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-BUMBLEBEE GOBY

COMMON NAME BUMBLEBEE GOBY SCIENTIFIC NAME Brachygobius Sp. FAMILY Gobiidae ORIGIN Southeastern Asia; Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam TEMPERATURE 22 – 29C PH 7.2-8.5 HARDNESS Medium hard to hard (dGH 9-19) MAXIMUM SIZE 3.5–5cm DIET Flake, sinking pellets, Mostly live or frozen foods such as bloodworm, brineshrimp, mosquito larvae RECOMMENDED MINIMUM AQUARIUM 15 Litres SOCIAL Peaceful TANK REGION Bottom third LIFE SPAN 5yrs CARE Moderate 6/10 BREEDING Egg Layers

These little guys are tiny in size but big on attitude and personality. They have large mouths considering their size and are actually yellow with black bands around their body, hence the name bumblebee. With their large mouths & black & yellow colouring they actually look moderately fierce and as though they are always in a bad mood, however this is not the case,

They have specially shaped ventral fins which allow them to grip onto almost any surface including the glass sides of the tank. And contrary to a lot of information, while they generally tend to hop or scoot around the tank at a moderately slow pace, they can put on an amazing burst of speed if and when the need to strikes them.

These cute tiny fish however are not recommended for beginners as they can be a difficult fish to feed and keep alive. While there are some reports of them eating flake or pellet foods, this is rare and they should be fed live or frozen foods such as bloodworm, brineshrimp, mosquito larva and daphnia. Even then they can be picky and hard to feed.

Almost all information available says that these little guys need to be kept in a brackish tank, however many people, including myself, have kept them quite successfully in fully freshwater tanks.

Tanks need to be stocked with plants, small caves, driftwood & even hermit crab shells for them to feel more comfortable. While they are tiny, it is not recommended to keep too many of them in small tanks as they can be slightly aggressive towards their own kind if not given enough room.

Appropriate tank mates for bumblebee gobies include guppies, mollies, platies, swordtails, tetras, danios, barbs, rasboras, rainbowfish, corys, and bristlenose catfish.

All in all, for the moderately experienced fish keeper, these are a wonderful addition to any tank.

by Wendy Armour