1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Semi-aggressive toward its own kind; keep with calm tankmates in a mature tank with strong flow.
342 species in our list are a good match.
Semi-aggressive toward its own kind; keep with calm tankmates in a mature tank with strong flow.
Algae and biofilm; offer algae wafers, spirulina and frozen foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Strongly different sexes. Males are greyish with a bright blue to green stripe along the side and a reddish edge to the first dorsal fin. Females are much paler with a dark zig-zag stripe along the side.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Not bred in captivity ·
Spawning is sometimes seen in aquaria but no one has raised the fry. Tiny larvae drift to the sea, grow there for months, then climb back up streams as juveniles.
Not applicable.
Mature tank with strong current and rocks.
Not applicable.
Females can lay as many as 10,000 tiny (~0.5 mm) eggs at once, stuck under rocks and guarded by the male; they hatch in under 24 hours.
Marine larvae.
A small rock-climbing goby from fast island streams of the western Pacific. Males have a neon blue-green side stripe. It is a specialised grazer of algae and biofilm, so it is often sold thin and needs a mature, algae-rich tank. Its young spend months at sea before climbing back up waterfalls.
Albert Herre described this goby in 1927. Like other Stiphodon, its young drift to the sea after hatching and later climb back into streams. Neon-blue males made it a sought-after fish for flowing-water aquariums.
First described by Albert W. Herre in 1927. Named for 'atropurpureus' means 'dark purple' in Latin.
16 facts checked with sources
Valid name (originally Microsicydium atropurpureum). Often sold under the wrong name: Seriously Fish has seen it sold as S. elegans and as 'Sumatran blue neon goby' (it is not found on Sumatra), and other Stiphodon species are sold as S. atropurpureus. Water: amphidromous (Catalog of Fishes) — adults live and spawn in fresh-water streams; only the larvae go to sea. Keep adults in fresh water.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Stiphodon atropurpureus · FishBase: Stiphodon atropurpureus summaryLegacy had no family field. Subfamily Sicydiinae (rock-climbing gobies); Catalog of Fishes places it in Oxudercidae.
FishBase: Stiphodon atropurpureus summary · Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Stiphodon atropurpureusSeriously Fish 5 cm SL; FishBase 5 cm TL.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby) · FishBase: Stiphodon atropurpureus summaryLegacy 28 °C is above the sourced top; oxygen falls in warmer water.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby)Legacy 7-8 is too alkaline at the top. Legacy 'mistakes' calls soft acidic water a mistake; sourced hardness is soft to medium.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby)Legacy had no hardness; value is new.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby)60 x 30 x 30 cm = 54,000 cm³ = 54 L (Seriously Fish states ~54 litres). Legacy 60 L is a little more generous.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby)One male with two or more females.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby)Wild lifespan thought to be about 2 years; legacy 2-3 is slightly long but close. Captive lifespan not recorded.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby)Grazes biofilm on rocks; males dig into the substrate to sleep.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby)Seriously Fish rates it Moderate; legacy 3 (hard) is one step harder. Key needs: a mature tank with plenty of algae/biofilm, strong flow and high oxygen, and a tight lid (they climb glass).
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby)Legacy had no range field.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby) · Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Stiphodon atropurpureusBlue male agrees. 'Plain brown and grey' females is wrong: they are pale with a dark zig-zag stripe.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby) · FishBase: Stiphodon atropurpureus summaryLegacy had no figure; values are genus-level observations reported by Seriously Fish.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby)Legacy claims agree except 'females are brown' (see sexing). FishBase notes aquarium collecting is a threat to Stiphodon in some regions.
Seriously Fish: Stiphodon atropurpureus (Blue Neon Goby)