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Named after its resident, Mandarin Valley is a great muck dive on top of a shallow slope.
| Name Dive Site: | Mandarin Valley |
| Depth: | 2-18m (6-59ft) |
| Inserted/Added by: | malaysia_liveaboards |
| Specifications: |  |
Mandarin Valley is a gently sloping coral reef that descends down to 20m. At the bottom of the reef cuttlefish are often seen near an old fishing boat wreck. On the hard coral reef moray eels and scorpionfish can be found plus some small reef fish. Frogfish and leafy scorpionfish can be seen here, both excellently camouflaged amongst coral and sponge. Pipe fish are present as on most Kapalai reefs and seahorses can often be spotted. Nudibranchs are numerous. Occasionally reef sharks come into the reef.
However the main stars of this dive site are the mandarin fish which dance among the coral displaying their vibrant colors. This dive site is one of the most reliable dive sites to spot them, not always easy as they are just a few centimeters long. Mandarin fish mate around dusk time so a nice dive is to jump in just before dusk to witness the mating and then finish the dive as a night dive. At night a myriad of shrimps and other crustaceans can be found.
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Messages from readers:
Name: scuba_junkie
Mandarin Valley, Mandarin Garden or Mandarin Alley lies to the left of the jetty and consists of a shallow sloping reef of maximum 18m deep. It's a very slow dive where one must search amongst the ruble and coral for small critters such as Harlequin Ghost Pipefish, Frog Fish, Stone Fish Octopus and the famous but very rare Mandarin Fish.
