A slender, pale blue-grey fish that hovers in pairs just above sand and rubble beside the reef, tail slightly darker than the body, reaching about 12 cm (5 in). It faces into the current and picks plankton out of it, holding position with small fin adjustments rather than swimming.
Every dartfish keeps a burrow within a body length or two, and the reaction to a diver is always the same: a pause, a shimmy, and then a head-first dive that empties the water column instantly. Approach slowly and stop when they stop, and a pair will usually settle back within a minute. The burrow itself is often not theirs - dartfishes regularly move into holes dug by shrimp or other fish. The species is largely confined to this sea and the Arabian region, which makes it one of the more local fishes a diver can put a name to on open sand.
- slender pale blue-grey body with a darker tail
- hovers in pairs a little above the bottom
- dives into a burrow head-first when approached
- length up to 12 cm
