# Stiphodon ID



## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

What are they?

Do they look like cobalt blue stiphodon female?


----------



## Wiccandove (May 19, 2012)

The last picture is a male rainbow stiphodon goby, Stiphodon ornatus. The rest are females but I don't know what kind. Did you get them with the rainbow stiphodon? They may be females of the same species.

Cobalt stiphodons are much smaller then rainbows. I have 6 male rainbow stiphodons with my angels - great algae eaters - and 3 pairs of stiphodon percnopterygionus. The females look exactly like your picture but they are pretty small compared to the rainbows.

Where did you get them?


----------



## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Wiccandove said:


> The last picture is a male rainbow stiphodon goby, Stiphodon ornatus. The rest are females but I don't know what kind. Did you get them with the rainbow stiphodon? They may be females of the same species.
> 
> Cobalt stiphodons are much smaller then rainbows. I have 6 male rainbow stiphodons with my angels - great algae eaters - and 3 pairs of stiphodon percnopterygionus. The females look exactly like your picture but they are pretty small compared to the rainbows.
> 
> Where did you get them?


Thanks for the ID, I got them as gold spot stiphodon and the females were in the same tank.

I got them at Whitby Big Als and quite expensive too, $10 a pop! 

If you are planning to get the females, they have a few left.


----------



## Wiccandove (May 19, 2012)

Here is a picture with one of my male rainbows in the middle, the male Stiphodon P. is to the right and 2 females to the left. Cobalts are the same size as the Stiphodon P. 

They are fun little fish to watch. They love algae (but eat anything). Its too bad they can't really be bred in captiivity. My male Stiphodon P. are always making nests and chasing the females 

Price sounds about right, I think I paid about $30/pair for the stiphodon P, and about $10 each for the rainbows.


----------



## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Wiccandove said:


> They are fun little fish to watch. They love algae (but eat anything). Its too bad they can't really be bred in captiivity. My male Stiphodon P. are always making nests and chasing the females
> 
> Price sounds about right, I think I paid about $30/pair for the stiphodon P, and about $10 each for the rainbows.


Cool! Good to know!

They have blue stiphodon for the same price, and I suspect they have a mix batch of stiphodon that labeled as gold spot. I saw some of them have weird patterns but no color on the scales.

I will go check them out again on Wednesday (work in Oshawa), if they are not sold out!


----------



## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Wiccandove said:


> . Its too bad they can't really be bred in captiivity. My male Stiphodon P. are always making nests and chasing the females


They can breed with the right condition, just like the panda loach.


----------



## Wiccandove (May 19, 2012)

I don't know much about panda loaches but stiphodon goby fry require time spent in saltwater before they go back to fresh as adults.


----------



## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

The blue stiphodon gobies in big als, and I don't see any females...


----------



## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

bigfishy said:


> They can breed with the right condition, just like the panda loach.


You'd have to pull the eggs from the nest and transfer them to a separate tank that you'd raise to SW. I suspect it can be done similar to Amano shrimp. Eventually you would bring them back down to freshwater. No one's really done it to my knowledge so it may be a good project.


----------



## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Darkside said:


> You'd have to pull the eggs from the nest and transfer them to a separate tank that you'd raise to SW. I suspect it can be done similar to Amano shrimp. Eventually you would bring them back down to freshwater. No one's really done it to my knowledge so it may be a good project.


I guess it is similar to breeding zebra pleco but require a more tedious task 

1) lower the water to 2-4" and heat it up to 30C (mimicking the hot environment in Indonesia and surrounding area) 
2) after several weeks, lower the temperature and the raise water level (monsoon season)
3) triggering the fish to spawn
4) after spawning, remove the fish
5) larvae hatch, start adding salt to mimic brackish condition
6) then full salt
7) dilute the water, back to brackish water
8) eventually back to full fresh

Since they are around 0.5mm upon hatching, step 5 - 8 will most likely to kill them all. In the end, it will be a trial and error run till perfection.

In my opinion, it is much easier to breed zebra pleco (same procedure but without switching the water to brackish, to full salt and back again) and zebra pleco will worth more!


----------



## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

bigfishy said:


> I guess it is similar to breeding zebra pleco but require a more tedious task
> 
> 1) lower the water to 2-4" and heat it up to 30C (mimicking the hot environment in Indonesia and surrounding area)
> 2) after several weeks, lower the temperature and the raise water level (monsoon season)
> ...


They spawn in regular aquaria. Mine in the past spawned frequently. You'll just need a pipette to remove the eggs.


----------



## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Darkside said:


> They spawn in regular aquaria. Mine in the past spawned frequently. You'll just need a pipette to remove the eggs.


ok! In that case, when they spawn again, grab the eggs for me and I will put them in my salt water tank! Thanks!


----------

