Bumblebee Goby (Brachygobius doriae) Species Profile & Care Guide
The Bumblebee Goby is small and peaceful and has beautiful bright colouring, and prove to be relatively popular to the advanced aquarist.
Bumblebee Goby is a fish that thrives in brackish water, but some aquarists have kept them in freshwater aquariums and have been successful.
This fish can be quite demanding, and they do not do well in a community aquarium, so they are not recommended to the beginner aquarist.
Their body has golden-yellow and dark stripes that go from the head through to the tail, and their head is more significant than its frame. They have fused abdominal fins that form a sucker disk which they use to stick to various surfaces, and they possess front and back soft rays on two dorsal fins. Some species have a blurry, dark spot on their back.
| Quick Facts | |
| Scientific Name | Brachygobius doriae |
| Other Names | Bumblebee Fish |
| Family | Gobiidae |
| Genus | Brachygobius |
| Origins | Southeast Asia |
| Temperament | Semi-Aggressive |
| Aquarium Level | Bottom - Middle |
| Difficulty | Intermediate - Advanced |
| Shoaling | No |
| Best kept as | Groups 6+ |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Reproduction | Egg-Layer |
| Lifespan | up to 4 year |
| Water Conditions | |
| Water Type | Freshwater |
| Temperature | 73 - 79 ℉ (22.8 - 26.1 ℃) |
| PH | 6 .5 - 8.5 |
| GH | 3 - 8 |
| KH | 6-20 |
| TDS | 50 - 160 |
Natural Habitat of the Bumblebee Goby
The Bumblebee Goby can be found in a variety of lowland coastal habitats both freshwater and brackish water including, mangrove swamps, estuaries, tidal creeks and streams running into the sea in Java, Borneo, and Sumatra in the Indonesian Islands.
The water must have a very low acidity level, negligible hardness and minimal conductivity. The substrate consists of silt, mud, clay loam or sand, covered with scattered pieces of mangrove roots, driftwood, shells, decaying plant matter and water-worn rocks.
Other Gobies of interest
Diet
The Bubblebee Gobies are finicky feeders. They may only eat small, live or frozen foods such as daphnia, mosquito larvae, cyclops and small brine shrimp.
If dried food happens to be moving around from the current of the water, they will more than likely eat it, but they will not eat food that floats on the surface.
If possible, have live feed in the tank at all times that move around, or they will ignore it.
Sexing the Bumblebee Goby
It is relatively easy to differentiate males from females.
Males are usually slimmer and have more vivid colours, typically orange rather than yellow.
Females are fatter and may also have smaller, rounder heads.
Breeding the Bumblebee Goby
The Bumblebee goby spawns in small caves which you can make yourself from things like empty tubes, shells and flower pots.
For maximum results, it is advisable to put 6-10 species in an established aquarium and allow them to form their own couples naturally.
You will need to feed this fish a highly diversified diet, raise the water temperature by a few degrees and provide intensive aeration to trigger spawning.
Spawning happens in the cave; the male will choose a place and will wait for a female to pass by.
Once the female is ready, she will swim into the cave and lay up to 200 eggs and will then leave. After this, she takes no part in growing the juveniles.
The male will fertilise the eggs stay in the cave and guard them until the eggs hatch into larvae. This will usually take up to 9 days, and then the fry will be free-swimming several days after that.
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