Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus)

Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus)

Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus)

Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus) known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Red Head Goby is found along the continental shore of the Tropical East Pacific from the Southern tip of California (Sea of Cortez) to southern Ecuador.

The Red Head Goby is a shy, docile, symbiotic cleaner species that is found on the rocky and coral reefs of their range, mostly along the shallow subtidal zone between depths of 2 to over 70 feet, usually in close association with the Slate Pencil Urchin (Eucidaris thouarsii) where they are relatively immune from predators when hiding among their spines.

Bella Gobies are facultative cleaners that often set up “cleaning stations” on the coral reefs. The bright blue colors on the head of the Bella Goby apparently helps them attract the fish that they remove ectoparasites from, and feed on.

Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus)

Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus)

Not to be confused with the commonly named Bella Goby (Valencienna bella)the Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus) have vibrant red and blue colors on the head; yellow and black striped colors on the body, and a dark horizontal stripe behind the eye. The blue stripe near the head of many Elacatinus species is an adaptation that allows the fish to more effectively attract the clients that they clean. Female Bella Gobies are typically smaller than males.

Depending on locale, different members of Elacatinus puncticulatus often display different colors on their head, body, and eye stripes.   These can range from red, to more of a yellow orange color.

Elacatinus puncticulatus are the only species in the genus that display a lack of scales on the head and body.

The Bella Goby should be housed in a mature reef or FOWLR aquarium of at least a 20 gallon capacity with a sandy or fine coralline gravel substrate, and plenty of live rock arranged into caves, crevices, and overhangs for them to hide among.

They are a docile, extremely shy species that can be housed as pairs.   They should never be housed with more aggressive species.   Ideal scavenger in reef aquariums, their bright colors and lack of aggression make them a favorite reef tank species.

The Red Head Goby is commonly successfully bred in an aquarium environment,

They display an active courtship before spawning, parental behaviors after spawning, and form stable monogamous relationships that last throughout their lives.

Male Bella Gobies develop a gray head, and a yellow and black body coloration prior to spawning, in lieu of their usual red and blue head coloration. The day prior to spawning, the male move their pectoral fins to clean their burrow and display heavy breathing to show their readiness to spawn. The strong red and black colors of female Bella Gobies beomes pale three days prior to spawning. The day prior to spawning, the females brown urogenital area turns red.

Bella Gobies lay their eggs in a crevice or empty shell and produce around 150 benthic 0.4 to 0.7mm eggs per spawn; but only about 100 will hatch out to pelagic larvae. The males clean the dead eggs after hatching but occasionally they clean them before hatching occurs. This leads to losses of up to half of the eggs or more.

About 7 days after fertilization, spontaneous hatching takes place and lasts about an hour and a half until completion. The eggs hatch out into the pelagic larval stage that lasts anywhere from 21 to 38 days.

The diet of the Bella Goby should consist of a variety of live and frozen brine shrimp, frozen Mysis shrimp, finely chopped table shrimp, marine fish flesh, scallops, clams, and prepared frozen carnivore foods. They only need to be fed once a day when kept in a reef tank.

Many tropical fish keeping enthusiasts include refugiums into their systems to feed their reef animals.   A mature refugium populated with copepods and/or amphipods will greatly benefit the health of Elacatinus puncticulatus and other reef inhabitants.

The Red Head or Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus) is available to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts from a variety of online retailers, wholesalers, and transhippers at the following approximate purchase sizes: Small: 1/2″ to 1″; Medium: 1″ to 2″.

Prices for small Central American specimens are $ 49.99.

Note: This species is very sensitive during transportation and acclimatizing into the aquarium.

Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus)

Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus)

 

 

 

 

Minimum Tank Size: 20 gallons
Aquarium Type: Reef or FOLR
Care Level: Moderate
Temperament: Peaceful
Aquarium Hardiness: Hardy
Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8 – 12°, pH 8.1–8.4, sg 1.020-1.025
Max size: 1.6″ – 2″
Color Form: Black, Red, White, Yellow
Diet: Carnivore
Compatibility: Ideal reef scavenger
Origin: Sea of Cortez, Ecuador
Family: Gobiidae
Lifespan: 5 years
Aquarist Experience Level: Intermediate/Expert

One Response to “Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus)”

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  1. […] The Bella Goby is similar in shape and size to the Golden Head Sleeper Goby.  It should not be confused with the similarly named and much smaller Bella Goby (Elacatinus puncticulatus). […]


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