Blackbelly Dwarfgoby

Eviota atriventris

Also known as Black Belly Nano Goby, Neon Eviota, Blackbelly Dwarf Goby

SaltwaterFish

Blackbelly Dwarfgoby (Eviota atriventris) — Rickard Zerpe · CC BY 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–79°F (22–26°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 0.8 in (2 cm)
Minimum tank: 5 gal (19 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Common
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Western Pacific (Indonesia to southern Japan and Queensland)
Family: Gobiidae

Overview

This is a peaceful fish that hops between perches and darts out to grab passing food. Captive-bred stock accepts small pellets, Calanus, and baby brine shrimp, and several small feedings a day suit it better than one big one. Keep it singly or in a small group, with small, calm tankmates that will not treat it as food.

In the wild

In the wild this dwarfgoby perches on hard bottom in shaded spots near branching coral, usually between 3 and 20 meters down on western Pacific reefs. It holds a small home range rather than roaming, so even a pico tank with rockwork and a few dim ledges covers its needs. Keep the flow gentle, because a fish under two centimeters gets shoved around by strong pumps.

Good to know

Greenfield and Suzuki described the species in 2012 from Palau, after years of it being lumped in with the similar Eviota nigriventris. The name joins the Latin words for black and belly, for the dark patch on its abdomen. The genus runs on a famously fast clock, and one relative, Eviota sigillata, holds the record for the shortest known vertebrate lifespan at 59 days.

Did you know

Biota raises this species in Palau, the same island group where the first scientific specimens were collected in 2012, so captive-bred fish now ship from the doorstep of the reefs that made it official.