Neon Goby

SPC

Premium Member
Hi Henry, great aticle in this months magazine. I have read where the life span of the Neon Goby is only about a year, do you agree with this?
Steve
 
steve

it is extremely difficult to determine the age of a fish once past the juvenile stage (usually around 6 months of age). up to this age, fish age can be exactly identified, even down to the day they were spawned using "ooliths." these ooliths (3 in total) are tiny calicum carbonate structures responsible for balance and sound detention. the protiens within these ooliths are extremely similiar to growth rings on trees. unfortunitely, once past 6 months of age, these ooliths are of little help, and biologists don't have any other accurate way of measureing a fish's age. most common is the length-frequency analysis, which is unfortunitely also the least effective method. a tag and recapture method can be helpful, but again, has shortcomings. simply put, we don't have any accurate way of measuring the age of fish once they've become adults.

a few simple generalizations can be made, however. first off, the larger the fish, the longer it lives; and thus conversely the smaller it is, the shorter it lives. warm water fish also seem to have a shorter lifespan than cold water species.

now, even though we cannot get an exact age, i must disagree with the notion that Gobiosoma sp. have a 1 year lifespan. i suspect the fish can live up to 3 or 4 years old, but i doubt they can live any older. FWIW, have several Gobiosoma sp. that are over 2 years old. we'll see how long they can hold on :)

FWIW, some biologists believe that the smallest gobies and blennies live a single season, while the oldest known reef fish is also the largest, Epinephelus itajara, or the jewfish, being aged to 37 years.

HTH

henry
 
Goby compatibility

Goby compatibility

Mr. Schultz,

Your compatibility chart listed damselfish as a no no with Gobiosoma. Does this hold true for clownfish?

Thanks!

Laura Boyle
 
clownfish should be fine, but again it will depend on the species of clownfish, and whether the clownfish have setup camp in a host.

HTH

henry
 
Henry,

Thank you. I was considering (still in the planning stages) a pair of Amphiprion ocellatus. No host anemone - I'm not experienced enough to try that yet.
 
hi lauara

do you mean Amphiprion ocellaris?

clowns do not need an anemone to be a host in a captive aquarium. i've seen them use soft corals and LPS as hosts.

henry
 
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