Saltwater
Dotdash goatfish
Parupeneus barberinus
Mullidae
Facts
Characteristics
- Length
- Up to 60 cm
- Body shape
- Streamlined
Care
- Group
- Missing
- Smallest aquarium
- 4,545 liters
- Diet
- Missing
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Behavior
Water values
Smallest tank
Range
Native
Lives wild in American Samoa, Australia, Brunei, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, and 48 more countries.
More about the species
Description
One of the most abundant species of Parupeneus. Adults, solitary or in small groups inhabit large sand patches as well as sand and rubble areas of reef flats, and lagoon and seaward reefs to a depth of about 100 m. Juveniles usually in small groups, often mixed with other species in sparse seagrass habitats. Adults forage on sand-dwelling invertebrates like polychaete worms and crustaceans. Feeding is diurnal; from 19 adult specimens for food-habit study, the prey in order by volume in the stomachs: crabs (portunid, anomuran, xanthid, and raninid), worms (mainly polychaetes but also sipunculids and unidentified), small bivalve molluscs, brachiopods, shrimps, small gastropods, isopods, amphipods, foraminifera, and a small unidentified eel. Individuals from Palau and eastern Carolines often have a yellow band immediately above the broad black band extending behind the eye. Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.
Other names
Other scientific names
- Mullus barberinus
- Parupenaeus barberinus
- Parupeneus barbinus
- Parupeneus berberinus
- Pseudopeneus barberinus
- Pseudupeneus barberinus
In other languages
- Mustajuovamullo
- Dash & dot goatfish, Dash and dot goatfish, Dash-and-dot goatfish, Dash-dot goatfish, Dot and dash goatfish, Dot-and-dash goatfish, Dot-dash goatfish, Goatfish, Half and half goatfish, Spotted golden goatfish
Articles
All articles
How to add new fish4 min read
From the store to the tank: how to get the fish used to your water, why you should add only a few at a time, and what to watch for in the first few days.
Quarantine for new fish3 min read
Why new fish should live in a tank of their own for a few weeks before they move in, what you need, and what to look for.
From freshwater to saltwater3 min read
What is different in a saltwater aquarium: salt, refractometer, live rock and corals. An introduction for anyone thinking of giving it a try.