''Nemateleotris magnifica'', known by a variety of common names including fire goby, magnificent fire fish, fire dartfish, or red fire goby, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

dartfish Dartfishes are a group of fish, formerly considered to be a subfamily, Ptereleotrinae, of goby-like fishes in the family Microdesmidae of the order Gobiiformes, Authorities now consider the species in the family Microdesmidae are within the Gobi ...

native to

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s of the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

oceans.

Description

Members of this species usually have a bright yellow head, merging into a white body, gradually shading into a red-orange tail. Their

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

s are very long, and the fish flicks it back and forth. This is used as a signal to conspecifics. As a full grown

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

, it reaches a maximum length of .

Distribution

''Nemateleotris magnifica'' inhabits parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Specifically, it occurs as far west as the

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

n coast, in the Indian Ocean, to as far east as the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

of the Pacific Ocean. Within the Pacific Ocean it occurs as far south as the Austral Islands, French Polynesia, to as far north as the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

Behaviour

It is an inhabitant of coral reefs where it can be found at depths of . It is usually found just above the bottom, facing into the current, where it awaits its prey of small invertebrates. Adults occupy sandy burrows alone or in pairs, while the juveniles live in small groups. These fish are monogamous and they will retreat to burrows if threatened.

Care

''Nemateleotris magnifica'' feeds on

brine shrimp ''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp. It is the only genus in the family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to the first half of the 10th century AD from Urmia La ...

mysis shrimp Mysida is an order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The fact that the larvae are reared in ...

, and sometimes

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

growing in aquaria. They should be fed two times per day. They are considered reef-safe and they are peaceful and sociable. They can be found at many online and local fish or pet stores; they are suitable for novice marine fishkeepers, although an appropriate tank is required as they sometimes jump from the water. They will also form schools if many are put into the same tank.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1409451 magnifica Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish described in 1938 Fish of Hawaii Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler