The
neon gobies of the genus Stiphodon are all very beautiful fishes. None
of the currently known 33 species becomes larger than 5-7 cm, most of
them stay much smaller. Despite the fact that adult Stiphodon live
exclusively in pure freshwater the larvae can develop only in marine
waters. This is the reason why species of Stiphodon live in brooks
nearby the sea. They spawn underneath stones. The males guard the eggs
until they hatch. The extremely small larvae become drifted in the sea
by the current. Here they develop.
Stiphodon
atropurpureus has a comparatively wide distribution, because the larvae
drift over a wide area in the ocean. The species is known from Japan,
Taiwan (from here originate the fish we have in stock), Malaysia, the
Philippines, and southern China. Like all species of Stiphodon they live
in larger schools that are formed of animals of both sexes. Females are
by far less colourful. Only when a male gets in mood for brooding it
builds up a small territory on its own. Here it displays its most
brilliant colours. After the larvae have hatched the male gets a paler
coloration again (however, it is still beautiful then) and turns back to
the school.
Keeping
neon gobies is quite easy. They feed basically on Aufwuchs in the wild,
in the aquarium they prefer small food items, like food tablets and
frozen cyclops. Of course they also gnaw a bit on algae, but they cannot
be termed as regular algae eaters.
For our customers: the fish have code 456083 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
