FAQs on Clown Gobies
Identification
Related Articles: Genus
Gobiodon Gobies,
Related FAQs: Gobiodons 1,
Gobiodons 2, True
Gobies, Gobies
2, Gobiodon Behavior, Gobiodon Compatibility, Gobiodon Selection, Gobiodon Systems, Gobiodon Feeding, Gobiodon Disease, Gobiodon Reproduction, True
Gobies: Goby Identification,
Goby Behavior, Goby Selection, Goby Compatibility, Goby Feeding, Goby Systems, Goby Disease, Goby Reproduction, Amblygobius Gobies,
Neon Gobies, Genus Coryphopterus Gobies, Mudskippers, Shrimp Gobies, Sifter Gobies,
Ouch!
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Unknown clown goby 12/6/09
Hello,
<Howsit?>
I couldn't find this Clown Goby on your site(or the
internet), so I'm hoping that your knowledge and research
skills will help us out(as usual.)
We received it as a Green Clown Goby. Is it a morph,
possibly?
Eric
<Mmm, maybe. Of the valid species listed, pictured on
Fishbase.org for the genus Gobiodon:
http://fishbase.org/NomenClature/ValidNameList.cfm?criteria=SYNONYMS.SynGenu
s+%3D+%27gobiodon%27++AND+SYNONYMS.SynSpecies+like+%27%25%25%27+&vtitle=Scie
ntific+Names+where+Genus+Equals+%3Ci%3EGobiodon%3C%2Fi%3E
G. rivulatus is about my best guess:
http://wetwebmedia.com/gobiodon.htm
Could be a regional variation, a morph as you state.
Is a beauty! Bob Fenner>
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Strange clown goby ID -- 04/20/09
Hello, Ladies and Gents!
I purchased a clown goby today at the LFS, which apparently
arrived with the "regular" green clown gobies. I was
wondering if you could help me ID this fish from the attached
photo (the white dots on the fish are tiny air bubbles from the
freshwater dip I was doing). I am assuming it is just a different
color morph, but I have not been able to find any pictures of any
that look like this. It almost looks like it is halfway in
between a yellow and a green, with the characteristics of
both.
Thank you much!
Emily
<Greetings. Looks like Gobiodon citrinus, in particularly the
humeral spot (the black spot above the pectoral fin) and the
alternating light and dark bands between the eye and gill covers.
Do look here:
http://fishbase.mnhn.fr/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=7789
Click on the photo at top right to see more images.
Cheers, Neale.>
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Re: Strange clown goby ID 4/20/2009
Thank you so much for the quick reply. My first inclination was a
Citron goby as well, but the pictures just don't match
up.
<Oh?>
Mine doesn't have any of the white/turquoise striping along
the dorsal area or on the gill plates.
<Agreed, but the oblique striping is there, and the colour
variation could reflect age, stress, geographical provenance.
This species is the Clown Goby of the UK marine trade, and fairly
variable.
http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/ThumbnailsSummary.php?ID=46399>
The only light stripes are right through its eye. The Citron
gobies also don't seem to have any red on them at all.
Rather, this little guy has symmetrical red dots along the dorsal
area instead, as well as on its gill
plates and eye stripe. You can't see in the first picture
very well, but the very edge of his tail also has a reddish
orange tinge that fades into the yellow.
<Do also look at G. reticulatus, here:
http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/ThumbnailsSummary.php?ID=46399
It does have the red/blue cheek markings, but lacks the humeral
spot.
Compare this with G. okinawae, the Clown Goby of the US trade,
here:
http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/ThumbnailsSummary.php?ID=7217
This fish doesn't have any markings of any kind, so far as I
can tell.>
Where the red markings occur on this fish, it looks similar to
the markings on my regular green clown gobies. Is it possible for
there to be a hybrid of the two species?
<Gobiodon citrinus and Gobiodon okinawae might occur in the
same places, e.g. Southern Japan, if Fishbase is anything to go
by, but G. reticulatus is found far to the west of those two more
easterly fish, so wouldn't hybridise with either.>
<<Could indeed be a hybrid. RMF>>
I have attached a different photo showing a view from above to
help explain a little better. The colors are more intense in this
photo, I think because it was when I had first put him in the
freshwater bath and he wasn't as stressed!
Thanks again,
Emily
<Bob may instantly recognise this fish when he or someone else
from the marine team checks in; in the meantime, do peruse the
options at Fishbase, here:
http://64.95.130.5/NomenClature/ValidNameList.cfm?criteria=SYNONYMS.SynGenus
+%3D+%27Gobiodon%27++AND+SYNONYMS.SynSpecies+like+%27%25%25%27+&vtitle=Scien
tific+Names+where+genus+equals+%3Ci%3EGobiodon%3C%2Fi%3E
That link should take you straight to the Gobiodon species
listing.
Cheers, Neale>
<<My best guess, and this is all it is, would be either a
G. histrio or a
hybrid. A beautiful Gobiodon specimen in all cases. BobF>>
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Re: Strange clown goby ID 04/21/09
Hi again!
I just wanted to let you know that I got a positive ID on my
clown goby. He is actually Gobiodon atrangulatus (no common
name).
This link shows a photo
http://www.digital-museum.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/~fish/images/%83n%83%5b%89%C8/seakakobanhaze.jpg
Emily
<Emily, that's great news! What fun to have a goby even
Bob Fenner has never seen! Cheers, Neale.><<Neat!
RMF>>
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Mysterious clown goby, with a furry head! --
03/18/09
Hello!
<Hi C.>
After much Googling and posting on various reef boards I've
decided to see if anyone at WWM can help figure out what type of
goby I acquired today.
<Will try.>
He was ordered online as a green clown goby, yet when he arrived
I was surprised to see he was a solid highlighter green color
(for lack of better definition, he is the color of the soda
Mountain Dew) with not a spec of red on him. Although the color
is off due to my flash a bit I believe you can still get a pretty
good idea of his coloration, definitely not a yellow clown goby
(I have one of them as well, vastly different shade). To top
this, he has a "furry" head, really no better way to
describe it other then to say it's furry/fuzzy. Doesn't
appear to be any sort of disease and seems very healthy. I'm
attaching several photos. The distributor told me he was part of
a shipment from Kenya if that's helpful at all.
<Yes, very useful.>
For now we're simply referring to him as "Dewy"
Thanks for any assistance. C. Daitch.
<C. your 'Dewy' is a Emerald coral goby Paragobiodon
xanthosomus. The elongate flaps on top of head of adults in
combination with origin and colour are typical for this species.
It's almost exclusively among branches of Seriatopora
hystrix, if you have none of them you may want to think about
getting one for the goby. They usually occur in pairs, too bad
you only got one. Marco.>
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Panda coral goby Hello, I am interested in a Panda coral goby
but I have found no info on how to care for them. <Never heard of
this common name... nor has Fishbase.org... is this a Gobiodon species?
I would like to know what they eat? What do they use as shelter? How
hard are they to keep? What kinds of special needs do they have? And
any other info you can think of that can help me make a decision about
whether I should try to keep one or not. Thanks for your help. Chris
Shaw <Chris... see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/gobiodon.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Panda Clown Goby? 7/26/05 Hey crew! <Hey, Mike G with you
this afternoon.> How's everything this fine Saturday evening? Me
and my wet friends are doing great. <Good to hear.> Anyway, on to
the question: I found this goby (Paragobius lacunicolus) at Live
Aquaria. They state it as a clown goby though I'm not so sure it
is. They list it as a difficult specimen, though most clown gobies seem
hardy. They don't list why it is supposedly difficult and I
can't find any information on WWM or fishbase.org. Has anyone there
had any experience with this fish or know it's true identity?
Thanks for the help with this peculiar fish. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2230
<Well, LiveAquaria lists the creature as a Paragobius species,
whereas the Clown Gobies we know of are Gobiodon species. So, it is not
technically a Clown Goby, just a fish that looks like one.> As
always, thanks for any help, <No problem, Mike G> Nick
Re: Panda Clown Goby? 7/27/05 Yeah, I thought that clown
gobies were only from Gobiodon. <Technically.> So, it isn't
really a clown goby, but is there anywhere I can find out about this
guy? <I searched around for you, but came up blank so far.>
It's the first time I can't find anything on Fishbase or WWM.
<Ditto.> I don't want to get a fish that is considered
difficult that almost no one has any experience with. <Why not be
the one to first keep and share their experiences with it?> That
seems to be an exercise in futility. <No, just inconvenience.>
Thanks, Nick <Mike G>
Encountered a "new" clown goby in the LFS
(for Mr. Fenner) 9/19.5/05 This is in reference to the
"five-lined coral goby" Gobiodon
quinquestrigatus. He's not mentioned on your web
site. I saw this beautiful guy hiding with the other clown
gobies in the LFS. He's now happily living with green
and yellow clown gobies in my nano. Most of the people who worked at
the LFS were as surprised to see him as I was! General
reaction (mine too) was "they come in orange?" http://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=22462
Apparently (from the posted photos) these guys, like their citron
cousins, come in a range of colors. Mine varies from orange
to pink to purple-ish depending on light and mood. Just
lovely. You may want to make reference to them on your
Gobiodon page, especially if they are being collected more frequently.
Thanks for all of the wonderful info! You've spared me
much head-and heart-ache (and probably saved many fish-lives).
<Thank you Dan. James (Salty Dog)> Dan <<Thank
you for this Dan. Bob Fenner, back from MACNA... and trying to catch
up>>
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