Desert goby

Chlamydogobius eremius

Also known as Australian desert goby, Lake Eyre goby

FreshwaterFish

Desert goby (Chlamydogobius eremius) — No machine-readable author provided. Annalog~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 2.5

Care at a glance

Temperature: 64–82°F (18–28°C)
pH: 7.0–8.5
Adult size: 2.4 in (6 cm)
Minimum tank: 16 gal (60 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Beginner
Breeding: Easy
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Endemic to the Lake Eyre drainage of arid central and southern Australia, in artesian springs, bore drains and shallow desert streams.
Family: Gobiidae

Overview

Keep a small colony of one male with two or three females in a tank of 60 litres or more at 18 to 28 C with a hard, alkaline pH of 7.0 to 8.5. Provide rocks, caves and flowerpots as spawning sites and territories. It is hardy and peaceful enough for a species tank or a hard water community with other small, calm fish. Feed frozen and live foods such as bloodworm and brine shrimp along with some algae based foods.

In the wild

The desert goby survives in some of the harshest fish habitats on earth, the springs and bore drains of central Australia, where water can be hot, salty and low in oxygen. It is a small, stocky bottom dweller that perches on rocks and sand. A tank of 60 litres with sand, rocks and caves and hard, alkaline water suits it well. It does not need a heater in most rooms and tolerates a very wide range of conditions.

Good to know

Chlamydogobius eremius is one of the few fishes adapted to Australia's desert spring systems and is remarkably tough. It can tolerate temperatures from roughly 5 to 41 C, a pH up to about 10, salinity from fresh to well above seawater, and very low oxygen, even gulping air at the surface. Males turn dark with bright blue and yellow fin edges when breeding.

Did you know

It is one of the easiest gobies to breed, with the male guarding eggs laid on the roof of a cave and fanning them until they hatch as fully formed fry.