Zebra Barred Dartfish

The below Dartfish profile is based on what I have learned and observed while keeping these fish.  They certainly are active little fish to keep and will add a lot of viewing pleasure to any aquarium.

Common Name: Zebra Barred Dartfish, Zebra Dart Goby, Bar Goby, Barred Dartfish, Zebra Goby, and Chinese Zebra Goby
Scientific Name: Ptereleotris zebra
Reef Safe: Yes
Temperament: Peaceful
Care Level: Easy
Max Size: 3 to 5 inches (around 4 inches is more common)

Appearance:

They are a small and comparatively long fish with a grey to green colored body and several black bars or stripes on them that have a very slight yellow to light green boarder on both edges of the black bars.

As you can well imagine, getting a good picture of a very small and fast moving fish can be a challenge for someone like me with limited photography skills, but the below are some pictures of my Zebra Dartfish

Temperament

Zebra Dartfish are great community fish.  They are very peaceful and reef safe.  They are very active and very fast swimmers and should be kept with other fish that will not get spooked by their activity level and fast movements of this Dartfish.  They are a schooling fish so you will need to keep at least 6 of them together in the same tank.  Based on my experience with them, they seem to do better when you have 8 or more which is why I would recommend keeping them in schools of 10.  They work very well as dither fish potentially allowing other fish to feel more comfortable through seeing other fish swimming around in the aquarium.

Environment

Although this is a small fish, the Zebra Dartfish is a very active fish and should be kept in a 48 inch long tank to allow for the minimum amount of open swimming spaces which they typically need.  You will also need to have some hiding spots for these fish to go to when they feel stressed or threatened.  A lot of small hiding spots in your live rock throughout the aquarium will work best for these fish. Zebra Dartfish need a tank with a closed top as they have been known to jump out of the tank very often when kept in a open top tank.

Recommended water conditions:

I would refer you to the below article for the typical water conditions that a Zebra Dartfish will do best in:

https://www.reefaquarium.com/2013/the-basics-of-marine-aquarium-water-parameters/

Diet

Zebra Dartfish are carnivores. They will do best with a wide range of meaty foods like brine shrimp or mysis shrimp just to name two of them.  Just make sure it is a food that is small enough for the Zebra Dartfish to get in its mouth.  A good quality flake or proper sized pellet food for marine carnivores would also be a good option.