During my 2023 dive trip to Lembeh, Indonesia, being able to watch the nightly mating ritual of mandarin fish was on my bucket list. Like everything else on my trip, NAD nailed it! Our guide set my dive buddy and I up along a group of staghorn coral just before sunset and as it got darker, we could see the normally skittish mandarin fish starting to dart around looking for a mate. I was told that mandarin fish are very reluctant around video lights, so I went into the dive thinking I was just going to have to enjoy the moment and not capture any video. Slowly but surely, these mandarins eventually eased up around my video lights and I was able to capture a few mating sequences.
Music from Artlist, license #749789
Song: Need You Tonight by Ikoliks
