Gobiosoma multifasciatum

Taxobox
name = Green banded goby
status = secure
trend = unknown
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Gobiidae
genus = "Gobiosoma"
species = "G. multifasciatum"
binomial = "Gobiosoma multifasciatum"
binomial_authority = (Steindachner, 1876, 1858)

The Green banded goby, "Gobiosoma multifasciatum", is a member of the goby family native to the western Atlantic ocean, from the Bahamas and Central America to northern South America. As the name implies, they are dark green with 17-23 pale green bars, and have a brown stripe through the eye interrupted with a bright red spot.

Equally bright as their coloration is their personality; they are valued additions to reef aquaria, with a reputation for being friendly and entertaining.

Description

G. multifasciatum have a generally fusiform shape. At maturity they can reach a length of 3.5 cm.

In the aquarium

The Green banded goby is popular with aquarists and is generally considered to be reef safe. It is especially suited to nano reef tanks because of its small size.

Because of territorial issues with their own kind in the small confines of a tank, they are best kept singly or as a breeding pair.

Conservation status

"Gobiosoma multifasciatum" is not found on the IUCN Red List. The species is highly resilient, with localized populations able to double within fifteen months.

Reproduction

Gobiodon sp. start life as females, and are bi-directional protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning that when paired up, if necessary, one changes sex to form a breeding pair. In the case of two females forming a pair, the larger of the two becomes male, and in the case of two males, the smaller changes sex to become female.

References

* [http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=7217 Fishbase.org]
* [http://www.fishtanksandponds.info/live-stock/fishprofiles/gobiodonokinawae.htm Fish, Tanks, and Ponds]
* [http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/hcs3/index.php "Fish Tales - Let's clown around with more Gobies - the Gobiodon species"] by Henry C. Shultz III, "Reefkeeping Magazine", October 2002
* [http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=171805 ITIS Report, Gobiosoma multifasciatum]
* [http://www.springerlink.com/content/k2n23j45634265p8/ Protogynous hermaphroditism and gonochorism in four Caribbean reef gobies]

External links

* [http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/blank/blffizooplankton.htm Sweetwater Zooplankton]