Tag Archives: Brachygobius

Brachygobius doriae

3. May 2021

This is probably the most beautiful species of the bumble bee gobies, because the males (also some females) develop a splendid orange-red in the rear half of the body. The females are mostly yellow in color, but they are easily recognized by the comparatively smaller head regardless of coloration.

The species was and still is confused with B. xanthozonus. However, B. xanthozonus has more than 50 scales in the longitudinal row (our animals have a little bit more than 30); it is very questionable, if the “real” B. xanthozonus has ever been kept in the aquarium.

Brachygobius doriae grows only 3.5-4.5 cm long and therefore fits perfectly into smaller aquariums. We have magnificent animals in showsize in the stock, which come from Borneo. Some salt addition (1-2 grams per liter) does the animals good, but is not absolutely necessary. This is a brood caring species in which the male guards the spawn, which is pinned to a cave wall or the like, until the larvae hatch. After that the brood care ends.

For our customers: the animals have code 403705 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Lexicon: Brachygobius: Latin, means “short goby”. doriae: dedication name for the collector of the species, the Marquis J. Doria. xanthozonus: Latin, means “with yellow bands”.

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Brachygobius doriae

2. September 2019

Brachygobius doriae has been confused with B. xanthozonus for decades. We also received the fish under that name and stocked it so, because almost all aquarium books and websites depict B. doriae, but name it B. xanthozonus. However, B. xanthozonus has more than 50 scales in the horizontal row (our fish have somewhat more than 30); it is very questionable if the “true” B. xanthozonus has been ever kept in aquaria. Our current stock originates from Thailand.

Brachygobius doriae becomes only 3,5 cm long and fits perfectly for small aquaria. We currently have gorgeous fish in showsize in stock. Adding some salt to the water (1-2 grams per litre) is much appreciated, but not necessary. Bumblebee gobies are broodcaring fishes. The males take care for the eggs that become attached on the wall of caves etc.. As soon as the fry swims free the broodcare ends.

For our customers: the animals have code 403703 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Brachygobius: Latin, means “short goby”. doriae: dedication name for the collector of the the fish, the Marquis J. Doria. xanthozonus: Latin, means “with yellow bands”.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Brachygobius sabanus Thailand

20. March 2017

We received this pretty species of bumblebee goby from Thailand. The determination of bumblebee gobies often proofes to be quite tricky; usually a big questionmark has to be set behind the names. Brachybobius sabanus has been described initially from Borneo (Sabah), our fish have been collected in Thailand. But the illustration accompanying the original description of B. sabanus fits very good for our specimens.

B. sabanus attains a maximum length of about 2.5 cm. The coloration differs a lot individually. The species inhabits pure freshwater habitats. We were very glad to observe a spawning in our facility. But we thought the eggs would suffer from fungus quite fast. When the male was defending the whitish eggs still for days we took a closer look and discovered that the eyes of the offspring were already visible in the eggs. In fact it was the white yolk sack, not fungus that made the eggs look white! Sadly the larvae hatched on weekend in the night when no one was in our fishhouse. But we think an experienced hobbyist should be able to raise Brachygobius sabanus without problems.

For our customers: the fish have code 407252 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer