Red Spot Goby - Rhinogobius Rubromaculatus

[cockroach]

I bought a group of 6 of these during summer. So far they have been a pleasure to have and watch settle down. They started out in the hillstream breeding rack but I decided to swap them out with the S. Breviventralis.

The gobies are now in the 20 gal with 7 glowlight danios and 6 horseface loach growouts. This is the first time I have ever bought a group of 6 fish and only got a single male. So there is 1 guy trying to impress 5 ladies and it hasn't worked so far. Although I can see the bellies of the females swollen with eggs, the male just does not seem to be able to woe them. Either that, or he has and the horsefaced laoches snacked on the eggs during the night. This is why I plan to move them soon to the paludarium tank.

I also want to find another male so there is more competition for the males to up their game and the more choice for the females. I added pvc 1" elbows as caves which the males seems to like. When I remove the horsefaced laoches I will see if I can set up some more spawning sites around the tank.

These guys are a LOT milder than R. Cadidianus I have kept in the past. They spar but ever so gently and it is never more than chasing a rival 3-4" away. One of them did go after a glowlight danio which is half it's size and damaged the eye. Since then, everything has been chill.

I do love how they open their mouths when courting or sparring.
The most likely couple (this week). Male in the front on right.



And this is why they call them REd Spot Gobies. The male on his 2 favourite seduction stands. This is not even fully colored up but he is working it.


Even the females sport some sexy spots.


This female was on the way to check out his abode when she got some weird vibes and jumped ship.


The other females often sit and watch the courtship going on.


Head detail on a female. Those lips though.


A not so well hidden Horsefaced Loach.

 

[rayoddballfish]

Such cool fish lol

 

[cockroach]

Thank you. I really enjoy this genus.

Some more of the tank pics.
What the tank looked like before it was rescaped for the gobies and the glowlight danios. The glowlights hid under the branch work or behind the rocks to the point where I thought of getting rid of them. I started reading more and decided to rearrange somethings as I read they are great outgoing fish. Mine were shy, skittish and not near the colors I saw online. The powerhead was great but I felt it was a little too strong for a 20gal and may add another circulation pump in the future.


The rescape sorted a lot of behavior out. The planted wall at the rear gave the glow lights security and the swam in the open more especially with the large space behind the rocks to dart into for cover. I increased the flow rate in a larger sponge filter and this too helped clear up the non stop digging of the horsefaced loaches.


A snail that survived to be large enough not to be eaten. There are very few small snails in the tank as the gobies make short work of them.


The rituals of these little rhinies is interesting to watch. They do so much and are so busy doing nothing really.


The gobies were happy, horsefaced loaches were happy, glowlight danios were happy but not one group was thriving. After spending a few whiskeies, I mean time, watching the tank, especially behavior when the fish are no longer interested in the human in the room, I noticed a few things.
The danios still more or less hugged the hardscape and would dart out if they went to investigate a possible piece of food. But only for a hot second.
The gobies were all going about their business but not settling down like I have seen with the R. Candidianus I kept.


I added the PVC elbows for the male to start having larger hopefully more attractive spawning and territory sights. The male would dig under rocks to make caves but with the rocks being placed on the gravel, they would sink down as soon as he excavated a pit. The PVC pipes were ignored in the beginning. Once they grew a cover of algae the gobies seemed more interested but did not utilize them yet. I half buried each elbow and place one open end against a rock or the glass to create a single entrance. After this adjustment the difference was noted immediately and the male started coloring up and displaying.
Now I wait to see if he will spawn. If not, I have an idea to create more natural sites under the gravel he can dig out and spawn in.

The fish were happy but the glowlight danio behavior irked me and then the anubias plants started getting covered in algae with the sewellia and many snails removed. This lead me to making the last modification. I upped the airflow and added a 90° angle to the outlet. Turning the outlet left with the increased flow gave a slight current that flowed over the planted branch and back around the front glass. This did the trick for the danios and they now swim happily and have colored up to the levels I have seen online. I am happy with the result. Now I hope they breed and provide a live food source for the baby gobies.

The PVC pipes have been half buried in gravel to make then more submerged for a spawn site as well as to increase the depth of the gravel for the horsefaced loaches to dash into for cover.

And the poor little guy that spends his waking hours running around like a single guy in a nightclub.

 

[cockroach]

After a few months and a change in the tank layout. The lone male finally managed to get one of the 5 females interested and to lay eggs.
The were interesting little eggs laid in individual little sacs. Each sac had a sticky end attached to a surface and the other end the actual egg.
The strange thing here is that, despite giving multiple caves and spawning sites, they lid the eggs on the sponge filter airlift plastic pipe.
This was great for viewing but not for the eggs. There is a group of 7 glowlight danios in it that are lightning quick and egg thieves. I am going to try to find a way to move them to the 55 gal paludarium.




This was found in the tank after the spawn was discovered. No idea if it is related or not.



Link to the video

 

[cockroach]

A gravid female and a female in dark spawning colors.

 

[cockroach]

Reposting the video as I posted to the wrong Channel.

 

[cockroach]

These guys never stop. Always one female chasing the rest off. I really need to get another male to give this guy some time off.
Spawning female coloration


Regular coloration on a female


The sit like this in the evenings waiting for food like puppies.

 

[cockroach]

Male has now found a new, better, lair for breeding. Still need to find another male to help out with the ladies. This guy is so busy the females look like they are going to burst waiting for him.


A while ago now, I also found these tiny Schistmatogobius ampluvinculus , or Taiwan Dragon Micro Goby or Dwarf Dragon Goby, whatever people make up to sound cool. They are fun little critters to watch. Surprisingly for their size, they are pretty fearless.

 

[cockroach]

This rack needs to be worked on a bit.
I am toying with the idea of dropping the 6 red spot gobies in the 75g. It will suit them well.
I have no other suitable tank for the horseface loaches so they will remain in this tank and I will scape it more for them.
The tank lost a lot of plants to a newly setup tank.

 

[cockroach]

A pair of the Rhinogobius were moved into the very top tank to see if I could get a successful spawn. The other 4 females were put into the 75gal river tank and are still learning the ropes.
The breeding pair have laid eggs twice but not been able to get to the fry hatching as the eggs are eaten. On the next spawn I will remove the male and female and see if I can get the eggs to hatch.