Species name: Nemateleotris Decora
Common names: Decorated Dartfish, Purple Firefish, Flame Firefish, Elegant firefish
Family: Ptereleotridae (Dartfishes)
Order: Perciformes (perch-likes)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 3.5 in.
Minimum tank size: 15 gallons
Hardiness: Easy
Aggressiveness: Peaceful with other fish but will fight their own kind for space. Don’t keep them with large carnivorous fish such as Triggers and Lionfish.
Reef Compatibility: Excellent
Distribution: Indo-Pacific: Mauritius to Samoa, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to New Caledonia.
Diet: Planktivore. Feeds on zooplankton, especially copepods and crustacean larvae in the wild. It should accept fresh or frozen marine foods, live brine shrimp or mysids and even flake foods. The vibrant coloring will fade if not fed a vitamin-enriched diet. Feed at least once a day.
Additional information:
In the wild, Purple Firefish are from the Indo-Pacific region where they are found at at depth of 80 to 230 feet around the bottom of reefs facing the current feeding on plankton.
This beautiful little fish is just perfect for small or large reef tank. They have a light white/yellow colored body with purple markings on their face and towards their tailfin, along with dark red/orange colored fins. They also has an elongated first dorsal spine that “jumps” up and down. They are a little different from other Firefish as they generally have a shorter dorsal ray fin.
The ideal aquarium should have a temperature of 74 to 80°F with a specific gravity of 1.020 to 1.025 and a pH between 8.1 and 8.4. They do not pair well and will fight their own kind. An aquarium of at least 80 gallons or bigger is needed to keep two Purple Firefish together and make sure to buy them at the same time or change some rocks when you buy the other one. They should be provided with high water flow, plenty of open places and live rock to create crevices, caves, and overhangs. They are good jumpers so make sure your tank is totally covered or they will jump out. They are normally timid fish that will dart for cover when startled.
