image: As part of the 2013 Annual Underwater Photography Contest hosted by the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, followers on Facebook voted on the Fan Favorite. This year's winner is a pair of mating Mandarinfish, or Mandarin dragonets (Synchiropus splendidus) photographed in Puerto Galera, Philippines by Italian amateur photographer Pietro Cremone. These fish have beautiful blue, orange and yellow coloration, and can be found in shallow waters and rocky coral bottoms in the Indo-Pacific. Their diet consists of small copepods, other invertebrates and even fish eggs. The male is larger than the female Mandarinfish, often warding off other males using its spiked dorsal fin during courtship. These fish mate at dusk, at which time thousands of the female's eggs are fertilized with the male's sperm and released into the water column for dispersion. To view all of the winners of this year's contest, visit http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/outreach/underwater-photography/2013-winners/. view more
Credit: Pietro Cremone