Description
Decorated Firefish (Nemateleotris decora)
Overview
The Nemateleotris decora, known as the Purple Firefish or Decorated Firefish, is a stunning, elegant marine fish highly sought after for its striking coloration and peaceful demeanor. While they share similar care requirements to other dartfish, they are prized for their vibrant purple, yellow, and red hues.
- Temperament: Extremely peaceful and shy.
- Size: Grows to approximately 8–9 cm.
- Key Trait: Like other members of the Ptereleotridae family, they are notorious jumpers. A secure, tight-fitting lid is essential.
- Behavior: They are best kept singly or in mated pairs. In large tanks, small groups may coexist, but they can be aggressive toward their own kind if space is limited.
Care Requirements
- Tank Size: Minimum 80 litres for a single fish; 120 litres is better to ensure they feel secure.
- Temperature: 22–26°C.
- Salinity: 1.020–1.025 SG.
- pH: 8.1–8.4.
- Environment: They require a calm, well-established reef environment. Provide plenty of live rock with various nooks and crannies to serve as hiding spots. They appreciate a fine sand bed and moderate water flow, though they prefer at least one “low-flow” zone where they can hover.
Maintenance
- Water Quality: Sensitive to poor water conditions. Maintain zero ammonia/nitrites and keep nitrates as low as possible.
- Routine: Regular 10–20% water changes are vital.
- Equipment: A high-quality filtration system and a protein skimmer are recommended. Ensure powerhead intakes are covered, as these small, slender fish can easily be caught in them.
Diet
- Type: Carnivore/Planktivore.
- Staples: In the aquarium, they thrive on a variety of small, meaty frozen foods such as Mysis shrimp, enriched brine shrimp, copepods, and high-quality mysis-based pellets.
- Feeding Habits: They are active but deliberate feeders. If other, more aggressive fish are present, the Firefish may hide and miss out on meals. Target feeding or ensuring food reaches their hover zone is often necessary.
Behavior and Compatibility
- Tankmates: Ideal for peaceful community tanks. Best kept with small, non-aggressive species like clownfish, firefish, small blennies, or cardinalfish.
- Avoid: Do not house with aggressive, fast-moving, or predatory fish (e.g., large wrasses, triggers, or dottybacks) that will stress them into constant hiding.
- Reef Safety: Completely reef-safe. They will not bother corals or sessile invertebrates.
Reproduction
- They are known to form monogamous pairs. Spawning behavior involves the pair hovering closely together and performing elaborate displays.
- Captivity: Breeding has occurred in home aquaria, but it is extremely difficult. The larvae are pelagic and have a long, complex development phase that requires intensive culture of live micro-foods (rotifers and copepods).
Tips
- Jump Prevention: Do not underestimate their jumping ability. A mesh or solid lid is non-negotiable.
- Acclimation: They can be very timid when first introduced. Dimming the lights for the first few hours after adding them to the tank can help reduce initial stress.
- Health Sign: A healthy Firefish will hold its dorsal fin upright and hover calmly. If it is constantly hiding or clamped, it is likely being bullied by a tankmate.
Picture for illustrative purposes only. Either come in store to view available stock or request pictures to be sent to you.
Please Note: Due to variations within species resulting from age, region, sex, etc., the actual livestock may not look identical to the image. Approximate size range may also vary between individual specimens.
