Annie's goby

Stiphodon annieae

Also known as Annieae neon goby, Annie's dwarf goby

FreshwaterFish

Annie's goby (Stiphodon annieae) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 6.5–7.8
Adult size: 1.2 in (3 cm)
Minimum tank: 14 gal (54 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Common
Origin: Halmahera streams, Indonesia
Family: Oxudercidae

Overview

Stiphodon gobies eat biofilm off stone, so the tank has to be mature before they arrive: a bare, newly cycled setup starves them regardless of what you feed. Keep a small group in a 54 liter river tank with strong flow, smooth cobble and bright light to grow algae on it. Males hold small grazing patches and display at each other without damage. Supplement with algae wafers and frozen cyclops once they settle.

In the wild

Stiphodon annieae comes from clear, fast streams on Halmahera in eastern Indonesia, running over stone in strong light. Keep it at 23 to 27 degrees Celsius and pH 6.5 to 7.8, with high flow and high oxygen. Like all Stiphodon it is amphidromous in the wild, with larvae washing to sea and juveniles climbing back upriver.

Good to know

Stiphodon annieae reaches about 3 centimeters. Males carry an electric blue body against a dark back and can switch the color off in seconds; females are a plain striped brown, as in most of the genus. It will not breed in a tank, since the larvae require salt water and a long drift, so every fish in the trade is wild caught.