Purple Fire Goby
2 Photo Gallery
1 Purple Fire Goby Overview
The Purple Fire Goby, also known as the Purple Firefish, belongs to the same genus as the Threadfin and Bigmouth firefishes, so their habits and looks are similar. It is not difficult to keep and is not listed among IUCN endangered species.
Chinese name: Purple Fire Goby
Chinese alias: Purple Radar
English name: Purple Fire-Goby
Binominal name: Elegant Firefish
Kingdom: Animalia
Subclass: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Gobioidei
Family: Ptereleotridae
Genus: Nemateleotris
Distribution: Indo-Pacific, living in coral reef waters below 35 m depth
2 Appearance
The Purple Fire Goby, also called the Purple Radar, lives mainly in coral reef waters below 35 m, distributed across the Indo-Pacific. Sources note its lifespan is relatively short.
The ornamental fish’s body color is divided into front and back parts: the front half is whitish pale yellow, the rear half purple-gray. The first dorsal spine extends upward as a filament. Maximum length is about 8.5 cm. The body is colorful with a purple snout; the color is split front and back—front whitish pale yellow, rear purple-gray. All fins carry dark orange and deep purple. The first dorsal spine stands up as a long filament.
3 Habitat
The Purple Fire Goby, also called the Purple Radar, has a very distinctive appearance with color split into two parts. Because it is not hard to keep, a minority of aquarists like it very much.
The Purple Fire Goby is distributed in coral-reef caves from central Indian Ocean to central Pacific. In the wild it moves in pairs, usually within 50 cm above its cave. Recommended water temperature is 26°C, pH 8.1–8.4.
4 Feeding
The Purple Fire Goby is distributed in coral-reef caves from central Indian Ocean to central Pacific; in the wild it lives within 20 cm above its cave. Sources note its lifespan is relatively short.
The Purple Fire Goby is carnivorous; in the wild it faces the current to catch plankton. In the aquarium it is easy to keep and will accept any food.