Bumblebee gobies are one of the smaller goby species with an adult size of around 1-1.2 inches (2.5-3 cm) for a small beauty of the Fishkeeping aquarium. They get their common name from their Beautiful black and gold striping appearance and compact body shape, which resemble that of a bumblebee.
The true Freshwater Bumblebee Goby (Brachygobius xanthomelas) is a very colorful, engaging, oddball fish that is sometimes available in the aquarium hobby. It originates from Indonesia and inhabits swamps and estuaries in many of the countries in that area. There are several species similar to this fish that are all classified by the same common name. Still, this species is the only one that will consistently thrive in freshwater and is not believed to inhabit brackish areas.
Xanthomelas Behavior
Inhabits both fresh and brackish water, and generally restricted to lowland, coastal environments including mangrove swamps, estuaries, and tidal streams. Substrates thus tend to be composed of mud, sand, and silt with overlying organic material such as leaf litter, mangrove roots, and submerged driftwood.
Some populations inhabit ancient peat swamp habitats with highly-stained, tea-colored water, very low acidity, minimal conductivity, and negligible hardness.
Bumblebee goby Diet
Feeding Bumblebee goby is the hardest part of keeping them. Small live foods like Artemia and Daphnia are quite essential to their diet. It is possible to train them to Frozen Foods, but Dry Foods will almost always be ignored, they only eat food when it is moving.
Bumblebee in Tank
Bumble gobies are a brackish fish, they require some level of salt in their water. However They can survive in freshwater too. Under good conditions they can live in an aquarium for around 5 years.
Minimum Tank Size: 15 gallons
Care Level: Medium
Temperament: Peaceful
Water Conditions: 72° – 84° F (22° – 28.9° C) , pH 7.0- 8.5
Diet: Frozen or live foods such as bloodworms,Mysis, Cyclops, Daphnia, and Tubifex. Will not typically accept dry foods.
Bumblebee goby Tank Mates
Are freshwater bumblebee goby aggressive? Normally They are Peaceful fish. They are territorial and semi-aggressive too but it is nothing serious. They might nip passing fish fins. HOWEVER, they can live in some community tanks depending on their tank mates such as
- mollies
- guppies
- swordtails
- endlers
- Neon
- and Peaceful small fish