Chlamydogobius eremius
The Desert Goby
by David Wilson
First published in Tank Talk, Canberra and District Aquarium Society, Australia
Aquarticles
About three months ago, I was lucky enough to be given twelve half-grown specimens of Chlamydogobius
eremius, the Desert Goby, through the contacts of Andy Wattam. I believe the wild
caught specimens came from somewhere in the vicinity of Alice Springs in the Northern
Territory, by vicinity I mean within a few hundred kilometres. When first obtained they
all looked the same, a drab mottled brown and grey colour about 45 mm. long.
Desert Gobies grow to about 60 mm. long and are usually mottled brown, grey and olive
green in colour. They are bottom dwelling fish which prefer shallow water because they are
forced to. The little fellows evolved without a swim bladder, and to remain in midwater
they swim constantly in a headup fashion. As soon as they stop swimming they sink back to
the bottom.
When the male Desert Goby decides it is time to find a mate, settle down and raise a
family, the colour change is dramatic. They change from their normal colouring to an
overall olive green which lightens to yellow on the head. The head grows larger in
proportion to that of the rest of the body when compared to the female. The pectoral,
second dorsal, anal and caudal fins become black fringed with a narrow border of stark
white. The first dorsal fin becomes royal blue and yellow fringed with a narrow border of
black. Picasso couldn't have done better if he had designed the colour scheme, which is
truly a magnificent sight.
Water conditions are not important, according to Merrick and Schmidal's book Australian
Freshwater Fishes they will live in distilled water through to marine conditions.
Temperature tolerances are from 5 to 41 degrees C and they are often found in artesian
springs and bores where the water is so hard you can almost walk, on it. Any creature that
makes its home in Central Australia has to be this tough.
The specimens I had were put into an aquarium of 160 litres with aged tap water, about
four desert spoons of marine salt and one of Epsom salts. The water was kept at 22 degrees
C and they were fed chopped earthworms, frozen Artemia salina (Brine Shrimp), pea
and prawn puree, live Daphnia magna, and flake food. They have huge appetites for
their size and grow very quickly.
Rocks with spaces underneath to form caves were placed in the aquarium and soon some of
the fishes, the males, began to change colour. The females' bellies began to swell and the
males' heads grew larger. Early one morning one of the male's colours had intensified and
he was darting in and out of his cave chasing the other males away. When a female came
near his cave entrance, he would try to entice them into his cave by erecting his fins,
wagging his whole body then swimming back into his cave hoping that she will follow.
After a couple of days of this behaviour, one females would follow him into the cave
then swim straight of the back out again. Unfortunately, time didn't allow me to stay and
watch. After eight hours (normal period spent at place of employment) the rock was lifted
up and there was a patch of about 150 oval shaped eggs hanging from the ceiling of the
cave and attached by little short threads. This first spawning went fungoid and I think it
must have been infertile.
The second spawning was taken away from the male after about six days when the eyes
were clearly visible and placed in a small 15 litre aquarium. After about eight days they
started to hatch. It took about another five days before every egg case was fee of its
occupant. The fry were very large and easy to feed. They took Turbatrix aceti
(Vinegar Eels) and Anquillula glutinus (Microworms) as a first food and were
eating Brine Shrimp within a week. They grew quickly and always seem to be looking for
something else to eat.
The male guarding the eggs allows other females to enter his cave and up until the last
time I looked, under his rock, there were about 1000 eggs, all in various stages of
development.
Anyone with a community aquarium which has some space for a bottom dwelling species
should include some Desert Gobies. Their antics and some of the positions they get
themselves into will keep you amused. They are peaceful towards other fish, and the males
that have a cave to protect only chase fishes that come within a few inches of their home
and even then only chase them a very short distance before returning to their cave.
Editor's Note: Desert Gobies will always hold a special place in my
fishy memories. They were the first of nearly a thousand points worth of fish that Julie
and I bred, yet I will never forget them. They deserve better than to have been totally
forgotten by Canberra’s aquarist community. For those interested, TFH magazine of
August 1988 has an excellent article by Deborah and Rodney Ralph, former Society Treasurer
and President respectively, which has some photos of Deborah’s of Desert Gobies in
various stages of their lives.
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