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The Purple Firefish Goby (Nemateleotris decora), also widely known as the Elegant Firefish, Purple Dartfish, or Decorated Dartfish, is a highly popular and visually breathtaking marine fish featuring a sleek, bullet-shaped body that transitions from a pearlescent white-to-yellow front into an intense royal purple and deep violet rear. It is instantly recognized by its striking face markings of electric-blue and magenta, and its elongated, purple-trimmed dorsal fin spine that it continuously flicks up and down to communicate with tank mates. This docile open-water hoverer brings incredible color contrast and gentle movement to peaceful reef aquariums.
Tank Requirements
Minimum Tank Size: 20 gallons or larger; its compact size and stationary hovering style make it an exceptional candidate for nano and mid-sized reef layouts.
Aquarium Decor: Plentiful live rock structures forming small caves, tight overhangs, and deep crevices where it can bolt into head-first to hide when startled or sleep safely at night.
Temperature: 72°F – 78°F (22°C – 26°C).
Salinity (Specific Gravity): 1.020 – 1.025.
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4.
Care and Feeding
Diet: Carnivorous planktivore; feeds directly out of the open water column on suspended food particles. Provide a varied daily menu of vitamin-enriched mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, copepods, calanus, and high-quality mini flakes or micro-pellets.
Reef Safe Rating: Reef safe; it is completely harmless toward all types of small polyp stony (SPS) corals, large polyp stony (LPS) corals, soft corals, clams, and even the smallest ornamental invertebrates.
Temperament: Peaceful; highly docile and timid, it will spend its day hovering gently just a few inches above the rockwork. It will face severe bullying from aggressive tank mates and should only be housed with peaceful community residents. Keep as a single specimen or a verified male-female pair, as multiple individuals of the same sex will fight fiercely.
The Purple Firefish Goby (Nemateleotris decora), also widely known as the Elegant Firefish, Purple Dartfish, or Decorated Dartfish, is a highly popular and visually breathtaking marine fish featuring a sleek, bullet-shaped body that transitions from a pearlescent white-to-yellow front into an intense royal purple and deep violet rear. It is instantly recognized by its striking face markings of electric-blue and magenta, and its elongated, purple-trimmed dorsal fin spine that it continuously flicks up and down to communicate with tank mates. This docile open-water hoverer brings incredible color contrast and gentle movement to peaceful reef aquariums.
Tank Requirements
Minimum Tank Size: 20 gallons or larger; its compact size and stationary hovering style make it an exceptional candidate for nano and mid-sized reef layouts.
Aquarium Decor: Plentiful live rock structures forming small caves, tight overhangs, and deep crevices where it can bolt into head-first to hide when startled or sleep safely at night.
Temperature: 72°F – 78°F (22°C – 26°C).
Salinity (Specific Gravity): 1.020 – 1.025.
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4.
Care and Feeding
Diet: Carnivorous planktivore; feeds directly out of the open water column on suspended food particles. Provide a varied daily menu of vitamin-enriched mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, copepods, calanus, and high-quality mini flakes or micro-pellets.
Reef Safe Rating: Reef safe; it is completely harmless toward all types of small polyp stony (SPS) corals, large polyp stony (LPS) corals, soft corals, clams, and even the smallest ornamental invertebrates.
Temperament: Peaceful; highly docile and timid, it will spend its day hovering gently just a few inches above the rockwork. It will face severe bullying from aggressive tank mates and should only be housed with peaceful community residents. Keep as a single specimen or a verified male-female pair, as multiple individuals of the same sex will fight fiercely.