Common Name: Purple Firefish Goby, Purple Dartfish

Scientific Name: Nemateleotris decora

Family: Gobiidae

Origin: Indian Ocean

Maximum Size: 3"

Care: Temperature needs to stay around 72-78°F preferibly 76°F. pH needs to stay at 8.1-8.4. dKH needs to be 8-12. Salinity 1.020-1.025. Keep the ammonia and nitrite levels low, but they can stand pretty high ones for a little while. Provide plenty of hidding places for it to dart into when scared cause this fish is very timid. If not done it may become permantly scared of you when you are anywere around it, also try not to touch with siphons or algae brushes for this will also make it very very timid of you. Should not be kept with Anglers or Frogs and caution when putting it with Boxfish. Minimum Tank Size is 30 gallons, if kept in groups they will show aggression to one another. Keep a lid on the tank cause the goby may try to jump out if stressed.

Diet: Firefish gobies are a carnivores and will eat Brine Shrimp, Flakes, Pellets, Mysid Shrimp, or chooped small crustaceans. You should have atleast 2-3 different kinds of food for it to keep variety in its diet.

Sexing: Unknown

Breeding: It is an egg-layer. It lays a whitish egg mass approx 2 mm in diameter. Spawning frequency ranged from 8 - 28 days. Incubation 7 - 10 days at water temperatures of 76-81 F. Specific gravity 1.021 - 1.022. pH 8.2 - 8.4. You can not really tell when they will spawn.

Behavior: When the fish stops moving it flicks its long dorsal fin, this may be to steady it or slow it down. It usualy spends most of its time slow swimming around caves, not usualy more than 10" away. It is not aggressive to other fish species. It will live peaefully with fish its size.

Comments: A great fish for a begginer or even a expert. It is easy to take care of and does not require very much room to roam. Do not make sudden movements around it as this makes the firefish goby go into hidding.

Mod. Comment: This fish is nearly identical to the common firefish. Same genus, different species. See Fuzzy's TFF Index post:
Common Firefish