Firefish

Darts

Firefish

Nemateleotris magnifica

Yellow head, white body fading to flame red, and a tall flag of a dorsal fin.

Group
Gobies
Family
Dartfishes (Microdesmidae)
Size
About 9 cm long
Habitat
Outer reef slopes of the Indo-Pacific, roughly 6–70 m deep

About

A slender little fish with a yellow head and a white front half that warms into red and orange toward the tail. The second dorsal, anal and tail fins are red, trimmed with black.

Its signature is the first dorsal fin, which stands up like a tall flag and is famously flicked back and forth. It usually hovers just above its burrow in the sand and dives straight in at the first sign of danger.

In Fish Around

It flicks its tall dorsal fin as it holds still for a moment, then darts off in a quick, short burst.

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