Golden mandarin fish explained

The golden mandarin fish (Siniperca scherzeri), also known as the leopard mandarin fish, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, an Asian perch from the family Sinipercidae, which is native to eastern Asia (Korea, China, and Vietnam). This species can reach at least 33.4abbr=onNaNabbr=on in standard length and 607.3abbr=onNaNabbr=on in weight.^[1] It is typically yellowish-brown with blackish-brown speckles ("leopard"), but there are also bright yellow ("golden") individuals, which are particularly prized in Korea^[2] and selectively bred in captivity.^[3]

It is a commercially important fish, but has declined due to overfishing and habitat loss.^[4] It is farmed; typically using pure specimens,^[5] but sometimes involving hybrids with the faster-growing mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi).^[4] Danyang County, North Chungcheong Province organizes a fishing festival for golden mandarin fish every April.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Shao, Li, Zhang, Lin, Xie, Wu and Wei (2016). Length–weight and length–length relationships of four endemic fish species from the middle reaches of the Yangtze River basin, China. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 32: 1329–1330.
2. Fishillust: Leopard mandarin fish; Siniperca scherzeri. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
3. Luo, Yang, Liang, Jin, Lv, Tian, Yuan and Sun (2015). Genetic diversity and genetic structure of consecutive breeding generations of golden mandarin fish (Siniperca scherzeri Steindachner) using microsatellite markers. Genetics and molecular research 14(3):11348-11355.
4. Liu, L.; X.-F. Liang; and J. Fang (2017). The optimal stocking density for hybrid of Siniperca chuatsi (♀) × Siniperca scherzeri (♂) mandarin fish fed minced prey fish. Aquaculture Research 48(3): 1342–1345.
5. Yang, Guo, Liang, Tian, Lv, Zhu and Wang (2015). Parentage determination in golden mandarin fish (Siniperca scherzeri) based on microsatellite DNA markers. Aquacult. Int. 23: 499–507.
6. Web site: 단양군관광 :: 즐길거리 > 레저 . 2018-07-02 . 2018-07-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180702233357/https://tour.dy21.net/home/?menu=010402&Type=2&proc=read&seq=50 . dead .