TankBud

Bumblebee goby

Brachygobius doriae

Also known as Bumble bee goby

FreshwaterBrackishFish

Bumblebee goby (Brachygobius doriae)
Dirk Godlinski · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–82°F
22–28°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
1.6 in
4 cm
Minimum tank
10 gal
38 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Cave spawner
Rarity
Rare
Family
Gobiidae
Origin
Borneo

Overview

The bumblebee goby is a tiny bottom dweller for a fresh or low-end brackish tank. It is a fiddly fish despite its size, and best left to experienced keepers.

Did you know

Many bumblebee gobies will only take moving food. New arrivals can slowly starve in a tank full of flake, which makes getting them to eat the classic stumbling block.

Caring for the bumblebee goby

A small group of bumblebee gobies fits in a tank of 10 gal (38 L). Use a sandy bottom with rocks and roots for hiding, and keep the setup shallow and well filtered. Expect them to set up little territories around the rocks and roots and squabble at the borders.

Keep the water at 72 to 82°F (22 to 28°C) with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Many populations do best with a little salt in the water, so a low-end brackish setup often keeps them healthier long term.

They hunt small live and frozen foods, such as baby brine shrimp, daphnia and bloodworms, and they usually refuse dry flakes. Most keepers get new arrivals going on live or frozen foods first. A touch of salt in the water seems to help them settle and feed.

Keep them with calm tank mates or on their own. Bumblebee gobies are cave spawners, and the male guards the eggs until they hatch.

Good to know

The bumblebee goby belongs to the goby family, Gobiidae. Telling individual Brachygobius species apart is genuinely hard. Fish sold under this name are often a mix of close relatives.

In the wild

Bumblebee gobies come from coastal Borneo and nearby Southeast Asia. They live in estuaries, mangroves and river mouths, where fresh and salt water mix.

Common questions

What size tank does a bumblebee goby need?

A bumblebee goby needs at least 10 gal (38 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a bumblebee goby need?

A bumblebee goby is comfortable at 72–82°F (22–28°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does a bumblebee goby eat?

A bumblebee goby hunts small live and frozen foods, such as baby brine shrimp, daphnia and bloodworms. It usually refuses dry flakes.

How big does a bumblebee goby get?

An adult bumblebee goby reaches about 1.6 in (4 cm).

How does a bumblebee goby breed?

Bumblebee gobies are cave spawners, and the male guards the eggs until they hatch.

Related species