Purple firefish

Care at a glance

Overview

The purple firefish is a shy, reef-safe dartfish for a calm reef tank. It is easy to keep.

Caring for the purple firefish

Keep purple firefish in a tank of at least 20 gal (75 L), with loose coral rubble and rockwork to shelter in. Firefish are serious jumpers, so a secure, tightly fitting lid is essential. Keep the water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4.

Offer a varied diet of finely chopped meaty seafood, mysis and enriched brine shrimp. Once it settles in, a purple firefish holds near the lower and middle water column and grows bolder about staying in the open.

Purple firefish are reef safe and will not nip or bother corals, clams or other sessile invertebrates. They rarely show aggression toward tank mates of other species. Keep a single fish or an established male and female pair. A calm tank with few boisterous tank mates is the surest way to coax a new one out into open water.

Purple firefish spawn in captivity only rarely with success, since the small pelagic larvae are extremely hard to raise. Most specimens are wild collected as a result.

Good to know

The purple firefish takes its species name, decora, from its coloring. It has a pale body washed with purple over the head and fins, and a yellow face. The pattern is more subtle than the fire dartfish's. Like other dartfish, it constantly flicks its tall first dorsal fin. It also goes by decorated firefish, purple dartfish and elegant firefish.

In the wild

The purple firefish lives across the Indo-Pacific, from Mauritius to the western Pacific. It keeps to slightly deeper reef and rubble zones than its fire dartfish cousin. There it hovers above the bottom to feed on drifting plankton and retreats to a burrow when alarmed.

Common questions

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