Bumblebee Goby

Scientific Name: Brachygobius Doriae.

Synonym /s: B. Doriae, B. Xanthozona ; there are others but the validation of the listed ones and ones not mentioned are highly questioned. Somewhat confused on the whole naming system I must say. I find more things on B. doriae though . B. Nunu is often seen also. There are just so many variants out there but are often just called b doriae.

Common Names: bumblebee goby, gold banded goby, pea goby.

Family: Gobiidae
Subfamily: Gobiinae

Distribution: Southeast Asia

Size: 1-2 inches. Commonly 1 1/3 inches.

Lifespan: Anywhere from 1-2 and a half years. Have seen older specimens but are often short lived and make it to about 2 years.

Behavior: Peaceful most of the time but can be somewhat aggressive every once in a while. With yours it’s really the luck of the draw, sometimes they are ruthless sometimes they are nice. Personally I have had some that will live with knife fish and others will try to kill the knife fish. Don’t under estimate the damage they can do just because of they’re size.

Diet: Live foods are preferred, very fond of black worms and brine shrimp. Will take flake occasionally but should rely on live and frozen foods. Get them on the food you would like to always feed them immediately. Sometimes they are hard to get to eat and once they do they get attached to it and most likely will not eat anything else for a while.

Tank: Can be kept in a tank as small as a tiny one gallon. But a ten gallon is the better choice with these. The best tank to provide them is one that’s again 10 gallons, plenty of java fern, numerous caves, and some snail shells. These fish are of course a brackish water species, an SG level should be kept at about 1.005-1.008. Temp is the same as any other tropical fish and should be maintained around 75-84 degrees.
1 Goby per gallon would be a good stocking rule with a tank 10 gallons and up.

Tank mates: Kind of an iffy situation here. They are best left alone but if Sg levels are low than some small freshwater fish can be kept with them, otherwise tank mates should be brackish fish only. Difference in size should not be great.

Breeding; Breeding is commonly done in a species tank. They are egg layers that usually use snail shells or caves to lay they’re eggs. Multiple caves, high sg levels, a lot of empty snail shells, copious amounts of java fern, and huge water changes will help out greatly. Some people even suggest doing a small freshwater water change, others also say that natural sunlight encourages them. And of course with any fish high quality live foods help greatly, usually live black worms and sometimes brine shrimp usually make them spawn. Eggs are guarded somewhat from the parents but later on after hatching, usually up to 4 days, the babies are independent of the parents.

Others: Bumblebees are a very wonderful and hardy fish, they can live in somewhat bad water conditions but still should be given the best care like ANY other fish or in that matter living being. They are short lived but in that time are heart warming and come with a great personality.