Black Goby
Gobius niger
Fire Dartfish
Nemateleotris magnifica
About
A flash of yellow, white, and red-orange hovering over a sandy burrow, dorsal fin flicking like a tiny flag - the fire dartfish is small, growing to only about 9 cm, but hard to miss.
Also known as: fire fish, fire goby, red fire-goby, red fire goby, red firegoby, firefish, fire fish
- Length
- 9 cm
- Depth
- 6–28 m
- Temperature
- 22–28 °C
How to tell it apart
The long, flag-like first dorsal fin held upright and flicked back and forth is the clearest sign of this species among small reef gobies.
Appearance
The head is bright yellow, fading into a white body and then shading into a red-orange tail. The first dorsal fin is very long and flag-like, and the fish flicks it back and forth as a signal to others of its kind.
Habitat
It lives on coral reefs across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, on the upper parts of outer reef slopes, at depths of about 6 to 70 m in water between 22 and 28°C.
Behaviour
It hovers just above the bottom, facing into the current, waiting to snatch small drifting invertebrates as they pass. Adults live alone or in pairs inside sandy burrows and are monogamous, while juveniles gather in small groups. If threatened, it retreats straight into its burrow.
Did you know?
Several fire dartfish, especially juveniles, will sometimes share the same burrow.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
