JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 ————————————————————————— The Journal of the Classifieds Goby food: Daphnia starter culture, $7 including shipping International Goby Society within the US. All proceeds go to the IGS. Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 Email [email protected]

If you would like to place a goby-related ad in our quarterly newsletter, send or email it to us and we will print it in the next issue. ————————————————————————— Comments, Please We’d like your comments! How do you rate our topic selec- tion, writing quality, and overall quality of our newsletter (and society)? What do you like? What do you dislike? What would you like us to do differently? What topics would you like us to cover in future issues? Please email comments to the editor or write to: International Goby Society P.O. Box 329 Richland Center, WI 53581 USA ————————————————————————— Special Thanks A very special thanks to Prof. Peter Miller, who has been studying gobies for many years and who has kindly agreed to be one of our scientific advisors.

————————————————————————— Cover photos: Top: A pair of strigata, a monogamous goby . Photo by Takahiko Mukai. Bottom: Amblygobius phalaena, a non-monogamous relative of Valenciennea. For more information on these two species see our Goby News feature on pages 20-21.

24 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 ISSN 1543-7744 —————————————————————————————— Vol. 2 # 4, July 2003 The Journal of the International Goby Society (JIGS) is the quarterly publication of the International Goby Society (IGS). Non-profit Introduction (thanks to readers, Gobiodon rivulatus) organizations may reprint articles, however we ask that you contact the Goby Queries (Gobiodon, sexing bumblebee gobies, editor before doing so. Gobioides broussoneti)

Editor: Naomi R. Delventhal The Periophthalmus Species, Part 3 (P. barbarus) [email protected] or [email protected] The Round Goby

International Goby Society, P.O. Box 329, Richland Center, WI 53581, USA ————————————————————————— —————————————————————————————— Back issues available for $3 each (includes shipping). If you Our scientific advisors: would like an electronic copy of the text of a specific article, Dr. Helen K. Larson Indo-Pacific and Australian Gobies Dr. Richard Winterbottom Indo-Pacific Reef Gobies send a request to the editor (no charge). Dr. James L. Van Tassell Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Gobies ——————————————————————————— Dr. Robert A. Patzner Mediterranean Gobies Dr. Peter J. Miller General Gobiology News and Notices —————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————— Contents Newsletter Exchanges The IGS will exchange newsletters with other clubs and Editor’s Introduction……………………………………….3 organizations interested in gobies. If you belong to a group

Goby Queries…………………………………………...….4 interested in exchanging newsletters, send an email to the editor. We can also offer reduced subscriptions to members A Conservation Note on Japanese Freshwater Gobies…….9 of a club if the newsletters are all sent to the same address. By Dr. Takahiko Mukai ————————————————————————— Notice to Authors Mudskippers: The Periophthalmus Species, Part 4……….12 By Richard Mleczko We consider articles on any aspect relating to gobies (suborder Gobioidei); their care and breeding in captivity, Mogurnda mogurnda……………………………………..16 their natural history, etc. If we print an article, the author By Roger Pontes receives credit towards a one year IGS membership. If you have a goby aquarium you would like to see featured in our Goby News…………………………………………...…...20 Goby Tanks section, please send photographs or scanned Volume 2 Index…………………………………………...22 (.jpg) images to the editor. Thank you!! —————————————————————————

2 23 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Volume 2 Index Editor’s Introduction

Recently my mother stopped in at my favorite aquarium store. Vol. 2 # 1, September 2002 “Are you Naomi’s mother?” asked one of the clerks. “Do you Introduction (new features and advice to authors) know anything about gobies? We just got some unknowns. Goby Queries (Tateurndina ocellicauda, striped They’re in the back, being treated for fungus.” gobies, the name ) Desert Gobies: Sneakers, Pink Mutant My mother said she didn’t know anything about gobies, but she Goby News (blind goby, Karsten totoyensis) decided to look at them, because she really does know some- The Pleasures of Watching Gobies Sift thing! Afterwards she described them to me. “They are small and have almost transparent bodies, but their mouths are similar Mediterranean Gobies to those of bumblebee gobies.” I mentioned a number of gobies Goby Tanks (10 gal. with desert gobies) with mouths similar to bumblebee gobies (a rather typical mouth shape for small gobionellines) but none were exactly what she Vol. 2 # 2, December 2002 saw. So the next day I went to see what they were. Introduction (deep-water Priolepis) I am accustomed to being astonished by gobies, but I wasn’t Goby Queries (bumblebee gobies, Cryptocentrus, really expecting what I saw. They were five desert gobies Stigmatogobius sadanundio) (Chlamydogobius eremius), but not the usual desert gobies— The Crested Mud Goby (Cryptocentroides cristatus) they were lacking dark pigments so the general coloration was The Periophthalmus Species, Part 1 pink! Interestingly, the dominant male still had slight yellow Goby Tanks (5 gal. with Brachygobius) shades and some blue on the first dorsal fin. I am usually the Goby News (Protogobius) type of aquarist who likes the way they are found in nature, but I could not resist buying these, as I wanted to see how the mutation breeds. Vol. 2 # 3, March 2003

Introduction (Gobiosoma ginsburgi) Many readers will remember a letter published last year from Goby Queries (Amoya sp., Lythrypnus dalli) Martyn Robinson describing a pink mutant desert goby in a Goby on a Cup display tank. Apparently that was not an isolated case, as they Goby News (microhabitats) are now available in the trade. This is the first example I know The Shortest of Them All of a “fancy” variety of goby being traded - probably few have The Periophthalmus Species, Part 2 been bred because gobies are not highly sought after and are usually difficult to breed. If any readers are aware of other (P. argentilineatus) artificial forms I would be very interested to hear of them! Goby Tanks (Australian natives) Naomi Delventhal 14 November 2003 22 3 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 Goby Queries When fish were experimentally widowed, they would remate very quickly, but usually their new mates were slightly Mystery Gobies, Goby Books smaller than their original mates. Often the new mates had Q. I bought the goby in picture #1 for my mom about 6 been previously mated but abandoned their own former mates which were smaller or had just spawned. months ago. He is sort of goldish-cream color with varying shades of brown markings. He does spend a lot of time on the The researchers discovered that females with larger mates tank bottom, but spend on average less time burrowing and more time feeding. lately, as he has Apparently females benefit by having large mates, since large grown to a whop- males can burrow more efficiently than smaller ones. So it ping 1 1/4 inch, he would be advantageous for females to guard their large mates has been hopping from other females. around from leaf to leaf and spending a Males are able to defend their mates against most intruders. lot of time living Larger females are also preferred by males, presumably on plants. He because of their greater fecundity. Nearby females often doesn't seem to eat spawn simultaneously, which discourages desertion by males. them and is more inclined to dine on live blackworms, live brineshrimp, and frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp. A closely related goby species, Amblygobius phalaena, has a Hopefully you guys have a clue as to what kind of goby he is. different mating system. In this species one large male Any info on him would be welcome as he is a favorite guy. maintains a burrow around a coral head with multiple females living nearby. Unlike female V. strigata, these females do The 2nd drawing is of a "red goby" (this is what the fish store not compete for mates. Because burrow substrate and called them) and the red goby's mate. I was told these guys available males are limited, this species does not exhibit are algae eaters - which they very actively are - however they monogamy. also enjoy live blackworms, brineshrimp, sinking carnivore wafers and algae wafers. I've also seen them eating scraps of For more information see: "sheet" seaweed. They don't seem particularly social with each other, but they also don't fight or chase each other away. Reavis, R.H. and G.W. Barlow. 1998. Why is the coral-reef They are also diggers, but tend to dive into the substrate head- fish () monogamous? Behav. first, instead of grabbing mouthfuls of gravel and spitting it Ecol. Sociobiol. 43: 229-237. out like my white cheek goby. I was told these guys would grow to about 4 inches in length. The male has mahogany red

4 21 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 Goby News fins when he feels the urge to be colorful - otherwise Monogamy in Gobies they are fairly clear. He has a whitish area Aquarists and divers have long observed that certain species under his chin, which of gobies form long term pair bonds. Well-known examples goes completely include Signigobius biocellatus, the twinspot or crabeye goby, white under his belly. and Valenciennea strigata, popularly known has the yellow He is a medium to headed or blue banded goby. In nature, V. strigata live in light grey with pairs. Each pair maintains a territory that contains darker brownish (taupe) stripes. The striping of his fins is burrows for nesting and protection and sandy areas where black which and he has black spots on his back which run the they forage by sifting through large mouthfuls of the length of his body. There are no black marks on his dorsal or substrate. pectoral fins. The female is very white with black markings. She has one iridescent pink spot on the bottom of her gills. One of the traditional explanations for monogamy is that it The only other variation of the black and white color is the facilitates biparental care. Biparental care can be advanta- top of her head, where, level with her eyes and sweeping geous, because if both mates stay together and raise the upward running almost exclusively along her backbone, is a young, theoretically more will survive. But in V. strigata only light grey color. Below this are somewhat v-shaped markings the male cares for the eggs, as is typical of gobies. in black and below that are very fine criss-crossing black, In some , monogamy is associated with lines, which run down the solid black stripe that bisects her limited resources or a shortage of potential mates. The body. She has no visible markings on her fins. Her behavior is advantages of staying together would be that the paired fish much the same as the male, except neither she nor my other could defend a better territory, or that individual fish could be female seems able (or inclined) to darken or lighten her assured of a mating partner at all times. But in a recent study, coloring. Robert Reavis and George Barlow tested the predictions of these models in V. strigata, and suggested an alternative. In I've been looking for a good (or any) goby book for a year and their model, resources and potential mates are abundant, but a half and have yet to find one. If you have any suggestions individual fish guard their mates by chasing away others of (other than the 3 volumes of Baensch Aquarium Atlas), the same sex, thus monogamy is enforced. Using a number of (which I still plan on buying soon, but their info is scattered elegant experiments, they tested the predictions of this model. and sometimes somewhat vague) I'd appreciate it. Christine R. McNeill Flint, Michigan

20 5 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 be fed a minimum of once a day, (3) if you miss a day with the infusoria, you will lose the fry, (4) the fry need plenty of A. First I’d like to commend you for your careful drawings infusoria, (5) when they start growing (and they do grow and thorough descriptions of coloration and behavior. slowly) you will need a magnifying glass to observe them Unfortunately it’s often very difficult (if not impossible) to while they are eating to determine if they are eating the baby identify gobies by their coloration alone. There are over brine shrimp that you are adding to the tank, (6) once they 2000 goby species and it’s not unusual to find species that start eating the shrimp you are “over the hump.” have similar coloration even though they are not closely related. Often these gobies can be distinguished in photo- References graphs by subtle differences in body or head shape, scale size, etc. - characteristics not easy to capture in a drawing. But Allen, G.R., S.H. Midgley, & M. Allen. 2002. Field Guide to sometimes one needs the actual specimen to determine its the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Western Australia Mu- identify. seum.

When I look at picture #1, I see a general color pattern that is Axelrod, H. R. 1967. Breeding Aquarium Fishes. T.F.H. common to many kinds of gobies, even ones that aren’t Publications. Neptune City, New Jersey. closely related to each other. So without seeing the actual fish, I could only make a guess as to what it may be. In fact, Leggett, R. & J. R. Merrick. 1987. Australian Native Fishes for Aquariums. J.R. Merrick Publications, Australia. this is a color pattern that is common to many types of small fishes, for example North American darters, which are Sterba, G. 1969. Freshwater Fishes of the World. The Pet occasionally sold as gobies. (You can distinguish darters Library, New York. from gobies by the presence of a lateral line, a first dorsal fin usually with a longer base, and unfused pelvic fins.) About the Author

Your red goby, however, I am more confident in suggesting Roger Pontes has been an aquarist for approximately 20 years that it is a sicydiine, probably a species of Stiphodon, since and now maintains 70+ tanks. He has bred over 140 species of they often show a high degree of sexual dichromatism (i.e. the fish, which include cichlids, killifish, livebearers, antaban- males and females have different coloration). They also have toids, tetras, catfish, North American natives, rainbows, and, of course, gobies. the general body shape as shown in your drawing. The adults of these small (usually less than two inches) Indo-Pacific gobies typically live in freshwater streams with some current

6 19 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 would Corydoras catfish eggs. As they were scraped off, I collected them into a small plastic container. You guessed it - they all died!

No big thing! During the next 24 weeks I had twenty-two clutches. During this time period I noticed that they need a high protein food - if I fed them live blackworms, I would get a spawn. Allen et al. (2002) report that M. mogurnda spawn during the rainy season (November to March). It’s the old story about fish not reading books, because my fish spawned from February to July (and are still continuing to spawn). Some weeks would be dry weeks with no eggs, but other weeks I would have two batches in one week, so it was pretty obvious that more than one female was involved. They always spawned in the morning (approximately 7:00 - 8:00 A.M). A couple of times I was doing water changes on my Stiphodon percnopterygionus, male (above) and female other tanks and they just went on with their business laying (below), collected from Ogasawara, Japan. Note the sexual eggs as though I weren’t even there. They are different from dimorphism and dichromotism. Photo by Takahiko Mukai. cichlids in that they do not bother to clean off the surface they are laying eggs on. They lay eggs right on top of the algae covered flowerpots, etc.

Whenever they laid eggs on a flowerpot, slate, or filter tube, I removed the eggs. They seemed to have a preference for slate that was leaning against the glass. Sometimes I pulled the eggs the first day, other times the second or third day. I always kept a piece of airline tubing bubbling in the tank holding the eggs.

I tried a number of different approaches to raising the fry - the majority being unsuccessful. In fact, I’m still not sure as to the best formula. My conclusions: (1) You definitely need infusoria to feed the fry when they hatch, (2) the fry need to

18 7 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 Notes on Breeding and feed on a variety of food items, including algae. There are more than two dozen nominal species and new species are The new fish were initially placed with some other species in still being discovered in places such as Papua New Guinea. a 40 gallon tank, with an undergravel filter, some rocks, clay They do well in medium sized tanks with clean water and pots, and a couple of sponge filters. The water parameters were a temperature of 78 degrees and a pH of 7.8. A table- some current. spoon of Kosher salt was added per five gallons of water. Nothing spectacular happened; the M. mogurnda ate, I am not aware of a better aquarium source for goby and they grew. They swam in the lower half of the tank, information than the five volumes of Baensch. (Only the first usually on the bottom of the tank. three are available in English, but the Photo Index includes the species from all five volumes.) I remember a few years According to Axelrod (1967), they will reach a size of as ago, being in your situation, and looking everywhere for good much as 8 inches and begin breeding at 2 inches. When my aquarium books on gobies! I don’t do that much anymore, M. mogurnda were over 4 inches long, I became serious about partly because I’ve read most of the books and kept most of breeding them and placed them by themselves in a 30 gallon the popular species, but even more so because I’ve come to tank. The setup I used for breeding was the same as the 40 gallon; the only difference was that I changed the amount of rely a great deal on scientific works and regional (rather than salt added to their water. I began adding two tablespoons of specifically aquarium-related) books on fishes. These works salt per gallon. However, Sterba (1969) states in his book that often include information on the habitats and life histories of M. mogurnda should be kept in fresh water. Since they also the fishes - information that is directly useful to aquarists. can be kept as brackish water fish, it appears that they may be You should be able to get some of these types of sources kept in a number of different water conditions. through a university library or interlibrary loan. A short time after setting up the breeding tank, I was surprised Some general advice: Keep in mind that many species of to see a clutch of approximately 300-400 eggs each attached gobies have rarely been kept by aquarists. So an experienced by filaments to the glass. It appeared that the male was goby hobbyist learns to make careful observations of fanning the eggs. The way the eggs wavered as he fanned them reminded me of a wheatfield in the wind. In fact, he behavior. Sometimes it’s necessary to experiment with was actually touching the eggs with his pectoral fins. different water conditions, such as salinity, or different foods. However, if your fish are doing well in the conditions you I didn’t want to remove the other M. mogurnda that were in have provided, there is no need to change them! the tank and I was afraid that when the fry hatched they might get lost in the gravel. So I experimented. I took a single edged razor blade and scraped the eggs off the glass like you

8 17 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 Mogurnda mogurnda Mudskippers - The Periophthalmus Species by Roger Pontes Part 4 [email protected] Periophthalmus chrysospilos Over the years I have seen Mogurnda mogurnda for sale in some of the pet stores I have visited. In fact, I have owned By Richard Mleczko them a couple of times, but at these times I was not serious [email protected] about breeding them. Well, approximately a year ago I came across M. mogurnda at a pet store and purchased six of them Species identification: Bleeker 1852. to breed. When I picked out the fish, it appeared to me that Species name: The name chrysospilos is from the Greek the males had more coloring, their colors were more intense, chryso (meaning gold), and spilos (meaning spotted), in and they were larger. Hence, I bought what I thought were reference to the gold or orange spots on the side of the body three pairs, and all indicators suggest that I was success- and head. ful. However, be careful when choosing your fish, because Common names: Gold-spotted mudskipper. the color does vary with each individual and will change Other used names: chrysopilos (misspelling). according to their mood. Distribution: Brackish mangrove and nipa palm areas from

the east coast of India to the Gulf of Thailand and Java Sea. In the Wild Distinguishing features: The first dorsal fin has a long

orange first spike and orange, black and white in the fin itself. These fish are native to the coasts, rivers, creeks and quiet, The second dorsal fin has a red edge followed by a horizontal slow flowing bodies of water of central, northern, and eastern black stipe. The face and body are covered in brilliant orange Australia and New Guinea. There is a great deal of variety (gold) spots. Fused pelvic fins form a sucker disk. within M. mogurnda, and some wild populations, for example Physical characteristics: Typical length range 5 to 16 cm, the Barkly Tableland (Northern Territory) population, may weight 6 to 25 g. First dorsal fin has 7 to 10 spines, second someday be determined to be separate species* (Allen et al., dorsal fin has 12 to 13 elements. Anal fin has 11 to 13 2002). elements. Sexual dimorphism: Males have two long orange primary *Note from editor: For information on the distribution and of spines in the first dorsal fin, females have only one long Mogurnda, see: Allen, G.R. and A.P. Jenkins. 1999. A Review of the orange spine which is shorter than the male's. During the Australian Freshwater gudgeons, Mogurnda (Eleotridae) with Descriptions of Three New Species. Aqua, 3(4):141-156. mating season males develop a red or golden chin. Aquarium suitability: Very good.

16 9 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003

Below: Lake Biwa is the largest lake in Japan and one of the oldest lakes in the world. It is known for its beauty and its many endemic species found nowhere else. Photo by Takahiko Mukai.

Photo by Edward Murdy

Periophthalmus chrysospilos featured in the literature: Compiled by Richard Mleczko

Ip, Y.K., S. F. Chew and W.P. Low. 1991 Effects of hypoxia on the mudskipper, Periophthalmus chrysospilos. Journal of Fish Biol- ogy, vol 38.

Ogasawara, T. et al. 1990. Changes in prolactin cell activity in the mudskipper Periophthalmus chrysospilos in response to hypotonic environment. Zoological Science (Tokyo), vol 8(1).

Low, W.P. et al. 1990. A comparative study of the gill morphome- try in the mudskippers Periophthalmus chrysospilos, Boleophthal- mus boddaerti and Periophthalmodon schlosseri. Zoological Sci- ence (Tokyo), vol 7(1).

Chew, S.F. and Y.K. Ip. 1990. Differences in the responses of two For much more information on Japanese gobies and other mudskippers, Boleophthalmus boddaerti and Periophthalmus chry- gobies, visit the author’s website, Mukai’s Encyclopedia of sospilos to changes in salinity. Journal of Experimental , Goby. Although the text is mostly in Japanese, the site is vol 256. easy to navigate and it is well worth looking at for the photography alone. Ip, Y.K. et al. 1990. Changes in the lactate content in the gills of the mudskippers Periophthalmus chrysospilos and Boleophthalmus boddaerti in response to environmental hypoxia. Journal of Fish http://homepage2.nifty.com/PhD-mukai/ Biology, vol 36.

10 15 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 Chew, S.F. et al. 1990. Can the mudskipper Periophthalmus chry- sospilos tolerate acute environmental hypoxic exposure? Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, vol 8.

Ip, Y.K., S. F. Chew and R. W. L. Lim. 1990. Ammoniagenesis in the mudskipper, Periophthalmus chrysospilos. Zoological Science, vol 7(2).

Low, W.P. et al. 1988. A comparative study of terrestrial adapta- tions of the gills in three mudskippers - mudskippers Periophthal- mus chrysospilos, Boleophthalmus boddaerti and Periophthalmo- don schlosseri. Biological Bulletin (Woods Hole, Massachusetts), vol 175.

Lee, C.G.L. et al. 1987. Environmental effect on plasma thyroxine (T4), 3,5,3’ –triodo-L- thyronine (T3), prolactin and cyclic adeno- Above and below: sine 3’ ,5’ –monophosphate (cAMP) content in the mudskippers Periophthalmus chrysospilos and Boleophthalmus boddarti. Com- Rhinogobius sp. BW (Lake Biwa type) parative Biochemistry and Physiology, vol 87A. This undescribed species lives in Lake Biwa, and unlike some other species, does not travel upstream to rivers. Lee, C.G.L. et al. 1987. Na+, K+ and volume regulation in the mud- Photos by Takahiko Mukai. skipper, Periophthalmus chrysospilos. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, vol 87A.

Polunin, I. 1972. Who says fish can’t climb trees. National Geo- graphic Magazine, vol 141.

Photo by Toru Takita 14 11 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 JIGS Vol. 3 No. 1 November 2003 A Conservation Note on The largemouth bass and the bluegill are outbreaks in Lake Japanese Freshwater Gobies Biwa, an ancient Japanese lake which has many endemic fishes, and some cyprinids have decreased. This case is By Dr. Takahiko Mukai similar to the Nile perch in Victoria Lake, but, fortunately, the endemic gobies (Rhinogobius sp. Lake Biwa type and Bioscience Bldg. 102, Department of Integrated Biosciences, Gymnogobius isaza) have survived, at least for the present . Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba277-8562, Japan Literature: [email protected]

Yodo T. and S. Kimura. 1998. Feeding habits of largemouth ome of the most problematic invasive species in Japan are S bass Micropterus salmoides in Lakes Shorenji and Nishinoko, introduced sunfishes (family Centrachidae). These species eat Central Japan. NIPPON SUISAN GAKKAISHI 64: (1) 26-38 many native fishes and insects (e.g. endemic dragonflies), and cyprinid fishes are decreasing in areas where they are present. (In Japanese, with English abstract.) A report from Miyagi Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station (http://www.pref.miyagi.jp/naisuisi/ (in Japanese)) showed that Acheilognathus typus (a cyprinid), Oryzias latipes (the ricefish), Rhinogobius sp. and Gymnogobius castaneus (sensu Stevenson, 2003) had disappeared in the research capture since largemouth bass appeared. Major goby species in the Japanese inland waters include those of the genera Rhinogobius, Tridentiger and Gymnogobius. G. castaneus is the smallest and most limnetic one, thus this goby species may became the easiest prey to the sunfish.

After a native community was changed by introduced predators, Rhinogobius sp. (orange type) populations usually survived, but the gobies were eaten by the bass (Yodo and Gymnogobius isaza, a goby native to Lake Biwa. Kimura, 1998). There are a number of other fisheries reports Photo by Takahiko Mukai. about the impacts on native communities, but all of them are written in Japanese.

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