Birdsong goby

Stiphodon surrufus

Also known as Surrufus dwarf goby

FreshwaterFish

Birdsong goby (Stiphodon surrufus) — 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 in (2.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Leyte streams, Philippines
Family: Oxudercidae

Overview

This is a near-nano algae grazer, one of the smallest stream gobies kept, so build the whole tank around its size and feeding. A peaceful, sociable fish, it does best in a group of five or more over rounded stones, with males left a little extra space to stake out grazing patches. It lives on the bottom and scrapes biofilm from hard surfaces, so it needs a mature, film-covered layout rather than flake food, and it will starve in a brand new or over-clean tank. Give it gentle to moderate flow, high oxygen, and only tiny, calm tankmates that cannot out-compete it. A 40 liter tank that has run long enough to grow algae is the right home.

In the wild

It comes from short, clear streams on Leyte in the Philippines, among boulders in swift, oxygen-rich water close to the coast. The streams stay warm and run bright over stone coated in the algae and diatoms the fish rasps for food. To copy that, run a shallow, stony tank with steady current from a powerhead, strong lighting to feed the biofilm, and frequent water changes. Aim for warmth of 23 to 27 C and a pH anywhere from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline, between 6.5 and 7.8.

Good to know

Stiphodon surrufus belongs to the family Oxudercidae and was described by Watson and Kottelat in 1995 from Leyte. It matures at around 2.5 centimeters, which places it among the smallest amphidromous gobies known. The name surrufus points to a faint reddish tint. Like other Stiphodon it is a dedicated algae grazer with spatula-shaped teeth, and it has no meaningful record of aquarium breeding, since the larvae naturally wash to sea to develop before the young climb back up the streams.

Did you know

At roughly two to two and a half centimeters, it is one of the smallest amphidromous fish known, small enough to rest on a fingertip. Its life still includes a drift to the sea as a larva and a climb back upstream as a juvenile.