Can anyone identify my goby?

[CaysE]

My goby showed up as a stowaway fry when I purchased my 8 harlequin rasboras a few weeks ago. I'm curious to know what kind it is. It has some red dot patterns on the two dorsal fins, and the tailfin is starting to get a reddish hue. Any guesses?

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

Possibly some variety of gudgeon rather than a goby, but hard to identify. How big is he?

 

[joannde]

oh he's so cute ! can't believe what a lucky stowaway you got !

 

[CHBGator]

Try looking here.

http://gobiidae.com/int_goby_soc.htm

 

[WaterPond]

joannde, i agree with you, the only stow aways i get a feeder guppies and snails!, I want a stow away gudeon or gobi(whatever) Very nice CaysE

 

[CaysE]

It's maybe an inch long or so... same length as the rasboras. I was told it may be a round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), but I just don't know.

 

[hc8719]

might want to try posting in the sw forums, alot of gobies lay their eggs in freshwater, then as the offspring grow, move on to brackish and saltwater.

but if he's only and inch big, im sure he can live in freshwater for a bit

 

[CaysE]

They do? I mean, I can see this being a brackish variety, but I have a hard time thinking it's possibly a saltwater goby.

 

[Guest]

I read that there are over 2,000 species of gobies, and there are roughly only 100 of those 2000 that are full F/W. Most are marine or Brackish

However, this one may be a common F/W but I am not sure.

It is hard to identify a F/W Goby. Not too common at most LFS.

I am sure someone will know.

 

[Fruitbat]

Your goby is likely one of the species of Mogurnda (also called a gudgeon). They are tolerant of very low (or no) salinity levels and are native to the AustralAsian area. Be aware that these fish have a reputation for being 'fin nippers' and are also very capable of jumping out of their aquarium when startled. They are generally very 'out front' for a goby.

-Joe

 

[UTcolorchangn]

I agree that the fish in question looks like a gudgeon. The pic looks very similiar to some of my smaller goo obo gudgeons, before they really develop their color.

Gudgeons seem to be pretty rare (I've never seen them for sale in the Houston area) in my experience. Consider yourself lucky for such a great stow-away!

 

[CaysE]

I'd be stunned if I ended up with a Goo Obo Gudgeon stowaway fry! I guess I can't call him Goby-Wan anymore. LOL

 

[Fruitbat]

I suppose it is possible that it is a young Goo Obo Gudgeon (Mogurnda sp.aff. nesolepis) which would be a very nice find indeed, but there are a number of different species of Mogurnda that can look remarkably similar. It could just as easily be Mogurnda mogurnda, the Purple-Spotted Gudgeon or a number of related species.

Still...nice hitchhiker!

-Joe

 

[CaysE]

It's looking more and more like it could be a goo-obo or similar. The LFS he came from has been selling goo-obos recently.

I'm confused about the latin name though. First, I don't know what "sp.aff." means. Second, I've seen the goo-obo called Allomogurnda nesolepis a few times, but that also points to the yellow-bellied gudgeon. Can anyone sort it out for sure?

 

[Fruitbat]

'sp. aff.' basically is scientific shorthand for 'species affinity'....meaning that a particular organism is very similar to an already-named species (and may indeed BE that species) but that there is still some question about whether it is exactly the same.

Like many scientific names, the genus names for the gobies are in constant flux. Some people classify the Goo-Obo Gudgeon as belonging to Mogurnda while others see enough difference to drop them into a new genus (Allomogurnda) instead. Currently, FishBase still lists Mogurnda nesolepis as the valid scientific name for the Goo-Obo Gudgeon.

-Joe

 

[CaysE]

It's interesting how on the edge this hobby is. It seems that a few different gudgeons can have varying common names, and sometimes latin names. The purple spotted gudgeon I'm finding listed as both Mogurnda mogurnda as well as Mogurnda adspersa. The yellow bellied gudgeon appears to just be another name for the Goo Obo gudgeon, and apparently is called Mogurnda nesolepis as well as Allomogurnda nesolepsis.

Confusing...

 

[CaysE]

OK, lately I've been getting the MTS itch, for two reasons. The first is that I don't think the gudgeon mixed with the rasboras is ideal, mostly because I have to feed him individually from the rest. The rasboras gobble up anything I put in pretty quickly, and the gudgeon seems to be more cautious. So I just scoop him up with the net (it's funny, he's almost trained to go in the net now ) and he'll eat then. The second reason is that I want to try a theme tank, in this case, Papua New Guinea (or more specifically, the Goo Obo falls if this does turn out to be a Goo Obo gudgeon).

Anyway, I'm mostly rambling to myself. Here's the latest pic I could get. It really shows off the colors, though they're not always quite as vibrant. It depends on his orientation to the tank lighting. Maybe this can finally determine what he is.

 

[Swimmer32]

I came across a Bumble Bee Goby at the LFS the other day, and I thought they were stunning.

I was going to get a few then and there (well there were only two left) but after researching I discovered they can be a little difficult to look after. Well, for me anyway.

Stunning little things they are.

http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/444.htm