Pearl Dartfish Goby - Medium
The Pearl Goby is a beautiful graceful fish that is pale bluish-grey with a narrow pale blue-edged and black bar on the pectoral-fin base. It also has irregular iridescent blue bars and spots behind the eye.
The Pearl Goby in the wild is usually found in pairs or family groups. They will hover above the bottom, facing the current to catch their food close to their burrows.
Unlike most goby species, these animals do not sit on the bottom, but often swim through the tank as a couple. They are very quiet animals that grow to about 13 cm.
You can either keep one by itself or a pair, but it's best to keep them in a group.
In the wild they are usually found in estuaries, inlets, outer lagoon reefs and deep coastal slopes of seaward reefs.
Tank Recommendations for Pearl Dartfish
The Pearl Goby needs adequate hiding places between the rocks. When predators approach they will dart back into their holes or under a rock. They are quite shy fish and will often hide well in the early days.
As these fish do like to hide in holes on the sea floor, they do appreciate a substraite of rubble and sand that they can burrow into.
These fish will be happy to have some current in the tank as this is the way they feed in the wild eating plankton that comes to it on the current.
These fish can jump very well, especially if they feel threatened, so keep them only with a closed aquarium or cover net.
They are not aggressive towards other fish, in fact they prefer to hide, so it is better to keep them with calm fish that are not aggressive.
These fish are compatible with most small fish that aren't too aggresive and are one of the few suitable tank mates for Seahorses and Pipefish.
They normally don't have issues with other types of Goby, be careful when keeping with Triggerfish, Rays and Hogfish.
Gobies are small fish so keeping them with larger predatory fish that can eat them isn't a good idea. So this rules out Lionfish, Eels, Groupers and Sharks.
The diet of these Gobies is zooplankton, which is a type of heterotrophic plankton that ranges from microscopic organisms to large species, such as jellyfish.
You can feed them brine and mysis shrimp as well as live Rotifers and Copepods to add into your tank that will your Gobies can live on. You can introduce some to your tank before you add your Gobies and then add more in the future at regular intervals.
Suitable Tank Buddies
Usually Compatible
Sometime Compatible
Rarely Compatible
Feeding Your Pearl Dartfish
| Scientific Name | Ptereleotris Microlepis |
|---|---|
| Care Level | Easy |
| Common Names | Blue Gudgeon, Blue Gudgeon Goby, Dartfish, Dart Goby, Green Goby, Green-eyed Dart Goby, Gudgeon, Hover Goby, Pale Dartfish, Long-finned Gudgeon, Pearly Dartfish, Smallscale Hovergoby, Worm Goby |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Fish Family | Microdesmidae |
| Lifespan (years) | 5 |
| Max. Length (cm) | 13 |
| Min. Tank Volume (l) | 114 |
| Origin | Indo-Pacific |
| Reef Safe | Yes |
| Sociability | Peaceful |
| Venomous | No |
| Water Conditions | 22 - 26° C, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.020-1.025 |