Brachygobius xanthozona – Bumblebee Fish

Brachygobius xanthozona or Bumblebee Fish, is a funny little goby. Unfortunately not really suitable for the community aquarium.

()

Brachygobius xanthozona – Bumblebee Fish

Brachygobius xanthozona has a common name that resembles its appearance: Bumblebee Fish. They are part of the family Gobiidae (gobies). Brachygobius means small goby, and xanthozona refers to the yellow stripes. The species was described in 1849 by Bleeker .

Synonyms: Gobius xanthozona, Brachygobius xanthozona, Hypogymnogobius xanthozona, Hypogymnogobius xanthozonus.

Description

The shape of the fish is somewhat similar to that of a bee, and its colors reflect this resemblance as well. It has a yellow base color adorned with typically four black vertical stripes. The first stripe runs over its head, passing the eye. Two additional stripes extend over the body and partially continue into the fins, while the last stripe ends at the beginning of the tail fin. Some specimens may feature a few black spots between the black stripes. As the fish ages, the black color tends to fade, allowing the yellow to become more prominent.

Males are slightly smaller than females, measuring 3 centimeters compared to the females’ 4 centimeters. Additionally, females have a somewhat thicker belly. During the mating season, male coloration becomes more vibrant than that of the females; however, this difference is only noticeable once they reach adulthood.

Just because gobies are typically bottom-dwelling fish doesn’t mean they exclusively inhabit the bottom of your aquarium. They can often be found resting between or on sheltered leaves, clinging to the back wall, or lying on the bottom when sufficient shelter is available. They use their specially adapted pelvic fins to grip these surfaces, allowing them to hold on for hours.

Brachygobius xanthozona is territorial. They will chase conspecifics out of this territory outside of the breeding season. Other species are generally ignored completely.

Biotope

The Bumblebee Fish is a brackish water species found in the mouths of streams, brooks, and rivers in the Philippines, Borneo, Java, and Sumatra. This fish thrives in areas where fresh water from rivers mixes with salty seawater. It primarily inhabits waters with a light salt content, having a specific gravity ranging from 1.002 to 1.008. For comparison, fresh water has a specific gravity of 1.000. The increase in specific gravity occurs due to the dissolution of salts, which can be measured using a densimeter.

Due to the tides, the salt content will vary significantly. To increase the salinity of our fresh water, it is essential to use a high-quality salt that is suitable for seawater aquariums. Additionally, you can add calcium, minerals, and trace elements to provide all the necessary building blocks for the species to remain healthy.

In the wild, they are found in river mouths, where they live among stones, sand, gravel, and wood. Plants are rarely encountered in brackish water.

Diet

Dry food is typically not consumed by Brachygobius xanthozona. In fact, they primarily eat live or frozen foods such as artemia, tubifex, black and white mosquito larvae, cyclops, and water fleas.

They are not fast swimmers and are easily chased away by more dominant species, so make sure there is enough left for them.

Brachygobius xanthozona is actually not suitable for a community aquarium and should be housed in a special brackish water aquarium. Because they are easily chased away and do not swim very fast, they starve pretty quickly in a community tank.

The aquarium can be decorated with stones, driftwood, and gravel. It’s important to provide enough hiding places so that each fish can establish its own territory. Keeping plants in brackish water can be challenging, and many will struggle to survive. While Java fern and Vallisneria spiralis may last for a time, they will eventually perish.

Breeding aquarium and conditioning

Successful breeding instances of Brachygobius xanthozona are quite rare. Where breeding has been successful, a special brackish water aquarium has been utilized, housing a group of Brachygobius xanthozona. It is important to provide tubes, about 3 centimeters in diameter, placed between the stones and wood on the aquarium floor, where the female can lay her eggs.

The spawn

When the water is changed, the male fish become a more vibrant yellow and aggressively chase away other males from their territory. They also pursue females for an extended period. This change in water conditions partially stimulates spawning behavior. The female lays her eggs underneath a stone, on a piece of wood, or in a small hole. After the spawning process, the male chases the female away. Typically, they lay about 50 to 75 eggs at a time.

Raising the fry

The male fiercely guards the eggs, actively chasing away the female, other members of his species, and even other species. Using his pectoral fins, he fans fresh water over the eggs, which hatch after six or seven days. During this entire time, he is too busy to eat.

Once the fry have hatched, you can begin feeding them finely ground-boiled egg yolk, infusoria, and micro-nematodes. After about a week, they will be large enough to eat artemia. It’s important not to start with artemia right away, as they are too large for the young Brachygobius xanthozona immediately after hatching.

Conclusion

Brachygobius xanthozona is not typically a suitable species for a community aquarium, despite being commonly found in the trade. While they can be kept at home and even bred, this is generally recommended only for those who are willing to establish a brackish water aquarium specifically for this species.

Video

Author

John de Lange

Copyright images

John de Lange

Resources

Fishbase.org
Wikipedia

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Additional information

Family

Genus

Species

xanthozona

Synonym

Gobius xanthozona, Hypogymnogobius xanthozona

Common name

Bijtje

First described by

Pieter Bleeker

Character

Social behaviour

Breeding behaviour

Diet

Min. aquarium length in cm

40

Zone

Origin

Country

,

ecosystem

Minimum length

3

Length maximum

4

Temperature minimum

24

Temperature maximum

29

pH minimum

7.5

pH maximum

8.5

GH minimum

12

GH max

20