Common name/s: Sumatran Red Neon Goby, S elegens, Freshwater Neon Goby.
Scientific name: Stiphodon Elegens.
Family: Stiphodon Sp.
Origin: South East Asia, Philippines.
Maximum size: 8cm/ 3.5"
Care: The small adult size of these fish means that a pair could be kept in a 20 Gallon/ 60 Litre tank. The tank must have a large footprint as these are bottom dwellers, and algae eaters that will enjoy caves as well as a rocky area. Ideally this fish should be kept in a flowing stream biotope; but this is not completely essential. I have kept mine successfully in a 200l tank with a sandy substrate, with a rockery area and some caves made from bogwood. Red Neon Gobies enjoy burying themselves in the sand with just their head protruding, observing what all of their tank mates are doing. The Gobies are widely compatible fish, they do well with fish of a smaller or similar size - males are loosely aggressive when breeding toward other males and females who enter their cave/territory. The Red Neon Gobies are compatible with shrimp, livebearers, Characins, and catfish. I keep mine with BN Pleco's, Corydoras Catfish, Guppies, Ghost Shrimp and Assassin Snails; all of which are extremely comfortable with the Gobies. You must provide opportunity for this fish to gain a territory and have a cave for its own. Avoid species that are much larger, and other Gobies. Larger fish will scare the Goby and prevent them from being as active and playful as they can be. When keeping large quantities of Red Neon Goby be sure to provide lots of different hiding places and cover, as the males can be aggressive towards eachother, defending their territory.
Feeding: The Sumatran Red Neon Goby will accept a wide variety of foods; their natural food is algae. I feed my Gobies Algae wafers, Zucchini, Cory Catfish Pellets, Flake food. The best food for this fish is natural algae in the tank, they will actively clear algae from the sides of the tank much like most Pleco's, and mine spend a lot of time on the bog wood stripping it of algae. On rare occasions my Gobies have come to the surface and taken the flakes and pellets intended for the guppies, and even the small food intended for the fry in the tank. You can feed this fish meaty foods such as bloodworm, however it's not a good idea to do this a lot as their digestive system is not designed to digest meat based food. A bloodworm or two every now and then won't hurt them, but don't make this a base diet.
Sexing: Males are larger than females, and have more pronounced coloring. The females have a black lateral line down their body and are much more passive and submissive in a community.
Breeding: No reports of this fish being bred in captivity.
(top left) Male, Larger, with larger dorsal fins.
Male Sumatran Red Neon Goby.
Female Sumatran Red Neon Goby.
Scientific name: Stiphodon Elegens.
Family: Stiphodon Sp.
Origin: South East Asia, Philippines.
Maximum size: 8cm/ 3.5"
Care: The small adult size of these fish means that a pair could be kept in a 20 Gallon/ 60 Litre tank. The tank must have a large footprint as these are bottom dwellers, and algae eaters that will enjoy caves as well as a rocky area. Ideally this fish should be kept in a flowing stream biotope; but this is not completely essential. I have kept mine successfully in a 200l tank with a sandy substrate, with a rockery area and some caves made from bogwood. Red Neon Gobies enjoy burying themselves in the sand with just their head protruding, observing what all of their tank mates are doing. The Gobies are widely compatible fish, they do well with fish of a smaller or similar size - males are loosely aggressive when breeding toward other males and females who enter their cave/territory. The Red Neon Gobies are compatible with shrimp, livebearers, Characins, and catfish. I keep mine with BN Pleco's, Corydoras Catfish, Guppies, Ghost Shrimp and Assassin Snails; all of which are extremely comfortable with the Gobies. You must provide opportunity for this fish to gain a territory and have a cave for its own. Avoid species that are much larger, and other Gobies. Larger fish will scare the Goby and prevent them from being as active and playful as they can be. When keeping large quantities of Red Neon Goby be sure to provide lots of different hiding places and cover, as the males can be aggressive towards eachother, defending their territory.
Feeding: The Sumatran Red Neon Goby will accept a wide variety of foods; their natural food is algae. I feed my Gobies Algae wafers, Zucchini, Cory Catfish Pellets, Flake food. The best food for this fish is natural algae in the tank, they will actively clear algae from the sides of the tank much like most Pleco's, and mine spend a lot of time on the bog wood stripping it of algae. On rare occasions my Gobies have come to the surface and taken the flakes and pellets intended for the guppies, and even the small food intended for the fry in the tank. You can feed this fish meaty foods such as bloodworm, however it's not a good idea to do this a lot as their digestive system is not designed to digest meat based food. A bloodworm or two every now and then won't hurt them, but don't make this a base diet.
Sexing: Males are larger than females, and have more pronounced coloring. The females have a black lateral line down their body and are much more passive and submissive in a community.
Breeding: No reports of this fish being bred in captivity.
(top left) Male, Larger, with larger dorsal fins.
Male Sumatran Red Neon Goby.
Female Sumatran Red Neon Goby.
