THE RED-THROATED GOBY - Rhinogobius wui

by Kathy Jinkings

If you pass all the aquariums in the shop with only a quick glance, you might well miss one of the most interesting and endearing little fish around. This little brown Goby blends in well with natural coloured gravel, and spends most of its time at the bottom of the tank. With such a description you might well wonder why on earth you would want such an unobtrusive fish, but once you have a few in the aquarium it is very easy to become anthropomorphic about them and believe them to have real personalities.
The males assume a much more attractive colour once they are in the mood for spawning (which is all the time once they have settled in) and become a dark chocolate brown with white markings and a bright red throat. Originally hailing from China, these undemanding little fish will settle into both temperate and tropical aquaria, and as they grow to just under two inches most aquarists will be able to find the space for a trio.

Although not good swimmers, they bound actively across the gravel, play 'king of the castle' with one another on rocks, and perch in the plants peering down like dragons in mediaeval illustrations. Perhaps this gives rise to their other common name of 'dragon Goby' (which is a name also applied to another, much larger, totally different fish, so buyers should make very sure which one they are getting - the other one is big and purple). Males display to one another and to the females by throwing their heads back and inflating their red throats. In spite of their constant displays, these are peaceful fish, and will do no harm to members of their own species or other community fish. Like all gobies, they need a high protein diet, and although they will sample flake food occasionally much prefer Bloodworm or other meaty foods - frozen is quite adequate, although live foods are even better.

They spawn easily in the aquarium; all you need is a good supply of live foods, a few flat stones on the floor of the tank, and a pair of gobies! The male excavates a hole underneath one of the stones, and eventually persuades a female to deposit between ten and fifty large eggs on the 'ceiling'. When the female leaves, the male seals up the entrance with gravel and settles down to tend the eggs in isolation for around fifteen days. When the tiny fry hatch they still have large yolk sacs attached, but as soon as these are absorbed will enthusiastically stuff themselves on brine shrimp nauplii.

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