Glass goby

Gobiopterus chuno

Also known as Chuno goby

FreshwaterFish

Glass goby (Gobiopterus chuno) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 6.5–7.8
Adult size: 1 in (2.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: South and Southeast Asian lowlands
Family: Oxudercidae

Overview

This is a tiny, see-through goby that breaks the usual goby habit of sitting on the bottom and instead hovers midwater in a loose school. It is a schooling fish, so keep a good group, at least eight to ten and more if you can, since lone fish and small groups fade and hide. It is mostly peaceful and far too small to bother anything, but it is easily out-competed, so give it equally tiny, gentle tankmates or a tank of its own. It feeds on very small live and frozen foods such as baby brine, cyclops, and microworm, which it picks from open water. A gentle, mature tank of around 40 liters suits a school.

In the wild

In the wild it hangs midwater in the slow, lowland reaches of rivers, backwaters, and swamps from India across to Southeast Asia, in fresh and sometimes lightly brackish water, feeding on drifting zooplankton. Recreate that with a calm, well-planted tank, gentle filtration that will not draw in such a small fish, and soft, diffuse light. Keep it warm at 24 to 28 C and from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline, near pH 6.5 to 7.8, with very clean water.

Good to know

Gobiopterus chuno is a member of the family Oxudercidae and was described by Hamilton in 1822. It is one of the smallest fish kept, maturing at around 2.5 centimeters, and its body is almost fully transparent, showing the spine and internal organs through the flesh. Unusually for a goby it swims freely in open water rather than resting on the bottom. It feeds on tiny plankton, and there is no established record of it breeding in aquaria.

Did you know

Most gobies perch on the bottom, but this one is a glassy midwater schooler you can nearly see through, its backbone and organs visible inside a body barely two and a half centimeters long.