AqualogNEWS100
8
Nemateleotrishelfrichi
Lexicon
Gobies
Nemateleotrismeans“Eleotriswith
threads”.Eleotris isanothergoby
genus
decorameans“decorated”or“ornate”
helfrichi:dedicationname
magnificameans“magnificent”
Lotilia:etymologyunknown
graciliosameans“verygraceful”
Alpheus:a rivergod inGreek
mythology
rubromaculatusmeans“red-spotted”
phenomenonalsoknown fromnumerous
other fishes. In normal-sized tanks with
normal décor they should be kept only
singlyor inpairs,with the latteralways the
preferredmethod,as thenyouwillbeable
toobserve theentirebehavioral spectrum
of these lovely fishes – which is, after all,
themainpoint of theaquariumhobby.
Sexual dimorphism
This,of course, leads us to thequestionof
how to tell the sexes apart.Unfortunately
the answer is, you can’t, at least not with
certainty. There are, however, two tried
and testedwaysofobtainingapair.Firstly,
buy two individualsofasdifferentasizeas
possible. Secondly, buy a group of the
youngest individuals possible (no larger
than 4 cm) and allow a pair to form
naturally. The surplus specimens must
thenbe removed, though.
Other species
The other two species of the genus, the
Elegant Firefish,
N. decora
, and Helfrich’s
Firefish,
N.helfrichi
,arenot quiteaswidely
distributed and live mainly at greater
depths (around30m).Hence theyare less
common in the tradeandmoreexpensive
than the Fire Goby. However, their
maintenance (inpairs) doesn’t differ from
that of theFireGoby.
Feeding
All firefishes are plankton-feeders and
hence will enjoy any of the usual fish
foods.They usually swim in pairs above a
cave, into which they retreat when any
presumeddanger threatens.
Firefishes are rather nervous and will
generally jump out of the aquarium in
their panic, so the tank must be covered
tightly. These gobies do not harm
invertebrates.
Breeding
Firefishes are short-lived fishes that live to
around twoyearsold in theaquarium,but,
obviously,rarelyattain thisage in thewild.
These fishes spawn in caves and it is
thought that the spawn is guarded, but
therehavebeennoactual observations to
confirm this.The larvaearepelagic,and to
date there have been no reports of
successful breeding.
Symbioticgobies
The tiny (barely 4 cm long), very rarely
importedspecies
Lotiliagraciliosa
belongs
to a totally different family, namely the
truegobies (Gobiidae).Thegenus
Lotilia
is
monotypic, inotherwords it contains just
