Papua red goby

Lentipes multiradiatus

Also known as Multiradiatus goby

FreshwaterFish

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: Northern New Guinea streams
Family: Oxudercidae

Overview

This is a small climbing goby for a fast, clean stream tank, an active bottom dweller that grazes biofilm and hunts tiny invertebrates. Peaceful and social, it wants a small group over cobbles and boulders, with displaying males given room to hold territory so disputes stay to flaring. It works the current near the floor, so offer small frozen and live foods such as cyclops, baby brine, and finely chopped bloodworm, and let film grow on the rockwork. Keep it cool-leaning, clean, and moving, and pair it only with calm, current-loving tankmates. Around 54 liters with high flow, high oxygen, and cool-leaning water suits a group.

In the wild

In the wild it lives in clear streams draining the north coast of New Guinea, in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, clinging to rock in cool-leaning, oxygen-rich water that tumbles over stone. Recreate that with strong flow, smooth boulders and gravel, high oxygen, and very clean water. Keep the tank at 23 to 27 C and hold the pH from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline, near 6.5 to 7.8.

Good to know

Lentipes multiradiatus is a sicydiine goby in the family Oxudercidae, described by Allen in 2001. It reaches about 4.5 centimeters, and displaying males flush bright red across the rear half of the body, which gives the fish its common name. The name multiradiatus means many-rayed, a reference to its fin-ray count. It is amphidromous, and its marine larvae leave no practical record of it spawning in tanks.

Did you know

A displaying male lights up as if dipped in paint, the front half plain and the back half glowing red. The scientific name looks elsewhere, though: multiradiatus means many-rayed, counting fins rather than colors.