All fish / Gobiesocidae

Urchin Clingfish

Diademichthys lineatus

Also known as urchin clingfish, striped clingfish, long-snout clingfish, lined clingfish, diadema clingfish, ハシナガウバウオ, 线纹海胆姥鱼

A small, slender clingfish with a long beak-like snout and reddish brown body marked by pale yellowish lengthwise stripes. In the wild it shelters among the spines of Diadema sea urchins, and keepers prize it as an unusual nano reef oddity to keep alongside an urchin.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

5 cm

Temperature

24 to 27 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

40 litres

Keep as

Singly or a pair, ideally with a long-spined urchin

Diet

Carnivore: copepods, mysis, enriched brine shrimp and other small frozen foods; wild fish also pick at urchin tube feet and eggs

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

2 to 3 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-West Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Japan, New Caledonia and Australia

Breeding

It lays adhesive eggs on hard surfaces, often near its host urchin, and males guard them. Captive breeding is rarely reported because the tiny larvae are very hard to rear.

Good to know

Small and shy, it needs a quiet tank without aggressive or large fish and usually does best with a Diadema urchin for shelter. It may nip urchin tube feet, and it struggles to compete for food.