Feeding Bumblebee Goby

[Something Fishy]

Good photo!
How do you tell male from female?

 

[nmonks]

Thanks!

Not sure I can tell the difference between males and females! My gobiologist friend did it for me. I think it's the round body shape, and after you've seen (and dissected) a lot of them, you get a 'feel' for what they're like.

Cheers,

Neale

Good photo!
How do you tell male from female?

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[PeterM]

That fish has spots on it, and I would say that it is the Golden Banded Goby. Ive got one that looks strikingly similar in every respect, including the larger than average pectoral fins with many rays.

I say this because I have bough both available species of Bumblebee Goby from the same stock in the same fish store at the same time. I bought six, one died, and there were four completely banded and one with broken bands highly similar to the one in that photograph. There are clear differences in patterns and even colours when you have two bumblebee gobies next to one another. Bumblebee Gobies have darker yellow bordering on a light orange in their yellow stripes.

Latin names put aside, there are two commonly sold gobies that go under the name "Bumblebee": The Golden Banded Goby (which I believe is shown in that photograph) and the true Bumblebee Goby. The true Bumblebee can survive in both Brackish and Freshwater happily because it is typically found near the esturary inlets in tropical areas where rivers meet the sea. Golden Banded gobies are very seldom found in these areas, and are usually found only in brackish.

I can only talk from my own experience, but I believe that the fact your water is hard and alkaline would be simulating conditions that are found in a brackish setup, which is typically harder water with higher alkalinity. This would explain their good health! I think this also factors in to the differences in survival for Golden Banded and Bumblebee gobies... Bumblebees tend to do just as well, but Golden Banded seem to be hit or miss. Water conditions and not just salinity I believe will play a role there. Each time I have seen the pictured species on sale in fish stores, they have looked unhealthy and sickly. The one that I have was in this condition and perked up completely after a single day in a mild brackish setup (1.005 to 1.007 sg).

I would also say that salt is in fact essential for all brackish water fish. Tolerance is one thing, but proper housing is another, and if a fish prefers to be in brackish, then it should be kept in brackish. If someone is unclear as to which fish they have (whether it is freshwater tolerant or less freshwater tolerant) then they should go for brackish anyway. Both species of "Bumblebee" survive happily in brackish, and I wouldnt recommend keeping a Bumblebee in freshwater unless you are absolutely certain that your conditions will support its requirements.

 

[nmonks]

I agree. But there is some latitude in the definition of brackish. You can have fish that don't actually like salt but will tolerate a little, like spiny eels. Then you have those that will do as well in a little salt as without, like kribs. Then there's stuff that prefers salt but will do okay without, like mollies. And then there's stuff that needs salt and will only survive rather than thrive without it, like scats and monos.

If you take Frank Schäfer's AQUAlog book at face value, then there are a lot of fish we keep in brackish that apparently don't need it, and actually want soft/acid or at least neutral freshwater. His list includes Siamese tigers, glassfish, wrestling halfbeaks, and most mollies. I'm a wee bit skeptical myself, but there you go.

Cheers,

Neale

I would also say that salt is in fact essential for all brackish water fish. Tolerance is one thing, but proper housing is another, and if a fish prefers to be in brackish, then it should be kept in brackish. If someone is unclear as to which fish they have (whether it is freshwater tolerant or less freshwater tolerant) then they should go for brackish anyway. Both species of "Bumblebee" survive happily in brackish, and I wouldnt recommend keeping a Bumblebee in freshwater unless you are absolutely certain that your conditions will support its requirements.

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[PeterM]

I guess it just goes to show...

You should take everything written with a pinch of salt.

...

If that awful joke gets me banned from this forum, then I understand