Brachygobius

Brachygobius is a small genus of gobies. They are popular aquarium fish where a number of species are sold as bumblebee gobies because their colours are similar to those of bumblebees.[1]

Brachygobius
Bumblebee Fish (B. xanthozonus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Oxudercidae
Subfamily: Gobionellinae
Genus: Brachygobius
Bleeker, 1874
Type species
Gobius doriae
Günther, 1868
Synonyms

Morphology

Bumblebee gobies range in size from 1.5 cm to 4 cm.[2] They are generally coloured black with pale yellow to orange bands.[3] Males are generally slimmer than females and often have more vivid colours, typically orange rather than yellow.[3] Females may also have smaller and rounder heads.[2] When spawning, the colours of the males become deeper, the orange bands becoming red in the case of Brachygobius doriae.[2]

Taxonomy

This genus is informally divided by taxonomists into the dwarf Brachygobius nunus-species group (e.g., B. nunus, B. aggregatus, and B. mekongensis) and the bigger Brachygobius doriae-species group (e.g., B. doriae, B. sabanus, and B. xanthomelas).[2]

Species

There are currently nine recognized species in this genus:[4]

Ecology

Bumblebee gobies are found across Southern and Southeast Asia primarily in freshwater habitats but also in slightly brackish waters.[2][3]

Reproduction

These gobies are oviparous. Eggs are deposited in a cave where they are guarded by the male.[3] Clutch size is around 150-200 eggs.[5] The eggs hatch after around seven days and the fry become free swimming another five to seven days later.[3]

In the aquarium

Bumblebee gobies are popular aquarium fish.[5] A tank around 40 liters in size will house a dozen specimens comfortably. Under good conditions they can live in an aquarium for around 5 years.[3] The most commonly traded species in the hobby belong to the Brachygobius doriae-species group but the smaller Brachygobius nunus is also traded occasionally.[2][3] Although many aquarium books use the name Brachygobius xanthozona, this species is very rare in the wild and is not commercially traded.[3]

References
  1. Fenner, Robert. "Fresh to Brackish Water Gobioids". Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  2. Schäfer F: Brackish Water Fishes, pp 49-51, Aqualog 2005, ISBN 3-936027-82-X
  3. Naomi Delventhal in Monks, Neale (2006): Brackish Water Fishes, pp 131-132, TFH Publishing. ISBN 0-7938-0564-3
  4. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). Species of Brachygobius in FishBase. April 2013 version.
  5. Riehl R. & Baensch H: Aquarium Atlas (vol. 1), pp 836-837, Voyageur Press, 1996, ISBN 3-88244-050-3
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