🐠 Zebra Dartfish (Ptereleotris zebra)
A Slender Torpedo-Shaped Body With Thin Orange-to-Pink Zebra Bars • A Notorious Jumper Needing a Fully Secure Lid • Unable to Dig Its Own Burrow
 
📋 The Zebra Dartfish, also known as the Zebra Goby, Chinese Zebra Goby, or Bar Goby, has an elegant, slender torpedo-shaped body in light green-to-grey, decorated with numerous thin, evenly-spaced orange-to-pink vertical bars, often edged in delicate blue or purple.
It comes from a wide range across the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific, inhabiting reef environments at depths from 2 to 31 metres, though usually no deeper than 4 metres, where it naturally faces into the current to capture passing zooplankton. Every Zebra Dartfish we ship is feeding well.
This species is notorious for jumping when startled, so a fully secure, gap-free lid is essential, an open-top tank isn't safe for this fish. It's also incapable of digging its own burrow, so it relies entirely on existing crevices and holes in your rockwork for shelter, worth planning for before it arrives. This is a peaceful, hardy fish, well suited to beginners, and gets along with nearly all tankmates, though it can be bullied and prevented from feeding by more aggressive fish. It's fully reef safe and does best kept singly, in pairs, or in a small group introduced simultaneously. It reaches up to 12cm, so a 115L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Green-Grey Body With Zebra Bars: An elegant, distinctive pattern
⚠️ A Notorious Jumper: A completely secure, gap-free lid is essential
🕳️ Cannot Dig Its Own Burrow: Relies on existing rock crevices for shelter
🌿 Fully Reef Safe: Won't harm corals or invertebrates
🧠 Beginner Friendly: Hardy and easy to care for