🐠 Dash-and-Dot Goatfish (Parupeneus barberinus)
The Largest Goatfish • Cream-White With a Bold Black Stripe • A Twin-Barbel Sand Sifter for Roomy Tanks
 
📋 The Dash-and-Dot Goatfish, also known as the Dotdash Goatfish, has a distinctive cream-white body with a bold black stripe, a yellow dorsal section, and a dark spot at the base of the tail: the "dash" and the "dot" that give it its name. It's the largest of all the goatfish, reaching up to 60cm.
It ranges across the Indo-Pacific, from the Gulf of Aden and East Africa to Micronesia, the Marquesas Islands, and from southern Japan to Australia, in sandy lagoons and on reef flats. It uses its twin chin barbels to feel through the sand for buried crustaceans and worms, and it's active by day and rests on the seafloor at night. Every Dash-and-Dot Goatfish we ship is feeding well.
It's peaceful and reef safe with caution: it won't harm corals, but it will eat small crustaceans and worms, including a typical clean-up crew. Plan for its adult size with a spacious tank (we recommend at least 470L, and more for a mature adult), a thick sand bed to forage in, and plenty of open swimming room.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Cream-White, Black Stripe, Yellow Dorsal: The classic "dash and dot" pattern
📏 The Largest Goatfish: Up to 60cm, for spacious tanks
🍽️ Ships Feeding Well: Every Dash-and-Dot Goatfish we send is eating confidently
👃 Twin Chin Barbels: Feel through the sand for hidden prey
🌿 Reef Safe With Caution: Won't harm corals, but eats small crustaceans and worms