Cling On Goby

[ac106]

At the LFS I saw someting called a "Cling On Goby". Apparently, he has some sort of suction cup like a Bumble Bee Goby and can stick to the tank walls.

So of course i bought him, against my better judgement.

I went online and there is almost nothing on "Cling On Goby"

I found this page:

http/www.ekkwill.com/clingongoby.html

That looks like him but it refers refers to him as a Gobious negras but that doesn't seem right. I couldnt find any info on it.

I have him in a 35G tank at 1.005.


Anyone know what this fish is and what he needs?

 

[SirMinion]

'Cling-on Goby' sounds like a made up fish store name. Nearly all gobies have the modified suction cup fin so no clues there.

'Gobious negras' sounds fake too, it's just a fake scientific way of saying 'Black Goby' but the Black Goby, Gobius niger is a British coldwater marine species:

or the New Zealand marine species Gobiopsis atrata which is never imported.

More research required!

 

[nmonks]

If your goby looks like the one on that web page, it's a Stiphodon species.

Stiphodon gobies are quite commonly traded these days. S. atropurpureus is perhaps the most popular, but there are various species sold, often without a Latin name, and instead going by some sort of trade name, like "Sumatran goby" or "neon goby".

Funnily enough, while searching for Stiphodon pictures, I came across this web site where the name "cling goby" is used for Stiphodon atratus.

Anyway, most Stiphodon are freshwater fish, and should not be kept in brackish water tanks. A quick look on Fishbase reveals the sole exceptions to be Stiphodon elegans and Stiphodon stevensoni.

They need high oxygen levels because they are invariably fish of fast-moving streams and brooks. Don't over heat the aquarium either: many are subtropical fish (try and identify your species to be certain).

Cheers,

Neale

 

[kanzaris]

Hi

Have a look at these pictures. I am sure it is the same one I was sold as a brackish goby and in my LFS it was called a Funky Goby. I have two of them in my Brackish Tank for last eight month now at a salinity of about 1.0004. There are as happy as anything. When I first got them I tried to find out what they are but nobody really knew for sure ( Even tried the Goby Forum). I am sure that Neale is correct in saying that they are Fresh Water Gogys and I am thinking of moving them to a fresh water tank. Don't know if they be ok in my Cichlid Tank ? They are very greedy eating everything from prawns to blood worm. They are interesting to watch. Good luck with yours. If you get any more info on what they are please let me know.

Thanks

Sabby

 

[ac106]

Heya guys,


It does look sorta like Sabby's but the coloring is off. Maybe a male/female thing?

I got a pic maybe it will help:

 

[nmonks]

Sabby's gobies are Stiphodon alright, but which one is beyond me. At best, I'd suggest the species sold in the trade as "Stiphodon sp.", such as these:

http/www.akwafoto.pl/fotoreport/rychnov2004/stiphodon.php
http/aquatab.net/gallery-detail.asp?id=391

Stiphodon gobies are usually sexually dimorphic, i.e., males and females look different.

Keeping a freshwater goby in slightly brackish will do no harm at all, so if they're happy, leave them. I wouldn't raise the SG above 1.005 though. If they were sold as brackish, I'd give the store guy the benefit of the doubt with these fish. You might try the Yahoo 'goby group' mailing list; they have some people there who are very good at IDing mystery gobies.

I have found that gobies and cichlids don't mix. Benthic, territorial cichlids treat the gobies as threats, and attack them, and the gobies are too slow to escape (or are too stupid to learn).

Cheers,

Neale

 

[kanzaris]

ac106

Your goby does look the same then my one especially the one in my second picture.


Neale

I have tried the Goby Group and nobody got back to me. I think I will keep them in my my low end (1.004) tank. They seem to get on with the knight gobies and my chromides.

Thanks

Sabby

 

[nmonks]

Hello Sabby,

I'm surprised about Goby Group, they're usually very helpful. Possibly you were unlucky.

Anyway, I have it on good authority from a goby expert that keeping freshwater species in low brackish does no harm, and in fact it is recommended to do exactly what you are doing with "mystery gobies".

Cheers,

Neale

I have tried the Goby Group and nobody got back to me. I think I will keep them in my my low end (1.004) tank. They seem to get on with the knight gobies and my chromides.

 

[kanzaris]

Hello Sabby,

I'm surprised about Goby Group, they're usually very helpful. Possibly you were unlucky.

Anyway, I have it on good authority from a goby expert that keeping freshwater species in low brackish does no harm, and in fact it is recommended to do exactly what you are doing with "mystery gobies".

Cheers,

Neale

I have tried the Goby Group and nobody got back to me. I think I will keep them in my my low end (1.004) tank. They seem to get on with the knight gobies and my chromides.

Hi Neale

Thanks for that. I was always wondering if I'm doing the right thing with these gobies. Some fish seem ok in low end brackish but then they deteriorate with time. I feel a bit better knowing they are ok in low end brackish.

Thanks

Sabby

 

[AMS]

The Gobiidae family is so large and diverse, "mystery gobies" pop up all the time. I agree with Neale on this one as I am almost 100% sure Sabby's goby is a Stiphodon species, but the exact species is beyond me. Sabby's goby is a lot thicker than most Stiphodon species that I have seen, again I have not the slightest clue as to the exact species. Nonetheless great photography skills Sabby

 

[kanzaris]

The Gobiidae family is so large and diverse, "mystery gobies" pop up all the time. I agree with Neale on this one as I am almost 100% sure Sabby's goby is a Stiphodon species, but the exact species is beyond me. Sabby's goby is a lot thicker than most Stiphodon species that I have seen, again I have not the slightest clue as to the exact species. Nonetheless great photography skills Sabby

Thanks AMS it's just a matter of get the camera out and hope for the best. (Well for me anyway)

By the way is anyone from the Brackish Forum going to the TFF Meeting in Chester?

Sabby

 

[nmonks]

Someone posted a question about a mystery goby similar to yours on the Yahoo goby group. The photograph of the goby is here:

http/i65.photobucket.com/albums/h203/warmachine75/goby.jpg

Anyway, I passed it on to a gobiologist friend of mine, and she wrote back thus:

"I would just call it Sicydiinae sp. I'm not that good at distinguishing the species without a microscope, or locality information. As for water type, the juveniles should be kept in lightly brackish but the adults in pure fresh."

Sicydiinae is the subfamily to which the genus Stiphodon belongs. This is from a scientist who works on gobies and describes new species... so when I say gobies are difficult to identify, I'm not making that up! Serious goby people stick them under microscopes and count scales and gill rakers and whatnot.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[AMS]

By the way is anyone from the Brackish Forum going to the TFF Meeting in Chester?

There is a meeting? Im in the US so it probably doesnt matter anyways.

 

[Bling]

Just a note: I collected a few (Hawaiian) gobies from brackish water---it was brackish because the fry had just come in from the ocean. The adults all live way upstream (if it hasn't been dried up by humans). Two of them do a lot of "sticking on".