Blue Hana Goby

Ptereleotris hanae

Also known as Filamented Dartfish, Lyretail Dartfish, Blue Hana Dartfish, Filamented Gudgeon Goby

SaltwaterFish

Blue Hana Goby (Ptereleotris hanae) — Totti · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 4.7 in (12 cm)
Minimum tank: 40 gal (150 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Common
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Native to the western Pacific from Japan south through Indonesia, hovering over sand near reef bases and burrows.
Family: Ptereleotridae

Overview

Provide a 150 litre or larger reef tank with sand and rock and a very tight lid, since dartfish are champion jumpers, kept at 23 to 27 C and pH 8.1 to 8.4. It is reef safe and eats zooplankton, so feed mysis, enriched brine shrimp, and pods. It is peaceful and shy at first, and it can be kept singly or in a small group in a larger tank with enough burrow sites.

In the wild

The blue hana goby is a pale blue dartfish with iridescent blue face markings and long trailing filaments on the tail. It hovers in open water just above a sand burrow, snapping at plankton and dropping into the burrow when startled. It is a graceful, active swimmer that likes some current. Long tail streamers give it the alternate name filamented dartfish.

Good to know

Ptereleotris hanae is a dartfish in the family Ptereleotridae. The trailing caudal filaments, usually two to six of them, are a distinctive feature of this species. Like other dartfish it shelters in a sand burrow that it may share with a partner.