P. leucotaenia lives in shallow lagoons and on coastal reefs from the Philippines to the Solomon Islands. It is often found in schools under ledges or around coral heads. These schools swim in such tight formations, they resemble a single organism. Occasionally, the species is found in the aquarium trade, where it is known for disrupting all but the most stable structures. DNA analyses show this species to be neither a blenny nor a goby, but part of a separate fish family, the
Pholidichthyidae. While their young are out feeding, the parents eject mouthfuls of debris from the burrows. In a single day as much as of sand might be collected and spat out of the hole by the parents. Research has revealed a maze of tunnels and chambers totaling a length of some . At night, young fish dangle by their mouths from the roof of the tunnels by thin mucous threads. Adults may grow to almost , but never leave the tunnels to feed. They frequently take in mouthfuls of juveniles and spit them out again. An inspection of adult stomachs showed only a green slime. ==References==