Stiphodon Ornatus, Or not ?

[Yov]

Hello,

I am new to the loaches type. I never had an aquarium that was fit for this type of fish. It is not a 100% perfect now but with my flow of 3000l/h in a 300l aquarium and the back of the thank with alge (never cleaned this window in 2 years?) i think it is possible for me now to hold at least a small group of Stiphodon.

When i found some in the local store (not that easy in Belgium...) i bought al of them.

5 Stiphodon Ornatus. where sold to me! (Breed in captivity.... ) But as i put them in my thank it locks more like i have 2 types of fish. (yes i know the male and female do not realy look alike ) but i was sold 3 females and 2 males. But they "group together" in a group of 3 and a group of 2. The last 2 look allot bigger and fatter than the first 3. I tryed to take pictures of all of them but the bigger ones do not realy show themself yet.

So : Alot of pictures to help me identify the fish .
These are the 3 smallest with aprox 6-7cm.

1

2

3


Crapy picture from above but i think this is one of the bigger fish


this are the 2 bigger together


Many thanks to all for helping me identify the Stiphodon.

Yov

[redshark1]

Hi there and nice fish. I only keep Clown Loaches so cannot shed much light on Stiphodon, but I do know they are Gobies (Gobiidae) and not Loaches (Cobitioidea).

Seriously Fish has an article on them: http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/stiphodon-ornatus/

[Yov]

redshark1 You are absolutly right! Thx.

[Yov]

More Photo's.

They seem to accept dry food? I added algue wafle for the corry's but 4/5 Stiphodon arrived on the scene !

[redshark1]

That's great. They do look very interesting little fish and more than a bit loachy !!

[NancyD]

Well, I have a couple species of stiphodon gobies but am by no means an expert on them. I'm guessing you have a male or 2, & maybe 3 females. Whether they are the same species is hard to say. Where I live species are often mixed, all stiphodon females look similar & get along well. Males need a same species or similar "other male" or females of the same kind to color up well....& even then it's hard to tell.

My gobies eat flakes, small frozen or live foods & Repashy Soilent Green gel food(I don't know if that's available to you).

I think yours are new to your tank & foods. Give them some time to adjust & lots of clean water changes. I keep mine with Sewellia lineolata & gastromyzon hillstream loaches in a 55g, 4ft tank.

[Yov]

Hello NancyD ,

thank you for the response! Yes this is what was told me and i can see by now. I have for sure 3 femailes Stiphodon and 2 males. I can see the mails showing of already now and then. But they still lack colloring. they are in my tank for 4 days in this pictures. It is amazing that they accept dry food ! I know this can not be the main source for them but 2 out of 3 females where extremly thin when i took them home. I see them eat alot (they are craaaaaaazy about the sand bottom in my tank!) This aquarium does not have alot of fish in it so i have alot of micro food's available.

I even saw them poop!

Repashy is not realu available in lokal shops but i can always order online!

[Diana]

You got some nice pictures of your fish!

https://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15686

I know this is a very long thread, but the photography is fantastic, and it has a LOT of great info about Gobies.

I agree with Nancy: females of most species look similar enough that they are usually hard to tell apart. Males can look somewhat different, and are easiest to tell apart when they are in breeding colors.

Seriously Fish is a good site, lots of info about the fish.

[Yov]

Hello Diana,

i have looked at the forum! and it has alot of information! but i as a "noob" in this type of fish it is hard to identify them myself! .

I find my pictures not to be great at all! :p so thx!