching the same ritual.

A few nights later we left the reef completely.

We traveled offshore for a blackwater dive and stopped over water with the bottom 3000 feet below. A buoy was set out with a weighted line and lights beneath it.

Mandarinfish, Synchiropus splendidus, Yap

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Dive Log Australasia #420 Oct’ 26

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