Missed opportunities and making ‘luck’

Catching the Mandarin Fish in Kapalai, Malaysia

Blurred shot of the Mandarin fish in Kapalai Reef

Went to Kapalai house reef earlier this May (2025) and saw this twice and saw this twice. Kapalai is often overshadowed by its more famous counterparts in Sipadan (one of the world’s best dive sites). Both dives there has been amazing for macro and also a vivid reminder of how transient everything is.

The mandarin fish is beautiful as much as it is elusive and fleeting. It is hyper sensitive to light — for dive photography this makes it especially tricky to capture in its full glory. It darts around quickly and hides in corners impossible to capture.

On sale for $75 by roxy aquarium — what a mandarin fish looks like in its full colors

Dive photography for such creatures require an incredible amount of patience. Some people ‘camp’ and spend the entire dive in the same spot, waiting for the perfect shot.

Others make their own luck and repeatedly dive at the supposed place of frequent sighting in the hopes of finally spotting the creature. Good dive masters somehow observant enoguh to catch subtle cues. Chances of spotting are marginally higher nearer to sundown/ dusk (as claimed by divemasters in Philippines, Malaysia), though places like Komodo Park, Indonesia claims it is there through the day.

Electric blue and fiery orange hues.

Hope I can see it again some time!