Congo Killies - PageSuite

SPECIES
SNAPSHOTS
➊ ACENTROGOBIUS VIRIDIPUNCTATUS ➋ NOMORHAMPHUS REX ➌ AEQUIDENS CF. RONDONI ➍
NEOLEBIAS TREWAVASAE ➎ GYMNOTHORAX POLYURANODON ➏ SPINIPTERUS SP. “OTORONGO”
Spotted Green Goby,
Acentrogobius viridipunctatus
AMAZONAS
Acentrogobius viridipunctatus
The gobies and their relatives all over the world
1|
include innumerable species that would be
suitable for freshwater aquariums, but attempts at
their keeping have been made only sporadically, if at
all. Many of these species have not been tried because
they require salt water, at least periodically. In the past
I, too, shared this attitude.
However, these “commuters”—and there are lots
of them among the gobies and their allies—can be very
easily maintained in an appropriate aquarium. Often
only small amounts of sea salt (1–2 g/L) are necessary
to keep these fishes in good condition. Many so-called
brackish-water species even spend long phases of their
lives in completely fresh water. When it comes to reproduction,
and especially the first larval stages, things do
become more complicated—and often saltier (Taxacher
2011a, 2011b). Another factor that is often really
important with regard to the goby tribe is the availability
of live food. These considerations also apply to the species
discussed here, which belongs to the true gobies.
I found and collected Acentrogobius viridipunctatus
in the administrative district of Chantaburi in southeast
Thailand. They were living in a former shrimp-breeding
pool in an area of Nipa Palms with a strong tidal
influence, hiding among stones lying on the otherwise
muddy bottom. The salinity of the water was rather high
at the time of measurement—around 10 g/L. I couldn’t
resist the temptation to pack up some of these gobies
and try my hand with them. They had gorgeous, iridescent
metallic scales on their sides, though this isn’t
reflected to full effect in the accompanying photo.
The bulldog face with the visible teeth suggests
exercising caution about keeping this fish with tankmates,
but so far my Acentrogobius viridipunctatus have
been very peaceful toward tankmates and each other.
Obviously these powerful fish, which measure around 3
inches (8 cm) long, require a certain amount of bottom
space for their territories, but any aggression is well
distributed within the group, and even in a relatively
confined space there are only minor squabbles. And long
periods in completely fresh water present no problems
for this species either. So far there has been no breeding
success—or, more accurately, there have been no
attempts. Acentrogobius viridipunctatus can occur sympatric
with the second species of the genus, A. caninus.
REFERENCES
—Jens Kühne
Taxacher, M. 2011a. Grundeln der Gattung Mugilogobius. AMAZONAS
7 (4), 36: 32–39.
Taxacher, M. 2011b. Kleine Süß- und Brackwassergrundeln aus der
Familie der Gobiidae. AMAZONAS 7 (4), 36: 14–21.
J. KÜHNE
90