Cebu orange tail goby

Sicyopus cebuensis

Also known as Cebuensis goby

FreshwaterFish

Cebu orange tail goby (Sicyopus cebuensis) — 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: 1.8 in (4.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 14 gal (54 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Cebu streams, Philippines
Family: Oxudercidae

Overview

Despite looking like an algae grazer, this is a small carnivore, so feed it as a micro-predator instead of expecting it to live on biofilm. It is a peaceful, social fish; keep a small group over cobbles and boulders in a fast tank, and give males space to hold a stone, since they display at one another. It stays on the bottom in the current and takes small meaty foods, so offer frozen and live items such as cyclops, baby brine, and finely chopped bloodworm, drifted into the flow where it can catch them. Keep only calm, small tankmates that will not out-compete it. A 54 liter tank with strong flow, high oxygen, and clean water suits a group.

In the wild

It lives in short, clear mountain streams on the island of Cebu in the Philippines, in fast, cool-leaning, oxygen-rich water running over rock and boulder. Reproduce that with strong current from a powerhead, rounded stones and cobbles for perching and cover, and very clean water changed regularly. Run it at 23 to 27 C with a pH from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline, around 6.5 to 7.8, and cover the tank tightly, since these gobies can climb.

Good to know

Sicyopus cebuensis belongs to the family Oxudercidae and was described by Chen and Shao in 1998 from the Naga River basin on Cebu. It reaches about 4.5 centimeters, and males carry an orange to tangerine tail that gives the fish its name. Unlike the grazing Stiphodon gobies, Sicyopus species are small carnivores that hunt tiny invertebrates. It is amphidromous, with marine larvae and no record of captive breeding.

Did you know

This goby is one of the rarest fish on Cebu, known from only a handful of specimens and feared close to extinction. It has even been discussed for inclusion on the country's list of extinct species after its home streams were degraded.