# Neon blue goby- Stiphodon atropurpureus



## blink (Feb 22, 2012)

I bought one but I don't think he did well as I haven't seen him in quite some time. Rather unfortunate as he was a nice looking, lively addition to the tank.


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## SpecGrrl (Jul 26, 2012)

Cute naman!

It's a Pinoy fishy!


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

woah... pretty dude!


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## Bluek24a4 (Mar 16, 2010)

That's a great looking fish. 

May I ask how much it set you back?


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Bluek24a4 said:


> That's a great looking fish.
> 
> May I ask how much it set you back?


They had him listed @ $11.00 - My price was $9 :biggrin:


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## Bluek24a4 (Mar 16, 2010)

Nice. I would definitely contemplate buying those if I saw them for $9 or $11.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Bluek24a4 said:


> Nice. I would definitely contemplate buying those if I saw them for $9 or $11.


 yes, I like them when I saw them to. I ended up waiting 3 wks which was good as they had time to assimilate. I'm sure they are a wild caught fish.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Nice! 

I've heard that they're good algae eaters but never witnessed this myself.


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## aposterprises (Sep 19, 2009)

I have a few and love them. They are very active and extremely curious. 










When I first got them I put them in my community tank thinking they would be a good algae eater. While they did snack on the algae, it was obvious they were not getting sufficient nutrition. They were slowly wasting away.

So, I moved them to my Blue Pearl shrimp tank in which I encourage algae growth. The extra algae helped keep them alive, but just barely.










While they do enjoy algae, they will not flourish on it alone. I highly suggest Repashy Soilent Green food. 

Since I started feeding them this aufwuchs gel they have gotten fat, happy and show beautiful colors.


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## Algae Beater (Jun 3, 2011)

awesome! i had a few of these about 2 years ago. I had to sell them in a move. 

I now keep Lipstick stiphodon Gobies (predatory) in my 57 gallon.


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## NEWBIE1985 (Jan 7, 2012)

Hi Dogfish, which LFS did you get that from?


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

NEWBIE1985 said:


> Hi Dogfish, which LFS did you get that from?


Ditto! Trying to find a good one in the city.


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

i sell these as well. Please note, they have high oxygen needs and are aufwuchs grazers. They need algae and microcrustaceans to really thrive, or a good replacement like Soilent green. They have a need for a lot of dissolved oxygen, so a power head is a good idea, or at least a high turnover rate (current is not as important and the amount of dissolved oxygen).


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

I love these little guys! So much personality for a freshwater fish. Easily as cool as any of the marine gobies.

Makes me want to turn my 12gal long into a goby tank.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

So far my new Goby has dug a itself a Hobbit Hole under a rock. I've watched it biting at the rock surface, hopefully that was eating some micro sized food. I've got some Soilent green on the way. 

The digging is concerning as this is a dirtied tank. Hopefully I won't have a repeat of the Zipper loach incident, they dug into the MTS layer in several spots and trashed my tank. Maybe the Goby will not be as industrious.


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

Gobies are notorious burrowers


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

My guy (?) is doing well. Lot of feeding on algae, the stone is a favorite spot for that. I've found Hatori mini wafers to be a real treat for him. Last night I offered a a strip of Seaweed I found at PetCo that looks & smells exactly like Nori Wrap for Sushi ? :smile: I was going to just go the Asian market but that's 5 towns away here in Chicago's NW subs and time would not allow for the trip.

Every thing in the tank hit that Seaweed, The goby was 1st at the table but the Cherry barb pack (2- trios) hit it like sharks, the Amano shrimp & a few cherry shrimp managed too grab a few scraps. Eventually the smails can in for the crumbs.

I did buy some Soilent green on recommendation. Maybe I'm cooking it up wrong? Not exactly the fish/shrimp treat I had hoped it would be. I tried it pretty much straight to recipe and the 2nd batch I added fresh (live) frozen blood worms. Maybe because the tank is heavily planted they are happy with grazing???

The nice thing about having the Orandas in my Aquaponic tank is they aren't fussy about easting anything, not unlike slop to the hogs. :hihi:

QUESTION - When the LFS had these the two larger (one I have) had more of a checker board pattern. the 4 smaller ones had the blue stripe. As in the pic in the post by aposterprises. Is that a sexual or age difference.???


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## Loachutus (Aug 27, 2010)

> QUESTION - When the LFS had these the two larger (one I have) had more of a checker board pattern. the 4 smaller ones had the blue stripe. As in the pic in the post by aposterprises. Is that a sexual or age difference.???


The 2 larger ones are probably females. My 3 females are slightly larger and fatter than my male. Have you checked out the thread odyessy has going over at loaches.com, http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15686 , there's some great info and pics. 

Have you tried spreading the Soilent green rocks?


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Loachutus said:


> .... Have you checked out the thread odyessy has going over at loaches.com, http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15686 , there's some great info and pics.
> 
> Have you tried spreading the Soilent green rocks?


Thanks for the link. Yes, I've tried several presentations.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Here's a video of my female cleaning a Bucephalandra 'Sintang' that got covered with BGA while in my Aquaponic Grow bed. I run 16hrs photoperiod for the Vegetables, just too much for the Buce.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D3Wkq4jbQM


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## daworldisblack (Jan 12, 2012)

What is the pH range for these guys? I read it was in the higher range and stopped myself from getting it since all my tanks are more in the 6.4 - 6.8 range. They are pretty darn cool!


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

Dogfish:
You can get nori seaweed at Jewels and Whole Foods in their "ethnic" section.

If wish I can get rid of my golden CAE for one of these gobies. He's got a an nasty attitude problem.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

daworldisblack said:


> What is the pH range for these guys? I read it was in the higher range and stopped myself from getting it since all my tanks are more in the 6.4 - 6.8 range. They are pretty darn cool!


Being from mountain feed streams with high O2, I tend to think the water is at least 7ph+ Yes, they are need little fish. They do well with the shrimp.





devilduck said:


> Dogfish:
> You can get nori seaweed at Jewels and Whole Foods in their "ethnic" section.
> 
> If wish I can get rid of my golden CAE for one of these gobies. He's got a an nasty attitude problem.
> ...



I shop at an Asian market occasionally so I'm good for a source. I don't feed it too often as I want the clean-up crew focusing on their job. :hihi:

You might post a local sale on the Illinios Forum for your Golden CAE.


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## blink (Feb 22, 2012)

blink said:


> I bought one but I don't think he did well as I haven't seen him in quite some time. Rather unfortunate as he was a nice looking, lively addition to the tank.


Well, I was wrong, my stiphodon is still around. I was swapping everyone over to the new tank and there he was, hiding under a chunk of driftwood. Seems healthy enough but he is never visible.


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## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

I love the bumblebee ones buy it appears that these are quite different in their needs. 

Gorgeous fish.


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## bud29 (Sep 30, 2012)

Bluek24a4 said:


> Nice. I would definitely contemplate buying those if I saw them for $9 or $11.


bobstropicalplants.com has them for $6. I was going to order one, but he doesn't ship priority after Dec. 4 -_-

Very neat fish! I'll definitely have to get one after Christmas


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## Loachutus (Aug 27, 2010)

daworldisblack said:


> What is the pH range for these guys? I read it was in the higher range and stopped myself from getting it since all my tanks are more in the 6.4 - 6.8 range. They are pretty darn cool!


6.5-7.5, Your tank should be fine along as long as it's big enough, has a good flow of water, and food for these guys. Mine have been doing well in a Ph of 6.4 for 2 years now. Check with msjinkzd if you decide to get some.


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