AqualogNEWS100
7
Nemateleotrisdecora
Nemateleotrismagnifica
all photos:FrankSchäfer
he firefish genus (
Nemateleotris
) contains three species and is
widespread in the Indo-Pacific. The Fire Goby (
N.magnifica
) has the
widest distribution and is also found in the shallowestwater of the three
species (from 8m of depth) and is extraordinarily common.Hence these
gorgeous fishes,whichgrow toaround8cm long,arealmostpermanently
available in the trade,often in largenumbers.But you shouldn’t bemisled
by the peaceful co-existence of these fishes in the dealer’s tank. This
happens only under the relatively bare, overpopulated conditions found
in such aquaria, where the fishes abandon their territorial behavior – a
T
Thegobiesarethemostspecies-richgroupoffishes intheworld.
The vast majority of species live in the sea, but there are also
numerous freshwater species.Thegobies also include someof
the smallest fishesonEarth,and themajorityof species remain
smaller than 10 cm. The gobies discussed here belong to the
wormfishes (Microdesmidae) and the true gobies (Gobiidae),
and theyareamong themostbeautifulofall aquarium fishes.
Gorgeousgobies
byMatthiasReising
Marine
