Helfrichi Firefish – Marshall Islands

Nemateleotris lavandula

The Helfrichi Firefish is very active, hardy and brightly colored. These reef safe fish are very skittish, and shouldn’t be housed with aggressive species, or they will spend some of their time hiding. They are known to jump when startled, so be sure to house them in a covered aquarium. This small fish of 3” is full of personality and will make a great addition to smaller aquariums down to 15 gallons or so. Don’t house them together in the store, and caution hobbyists against having more than one, unless they have a very large tank. They will pick at algae within the aquarium, but that cannot be considered their diet. We feed them a mix of meaty foods here, and find that they generally will accept pelletized food after a few days. The Helfrichi Firefish is from the Pacific Ocean and inhabits the seaward sand channels up to 100 meters.