Gobi Or Gudgeon?

[fergalthefish]

in my lfs recently i saw a fish labelled as a gudgeon but i had a couple of these fish in my tank a while back sold to me as sleeper gobies...are they the same thing

 

[Fella]

in my lfs recently i saw a fish labelled as a gudgeon but i had a couple of these fish in my tank a while back sold to me as sleeper gobies...are they the same thing

In an LFS way, yes. In science, not so much.

 

[CFC]

Its an Australian thing, they call all their native sleaper gobies gudgeons, probably because a lot of the original settlers were English and they just called any small bottom dwelling fish gudgeons after the native British species Gobio gobio which is commonly called Gudgeon.

 

[Darkehorse]

Its an Australian thing, they call all their native sleaper gobies gudgeons, probably because a lot of the original settlers were English and they just called any small bottom dwelling fish gudgeons after the native British species Gobio gobio which is commonly called Gudgeon.

For some reason, in the back of my mind I remember somewhere it was said that true gobies are saltwater fish, while gudgeons are non related fresh water fish that resemble gobies only in body appearance. Is there any truth to this at all CFC?

-Darke

 

[CFC]

No truth at all i'm afraid, there are freshwater true gobies as well as saltwater ones.

The difference between sleaper gobies/gudgeons (Eleotridae) and true gobies (Gobiidae) is that on true gobies the pelvic fins are fused together to form a single fin shaped like a sucker disc, in sleaper gobies the fins are paired just like with conventional fish.

 

[andywg]

For some reason, in the back of my mind I remember somewhere it was said that true gobies are saltwater fish, while gudgeons are non related fresh water fish that resemble gobies only in body appearance. Is there any truth to this at all CFC?

-Darke

No. True Gobies (Family Gobiidae) have a fused pelvic fin which forms a paddle like appendage, used for hanging onto rocks and such. Gobies are found in every type of water from freshwater right through to marine. Family Gobiidae is one of the largest known with over 2,000 species.

[edit]

Gaah, just beaten to it...

 

[Darkehorse]

Thanks CFC / Andy for clearing that up.

-Darke