Brachygobius Xanthozona Vs Doriae

[Sara0229]

Looking to buy some bumble bee gobys and have seen them listed as both Brachygobius Xanthozona and Brachygobius Doriae. Are these the same fish or similar fish? I want to be sure to give them proper care.

Thanks!

 

[nmonks]

Brachygobius xanthozona is easily recognised because it's the one species you'll NEVER see in the shops. Forget about this name completely. It's a very rare species. Books use this name in error. On the other hand, if you're in a museum and a very excited curator is running towards you waving a small fish in a jar of formalin, there's a chance that the little fish is Brachygobius xanthozona.

All the specimens on sale are best referred to as Brachygobius spp. and left at that. There are two basic types, the "dwarf" species like Brachygobius nunus and the "big" species like Brachygobius doriae. All the traded species are found in both fresh and brackish water habitats. Keep them either in freshwater or brackish water as you prefer. The reason they don't do well is usually diet, not salinity.

Cheers, Neale

Looking to buy some bumble bee gobys and have seen them listed as both Brachygobius Xanthozona and Brachygobius Doriae. Are these the same fish or similar fish? I want to be sure to give them proper care.

 

[Sara0229]

Thanks Neale. I'm planning them in a low end brackish set up but wanted to be sure they were what I thought they were. Not to buy a fish for brackish that is really fresh! I've been thinking about diet a lot for these guys as I's had a pair many years ago who just didn't eat. I'm going to start with live and then try some frozen. I figure I'll put the food in a turkey baster and shoot it to the bottom of the tank. Hopefully I can get them liking some frozen but brine shrimp aren't, on the other hand that big a deal to do either. Thanks again for the input.

PS- Love the book, very informative and gets me thinking about things that I hadn't thought of!

 

[nmonks]

BBGs aren't incredibly difficult to keep. They will take bloodworms from the substrate. The main thing is that there's nothing much competing with them. Midwater and surface feeding species are the best: glassfish, wrestling halfbeaks, perhaps Endler guppies. That sort of thing. Anything that slurps up food from the bottom will cause problems unless it's equally slow. Flounders are fine, but catfish are not.

Cheers, Neale

PS. Glad you're enjoying the book!

Thanks Neale. I'm planning them in a low end brackish set up but wanted to be sure they were what I thought they were. Not to buy a fish for brackish that is really fresh! I've been thinking about diet a lot for these guys as I's had a pair many years ago who just didn't eat. I'm going to start with live and then try some frozen. I figure I'll put the food in a turkey baster and shoot it to the bottom of the tank. Hopefully I can get them liking some frozen but brine shrimp aren't, on the other hand that big a deal to do either. Thanks again for the input.

PS- Love the book, very informative and gets me thinking about things that I hadn't thought of!

 

[Ceramicbull]

Crazy idea Neale, would Bettas work well with BBGs (in freshwater obivously)? I have a thought they might be: Bumblebees are bottom dwellers, small finned, and don't seem to share colors with Betta species. They also have a nice small bioload, so they can share a small space with them (within reason). I am a bit concerned about the territory issues, but I would hope that would just inspire them to stay away from each other?

Again, completely crazy or possible?

 

[nmonks]

From the gobies' perspective, no, there's no obvious reason why a betta couldn't work as a tankmate. Obviously the large, piscivorous betta species like Betta raja and Betta anabatoides are going to view BBGs as food. Fancy bettas might be at some risk of fin-nipping; I've never seen BBGs nip, but others have, so you have to make your own decisions about whether it's worth trying out.

As a total aside, there is of course a truly brackish water betta, Betta sp. Mahachai. It doesn't need any salt to do well, but 10% normal seawater salinity, around SG 1.002, would be perfect for keeping BBGs too. Betta sp. Mahachai is not commonly traded, but it is available through the serious betta breeding fraternity. Because it's endangered in the wild, efforts by aquarists to keep and breed this species are particularly welcome.

Cheers, Neale

Crazy idea Neale, would Bettas work well with BBGs (in freshwater obivously)? I have a thought they might be: Bumblebees are bottom dwellers, small finned, and don't seem to share colors with Betta species. They also have a nice small bioload, so they can share a small space with them (within reason). I am a bit concerned about the territory issues, but I would hope that would just inspire them to stay away from each other?

Again, completely crazy or possible?

 

[Ceramicbull]

Thanks, I am asking the Betta forum folks their opinion now.

Will filter media from my brackish tank (at about 1.005) be at all useful in seeding a freshwater tank or will all the bacteria just die on contact with the freshwater?

The Mahachai sound interesting, and look beautiful, but lets just make sure I can keep a crowntail alive first. I had a betta when I was much younger, which my parents did most of the taking care of. We kept it in an unheated, unfiltered bowl (and changed the water once every never) and I fear he may have perished from starvation . I want to do this one right.

 

[nmonks]

If you acclimate the filter media slowly you should be fine. I'd recommend running the tank with old water from your brackish water tank, and over the succeeding few days do 20% water changes with plain freshwater. Feed the tank daily with pinches of flake, just as if there were fish in there. The filter bacteria will use the resulting ammonia to stay alive. By the end of the week it should be freshwater inside the tank, and if you aren't detecting any nitrite or ammonia, you're fine.

Cheers, Neale

Will filter media from my brackish tank (at about 1.005) be at all useful in seeding a freshwater tank or will all the bacteria just die on contact with the freshwater?