Zebra Dartfish

Ptereleotris zebra

Also known as Zebra Barred Dartfish, Chinese Zebra Goby

SaltwaterFish

Zebra Dartfish (Ptereleotris zebra) — Lonnie Huffman · CC BY 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–79°F (22–26°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 4.7 in (12 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Common
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to the Line and Marquesas Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef
Family: Ptereleotridae

Overview

Zebra dartfish are peaceful and reef safe, leaving corals and invertebrates alone and rarely causing trouble with other fish. They are social and settle in best when kept in a group of two to five added to the tank at the same time, hovering together and looking far bolder as a group than a lone fish tends to be. They should not be housed with aggressive or overly boisterous tankmates that will keep them pinned in their burrow. Offer small meaty foods, brine shrimp, mysis, and finely chopped krill, in small portions several times a day to match their steady picking at plankton in the wild. As with all dartfish, a secure lid is essential since they jump when startled.

In the wild

Distributed across the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea to the Line and Marquesas Islands, and from the Ryukyu Islands of Japan south to the Great Barrier Reef, typically on exposed seaward reefs in shallow water around 2 to 4 meters. Small groups hover together over sand and rubble patches near the reef edge, sharing a network of burrows they dive into when alarmed. The aquarium needs a live sand bed for burrowing and refuge, open swimming space above it, and a tight fitting lid.

Good to know

A member of the family Ptereleotridae, also called the Chinese zebra goby, reaching up to about 12 cm, pale blue-grey with a series of thin dark bars down the body that give it its common name. Like its dartfish relatives it lacks the fused pelvic disc of true gobies and swims freely rather than resting flat on rock. It shelters in rock crevices or barnacle holes and will also dig a burrow beneath a rock in sand, retreating there the instant it senses danger.

Did you know

The bold dark bars that give the zebra dartfish its name can fade lighter or flush darker within seconds depending on the fish's mood, going almost plain grey when it is relaxed and darkening when it feels threatened.