Yellow fin rhinogobius

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a hardy, subtropical stream goby that stays near the bottom and actively wants company of its own kind, so keep a small group with more females than males and enough rock cover that each male can hold a small territory without real fighting. It is peaceful toward other fish but will hunt small shrimp, so treat dwarf shrimp as food rather than tankmates. Good companions are other cool, current-loving fish such as danios and white cloud minnows kept up in the water column. Feed small live and frozen foods like bloodworm, daphnia, and brine shrimp. A tank of around 54 liters suits a group.

In the wild

Rhinogobius leavelli comes from clear, flowing streams in southern China and northern Vietnam, cooler subtropical water that need not be heated in most homes. Keep it at 18 to 25 degrees Celsius with a pH of 7.0 to 8.0, brisk current, and plenty of dissolved oxygen. Furnish the floor with smooth river stones, gravel, and roots that create caves and shaded stations, and change water often to keep it clean.

Good to know

This goby belongs to the family Oxudercidae and reaches about 8 centimeters, which is large for the genus Rhinogobius. The common name points to the fins, which are hemmed in yellow and flush brightest when a male is displaying or defending a site. Spawning follows the usual Rhinogobius pattern: a male cleans the underside of a flat stone, a female attaches her eggs there, and he then guards and fans the clutch until it hatches.

Did you know

Most of its goby relatives send newly hatched young down to the sea before they return upriver. Aquarium leavelli skip that ocean trip entirely, hatching as tiny but fully formed fish that never leave fresh water.

Tank mates

Yellow fin rhinogobius is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.

• Thac Ba minnow

  Tanichthys thacbaensis

  Freshwater

  1.4 in (3.5 cm)14 gal (54 L)64–75°F (18–24°C)
• Pridi loach

  Schistura pridii

  Freshwater

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)

• 

  Butterfly moth catfish

  Erethistes pusillus

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)

• 

  Infrafasciatus killifish

  Epiplatys infrafasciatus

  Freshwater

  2.4 in (6 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)
• Narayan barb

  Pethia narayani

  Freshwater

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)
• Fallax killifish

  Fundulopanchax fallax

  Freshwater

  3.5 in (9 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Mandarin rhinogobius

  Rhinogobius brunneus

  Freshwater

  2.4 in (6 cm)14 gal (54 L)64–75°F (18–24°C)
• Chinese red ninja goby

  Rhinogobius shennongensis

  Freshwater

  2.4 in (6 cm)14 gal (54 L)61–73°F (16–23°C)
• Chiangmai stream goby

  Rhinogobius chiengmaiensis

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)14 gal (54 L)64–75°F (18–24°C)
• Threadfin sicyopterus

  Sicyopterus longifilis

  Freshwater

  3.9 in (10 cm)29 gal (110 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
• Caledonian red nose goby

  Lentipes kaaea

  Freshwater

  2.4 in (6 cm)14 gal (54 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
• Red lip goby

  Sicyopus exallisquamulus

  Freshwater

  2.4 in (6 cm)14 gal (54 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)