Sabanus bumblebee goby

Brachygobius sabanus

Also known as Sabah bumblebee, Sabanus bumble bee goby

FreshwaterFish

Sabanus bumblebee goby (Brachygobius sabanus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 7.0–8.2
Adult size: 1.2 in (3 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Bornean coastal fresh and brackish waters
Family: Oxudercidae

Overview

This is a very small, boldly banded bumblebee goby for a nano tank with plenty of structure. It is mostly peaceful and social but mildly territorial, so keep a small group among rocks, roots, and caves that split the floor and give each fish a perch to claim. It stays near the bottom, perching on decor between short feeding darts, and it wants small live and frozen foods such as baby brine, cyclops, and microworm, since it usually ignores dry flake. Keep only calm, tiny tankmates. A 40 liter tank with hard water and lots of cover suits a group.

In the wild

In the wild it lives in coastal lowland waters of Borneo and nearby Southeast Asia, from fresh streams down to lightly brackish stretches, among rock and plant cover. To keep it, provide gentle flow, a soft substrate, and plenty of hard structure for perching and territory. It does not require salt, but it likes hard, alkaline water; hold it warm at 24 to 28 C and around pH 7.0 to 8.2.

Good to know

Brachygobius sabanus is a member of the family Oxudercidae, described by Inger in 1958 and named for Sabah in northern Borneo, where it was first found. It is one of the smallest bumblebee gobies, reaching only about 3 centimeters, and it wears the group's black and yellow banding. It feeds on small invertebrates, and while the genus lays guarded eggs, there is no reliable record of this species being bred in the aquarium.

Did you know

It takes its name from Sabah, the Malaysian state on the northern tip of Borneo where it was first collected. At around three centimeters, it is among the smallest of the bumblebee gobies.

Tank mates

Sabanus bumblebee goby is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.