I have this interesting black and silver upside down goby, that has sort of ornate fins. He almost always stays back under a piece of live rock upside down. He darts out to get food and then quickly retreats into hidding or in his cave. He is upside down in the photos and is not the easiest fish to photograph. Does anyone know what this goby is called? I should add that it is about 2" in length.
What kind of goby is this?
- Thread starter dizzy
- Start date
I could accept upside/down zebra goby as a common name, but I was hoping for a more positive identification than something like that. The closest thing I can find in my 2nd edition Burgess is Priolepis cincta on page 566. The finnage is very similar but the color is different. Also the fish in the picture is rightside/up which could mean the slide was turned upside down, or this fish behaves differently. Anyone know how to get in touch with Scott Michael? BTW if anyone sees this fish at their lfs I would highly recommend snatching it, as it is fascinating addition to the reef aquarium.
Mitch Gibbs
PS
Now that I look back at the picture I posted I see mine has spikes in the dorsal fin, so maybe it is in the Lythrypnus family, but none of the ones in the Atlas are pictured upside down. :?
Mitch Gibbs
PS
Now that I look back at the picture I posted I see mine has spikes in the dorsal fin, so maybe it is in the Lythrypnus family, but none of the ones in the Atlas are pictured upside down. :?
Mitch, you are on the right track with the genera you've suggested. I've been going nuts for a hour trying to find this fish.
Don't get too hung up on the upside-down lifestyle. Fish will habituate themselves this way if they developed and lived on the undersides of caves. I've seen royal grammas do the same thing, long after they are removed from the cave environment.
Can you say anything about the origin of this cute fish?
Don't get too hung up on the upside-down lifestyle. Fish will habituate themselves this way if they developed and lived on the undersides of caves. I've seen royal grammas do the same thing, long after they are removed from the cave environment.
Can you say anything about the origin of this cute fish?
John_Brandt":3uju4evb said:
It came from LA. :wink: Actually I just always like to pick up the odd goby or blenny when I see them on the price list just to see what they look like.
This one came in and got released in a 15-gallon bare selling tank.(gravel bottom) It was fairly nondescript on the black background, but it always stayed upside down under the bulkhead drain fitting. It would dart out and grab some food then quick as a flash it was right back to the exact same spot and the upside down position. I guess it stayed in that tank for at least 3-4 months. I finally realized it wasn't going to sell for the $20.00 or so I was asking, and by now I was completely enamored by its fasinating behavior, so I decided to put it in a 75-gallon reef where it currently resides. It is one cute fish but very few people actually get to see it. It is very hardy and resistant to disease. (Don't ask but I got ich in the tank) Anyway I would like to get some of these neat guys for some of my other tanks, but I don't even know what it was sold to me as. Hope that helped.
Mitch
PS
My gut tells me this species always stays upside down for some reason.
Try here, or try BOB! (WWM)
http://uri.sakura.ne.jp/~dd/w/wty.htm
http://uri.sakura.ne.jp/%7Edd/g/einfn1.htm
http://uri.sakura.ne.jp/~dd/w/wty.htm
http://uri.sakura.ne.jp/%7Edd/g/einfn1.htm
Seamaiden,
It would take forever for all those WWM pictures to download on my 56K connection speed, but there are some neat fish pictured there. I sent a picture to the wholesaler I bought the goby from and he said it goes by the common name of Tiger Dwarf Goby. He also said they have not received any for awhile.
It would take forever for all those WWM pictures to download on my 56K connection speed, but there are some neat fish pictured there. I sent a picture to the wholesaler I bought the goby from and he said it goes by the common name of Tiger Dwarf Goby. He also said they have not received any for awhile.
OK, I've got my money on Priolepis nocturna.
It is not known for its upside-down lifestyle. But as I mentioned, if the individual grew up on the underside of a cave it may live out its life upside-down.
Living in a dense liquid environment on a axis-rotating sphere, in a solar orbit, in a revolving galaxy... up is a very relative concept. Without strong gravitational forces - what is up?
It is not known for its upside-down lifestyle. But as I mentioned, if the individual grew up on the underside of a cave it may live out its life upside-down.
Living in a dense liquid environment on a axis-rotating sphere, in a solar orbit, in a revolving galaxy... up is a very relative concept. Without strong gravitational forces - what is up?
John,
Good job. I believe you nailed the species. I was able to find a good picture on www.fishbase.org I sure would like to hear from someone that has one of these guys that stays right side up. I'm going to try and get another one just to see. The one I have doesn't even turn right side up when he comes out to grab a bite. It is very interesting to watch. I'll get him on video so I can show it.
Mitch
PS Maybe he only stays upside down in the day time.
Good job. I believe you nailed the species. I was able to find a good picture on www.fishbase.org I sure would like to hear from someone that has one of these guys that stays right side up. I'm going to try and get another one just to see. The one I have doesn't even turn right side up when he comes out to grab a bite. It is very interesting to watch. I'll get him on video so I can show it.
Mitch
PS Maybe he only stays upside down in the day time.
Dizzy,
I agree with John on the identification. I have maintained this species in a small reef aquarium with a pair of White Ray Shrimp Gobies Stonogobiops sp. (Yashia), and a Gramma linki for almost a year now. The fish always hangs upside down, so I would agree that it is a cave dweller in the wild. The fish is almost always hidden until you feed the tank, and then darts out of its cave to feed on flake, mysid, brine etc. These fish are brought into the country through Bali, and until the last year, I have never seen this species available in the trade before. Cute little guy.
I agree with John on the identification. I have maintained this species in a small reef aquarium with a pair of White Ray Shrimp Gobies Stonogobiops sp. (Yashia), and a Gramma linki for almost a year now. The fish always hangs upside down, so I would agree that it is a cave dweller in the wild. The fish is almost always hidden until you feed the tank, and then darts out of its cave to feed on flake, mysid, brine etc. These fish are brought into the country through Bali, and until the last year, I have never seen this species available in the trade before. Cute little guy.
wade":37yvf6ip said:
Yeah sure! Wade, when you live inside a cave or cavern light don't mean squat. You would certainly be fooled trying to decide which way is up inside a cave.
Fish tend to naturally orient themselves with their ventral (bottom) area facing the closest strata. When you live on the ceiling of a cave, orienting your belly to the rock places you upside-down. But you are only upside-down in the minds of humans. You are not upside-down in nature. You are where you are.
As a naturalist I have to add that this whole idea of upside-down fish really intrigues me. On one hand I know exactly how it feels to see a fish living out its life "upside-down", a feeling of wonder. On the other hand, I know that natural selection forms living organisms and their behavior with only a few necessary criteria. Right-side-upness is not one of them!
Actually I disagree with fishing facing ventrally to the strata. According to my fish physiology classes, they orient towards the light where applicable, which is dorsal up. However, regardles of the normal fish, I can see being inverted inside a hole as being a very evolutionary manuever. Predator animals typically, due to mouth structure, cannot aim upwards. Some surface dwelling fish can, but not most reef fishes. And I can bet you that these fish don't live in darkness, but rather sit near the opening of holes in order to see the world... how else feed without other nighttime adaptations? The eyes don't look like most nighttime fishes eyes.
I think the major reason, at least as far as I can guesstimate, is that it provides an advantage in that it helps them evade predation.
Hows that for a theory?
Wade
I think the major reason, at least as far as I can guesstimate, is that it provides an advantage in that it helps them evade predation.
Hows that for a theory?
Wade
John_Brandt":1crq27vi said:
It is interesting behavior. The remora is another fish that spends most of its life upside down. I also have a yellow Assessor flavissimus that used to stay upside down a lot, but not all the time like this goby. The funny thing is that after a few years in my aquarium the assessor is usually right side up now. They too are cave dwellers. I wouldn't doubt that P. nocturna has an upside down swim bladder and eyes that work differently somehow. IMO this fish has evolved to the point it will never change its behavior like the assessor.
Wade,
I agree that this fish is used to light. It does not have large eyes and eats well in the daytime. I wonder what the latin name means?
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