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Overview:

This popular little Goby is available from time to time. It is a brackish water fish that is not suited for a freshwater set up. Given proper conditions this fish can make an interesting addition to your brackish tank.

Listed tank sizes are the minimum
Size:	1¾ inches , (4.5cm) Same for both sexes
Tank:	20 gallons, Brackish water
Strata:	Mostly Lower, will visit all levels
PH:	7.5 to 8.5
Hardness:	Mediun hard to hard
Temperature:	75°- 86°F (24° to 30° C)

Classification:

Order:	Perciformes
Suborder:	Gobioidei
Family:	Gobiidae
Genera:	Brachygobius
Species:	xanthozona

Common name: Bumblebee Goby , Bumblebee fish Image gallery: Additional species photographs Discuss: Badmans' Forum

Distribution

Western Indoneasia, Thailand, South Vietnam. Mostly in estuaries.

Elongated and round. Typical for the family the ventral fins are fused together to form a suction disc. There are two Dorsal fins separated by a wide indentation. The rear dorsal is located above a similar shaped anal fin. The back portion of the tail fin is rounded.

The Basic background color of the the Goby is a pleasant Honey Yellow or mustard color. This color is marked with a series of Black vertical band and spots. Usually there are four main bands, The first runs over the fishes head near the eye. The next two bands cove the body and slightly on the fins. The final band ends at the start of the tail (caudal) fin. In between the bands There can be less pronounced Black spots. As the fish ages the Black tends to fade and the Yellow becomes more pronounced.

Feeding your gobies will be the most difficult part of maintaining them. They will eat only live food such as Brine shrimp, Daphnia, Cyclops and Mosquito larvae. Some have had success in getting the fish to eat frozen, however they seem not to recognize it as food unless it is moving. Although they can be kept in a community setting with other salt tolerant species ( Mollies or Platies ) they will remain shy and not flourish. They will be happiest in a species tank. Keep a fairly large number, ten or more, in the tank and provide plenty of hiding places such as stones tubes and caves. Plants will be limited to salt tolerant varieties and probably the best choice will be the die hard Java fern, plastic may be a better choice. The water should have a small amount of marine mix to increase the salinity. One to two teaspoons per two gallons should be OK. Although you do not want heavy circulation, aeration and filtration should be efficient.

Brackish estuaries with plants as well as open areas of Southeast asia

Breeding:

Not one of the easier fish to breed. Condition the fish well with a varied diet of small live foods such as mosquito larvae, brine shrimp and Daphnia. I has been reported that breeding can be initiated by the addition of some fresh water to the tank. You should be able to tell when the fish are ready when the females become visibly plumper and male's black bars almost disappear. The eggs are usually laid in flower pots, under rocks or in caves. The eggs are guarded fiercely by the male. In four to five days the eggs will hatch. The fry are very difficult to feed and should consist of liquid foods (infusoria ) and then baby brine shrimp. Once hatched you should move the parents as they tend to eat the young. The young will swim in all strata of the tank and after four to five weeks settle on the bottom and start to take on the adult coloration.

Bumble Bee Goby Click photo to buy

Your comments:

Add your comments:

From: Sue Date:08/22/2007 I've had my two bumblebees for the better part of a year now and they're one of my favourite fish. I keep mine with two guppies, two bristlenose catfish and blue neon tetras. I've noticed that they like to nibble on the tail of one of my guppies, but I've had no success in stopping that. Anyway, if anyone has difficulty in feeding their bumblebees I suggest you try crushing any small black snails in your tank and letting it drop to the bottom. The first time I did this my brother in law was showing me how much guppies should go wild over it. But it was my bumblebees who loved it. They got fat quick and I've stopped throwing out every snail that comes in on the plant I buy. From: Glen Date:03/27/2007 Had 5 of these guys for about a year and are great to watch. Never had problems feeding them frozen foods or even flakes. Tank has mainly been fresh water with a slight bit of salt added. Great fish but they do like to have a munch on fins if there are similar sized fish in the tank(guppies etc.). Anyway hope you all enjoy if you get the chance to own. From: Diane Date:03/17/2007 I have had 2 in my fresh water tank for a little over 1 month. They are doing great and they are fun to watch. Like the Cichlids they come to the front of the tank and watch me watching them. They put on a great show swimming to the top of the tank and then zinging down to the bottom. They are thriving in a 46 gallon tank with Neons, Fancy Danio, Tetras, and 3 Pleco's. They seem happy and healthy so far. From: Isabel Date:08/15/2006 I've had a couple of these little ones for about 2 months now and they have adapted wonderfully to the tank. I was fearful about feeding them but they happily take frozen foods, (as long as it happens to land directly in front of them). They are hardy and feisty and hold their own well with the yoyo loaches and platys in the tank as well. A great addition. From: Drew Date:06/24/2006 I recently got 2 of these little guys from a local pet shop. Prior to getting them, however, I scoured every online site with these fish in it and found that, universally, they loved caves and hiding places. Realizing this, I had set up a few ( 2 or 3 small glass cups on their sides, covered with gravel except the opening) around the tank. After adding the fish to the tank, they seemed very shy at first, but did not go into any of the caves. They seemed to only like a flat area of gravel behind an underwater statue. After a few days, I moved one of the "caves" closer to that spot, and they can now be seen frequently camping out in it. Great little fish if you have the time and patience to take care of them properly. P.S. They do fine in a freshwater tank, mine a 10 gallon. From: Laurie Date:06/01/2006 I have had two bumblebees in my ten gallon tank for about two years now under normal water conditions. They can be territorial with each other at times but leave mind their business with the other serpaes, glowlights and yo yo loach in the tank. Also they only eat flaked food and maybe frozen blood worms from time to time, never frozen food. Maybe I have freak fish, but when I found this web site stating they were finicky and need brackish water I had to mention that it is not so in all cases. From: Dylan Date:09/15/2005 A very interesting little bull dog of a fish. If you want them to breed get a 20 gallon long get about 10 of them,raise the salinity to 1.05-1.010 slowly before adding them. Also add some little caves and a lot of Java fern and Java moss. A great idea would to put some empty snail shells in their tank since in the wild they mostly lay their eggs in them.-A perfect fish that can be kept in a tank anywhere form 5 gallons and up with no problem if its in brackish and you have plenty of brine shrimp on hand. Two favorite foods are black worms and brine shrimp. From: Nicole Date:07/25/2005 I have had two bumble gobies for about a year and they are a good addition to my community tank. When I first bought them they were incredibly shy for a few weeks. I saw them a few times go after flake food and sometimes they would spit it out and sometimes they would eat it. After a while I purchased live brine shrimp and they went crazy. Their stomachs were about twice their normal size. After that, they went after anything that floated near them. Sometimes they can be a little aggressive toward my other fish but they never harm the fish. They are great little guys! From: Mel Date:12/26/2004 I got several Bumblebee Gobies (1 male 1 female)and put them in a freshwater tank and have successfully been feeding them frozen bloodworm and brineshrimp, they are also feeding on an outbreak of planaria in the tank. A few months later, after reading they needed salt I added it at 1tps per 5 gal which made them more active. One day after the addition of Java fern and Java moss, a 50% water change the heater was accidentally left off (temp dropped to 72.f) and I found the fish madly spawning (in the roots of the Java fern). Babies hatched about 4 days later. Apparently this successfully simulated a rainstorm in which they like to spawn. They have spawned several times since (no special conditions) From: Chad Date:06/22/2004 I have 1 Bee with a GSP in a 37 Gal brackish tank. He will only eat live food, and loves worms more than anything. Watch the salt though, I've seen on some web sites that this fish is brackish to full marine. However when the level of salt goes up above 1.019 he hides out a lot!! Also when the salt goes below 1.010. He still pokes himself out to eat but then right back in his hole with too much salt. With a SG of 1.014-1.016 however he swims around quite a bit, actually a lot. I recently had a bad disease outbreak due to an addition to the tank(reason behind salt differences)and this guy never got it, definitely a hardy fish. From: Erik Date:01/22/2002 I have never had any problems with these guys, they have been one of my favorite fish in my tank. Mine came in fresh water so I put them in my tank with freshwater and have had them for almost a year and not one out of the six I have has shown signs of distress or ever gotten sick. I also have some big rocks with holes all over(lava rock I think) and they each take their own hole and guard it. They always eat brine shrimp and bloodworms,and both are always frozen. They eat them when they are in mid water. If you have good circulation of the water then they will eat them thinking that they are alive, if you do have good circulation just take out the filter cartridge when you feed them so it nothing gets sucked into the filter and stays. From: Em Date:03/15/2003 I was so amazed to find out that someone else is keeping his or her bumblebees with guppies! Way to go, Evan! I, myself, have a semi-brackish tank wherein I keep a guppy pair along with 4 bumblebee gobies. Gobies have a reputation of being fin nippers, so I was worried that my little guppies would get beat up. But, so far, so good! Everyone in my "G-tank" is getting along just fine. And yes, the gobies are thriving on a combination of live, frozen, and flake food. They are very good eaters and do not bother the other fish in the tank...only each other! :)

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