Rainbow Gobies

Popped into MA just before xmas and was delighted to discover they were stocking rainbow gobies. I'd previously researched them as I really wanted some and I now have a pair but I think I'll get another female.

They're doing a great job on the brown algae which is still a bit of a pain and are settling in nicely. They like courgette too it seems, eating the green skin rather than the flesh and they do eat catfish sinking pellets too. I've also noticed them hoovering up any flaked food that sinks to the floor.

The male seems to have decided he owns the front centre of the tank where there's a large flat pebble I use to feed the otos on. He doesn't seem bothered by the either the otos or the corys but does chase the female off. I'm going back to MA Saturday so I'll have a chat with one of the guys there who I know owns some himself. He's got 2 pairs so I'll see if he's noticed any territoriality in the ones he's got.

Oh the other thing is that the males dig... a lot, thankfully he's sticking to the front of the tank which doesnt have plants.

Now my stiphodons have settled in, I think they are atropurpureous. The male looks just like the photo on Seriously Fish. They like digging too, mainly under the flat stones 

They look nice fish.

I asked at my next to nearest MA about stiphodons, after reading on here about people getting theirs from MA, and they didn't know what I was talking about 

They've got cobalt blue gobies  listed in their fish database Sue, this was the first time I'd seen rainbow gobies since I started fish keeping though.

I know what you mean Simon, the males don't really show their colours until they move. You got any aggression issues with those males? Mine keeps chasing the female away.

They've got cobalt blue gobies listed in their fish database Sue.

I'd seen them there which is why I went to the branch but couldn't find any so asked. The chap I spoke to didn't really know what I was talking about but it is the manager's job to order fish off their list so if he had never ordered any the staff would never have seen any.

The chap at the shop I got my stiphodons from said they were cobalt blue gobies, which are S semoni according to Seriously Fish. But in the flesh they look more like S atropurureus, blue neon gobies because of the spots in the fins. I definitely have one male, but I can't decide if the other is a female or sub-dominant male. I only have 2 because that's all that were left.

I'll try to photograph the stiphodons then we can all have a game of "ID the fish" 

Practical Fishkeeping Feb 2016 edition has an article on these very fish - pgs 8-13.

The PFK article describes gobies/stiphodons as "near impossible to breed" (all sold are wild-caught), "demanding in their requirements" (specifics on this in the article), and that they fall roughly into two types - the more sluggish variety have a much larger first/frontal dorsal fin with a long and curved leading edge "possibly adorned with a trailing, erect 'antennae'" but the more hardcore ones have a rounded dorsal fin without "an adorning 'whisp'".

There are now 36 identified species, with the S.simoni and S.ornatus ones being the most common, but the naming process is rapidly developing - being added to and also changing. The article mentions that they can be traded under different names or that seemingly similar fish may actually be different species, due at least in part to regional variations - this is probably key info in light of some of the queries above. Some are possible to be kept in community tanks eg S.atropurpureus and S.semoni have been seen in rainbowfish tanks. Profile details are only available on the most likely species to be sold - the S.ornatus (rainbow Stiphodon - grows to 7cm max, slow water dweller, females drabber-coloured than the extreme colour changes capable of males) and S.semoni (cobalt blue goby, also known as Sumatran goby or freshwater neon goby - grows to 5cm max, faster water dweller, colourful all year round, and more expensive than the former).

Looking at the pics on this thread and comparing them with the two profile pics in the magazine article, I'm struggling to identify the fish pictured here and identify which they are eg the article pics look as though the S.ornatus has a strong, bold dark line the length of its body (midway down its body) whereas the S.semoni looks as though the colours are less bold and slightly more 'mottled'. On the basis of this, I'd say Simon's pics look slightly more on the patterning of the S.semoni and Sue's more similar to the patterning of the S.ornatus. However, this patterning may just be a feature of those particular article pics, and, having never kept gobies, I don't think I'm in any way qualified to comment.

Hope that helps, even if just a little. Lots more interesting info in the PFK article.

I had a look at SF after my earlier posting. It has more detail about the different species. The pics there are quite different from the pics in PFK, to the extent that any attempt to identify the fish on this thread has left me confused.

The pic of the S.semoni in PFK looks like a cross between it and the S.atropurpureus on SF but the blue is more subtle. No mention in PFK about blue being all down the body, but the pic has blue the full length of the body (and also a dark golden colour).

The pic of the S.ornatus in PFK looks nothing at all like the one on SF. In PFK, the pic is mainly golden the length of the body, with the contrasting dark band the length of its body. There is a possible blue patch on the underside of the fish but I think it is more likely a shadow.

SUBSEQUENTLY EDITED TO ADD:
I see that Seriously Fish actually has a series of pics for each species, not just the main pic, and it shows vast variation within a species eg: the S.ornatus in PFK looks like the pic of SF's female one.

I have come to the conclusion, based on Seriously Fish's photos, that I have a male S. atropurpureus (labelled A in my photos) and a male S. semoni (labelled B). In particular, the patterning of the dark edges of the scales look like the pics on SF. And SF's photos show females with definite black stripes which neither of mine have.

I want to go back to the shop for something else but I will see if they have any more stiphodons and get some females if they have. I see no interactions between the two I have and after reading Fiona's post, it makes me more convinced that I have 2 males.