Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops)
The Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops) known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Blue Neon Goby is native to the Caribbean, West Central Atlantic, and Gulf coast waters of North America; and range from southern Florida to Texas and southward to Belize.
The Neon Goby is found among the coral heads of their range alone, in pairs, and occasionally in small groups at depths from 3 to over 150 feet where they perform the function of cleaner fish to remove ectoparasites, fish slime, and scales on the skin, fins, mouths, and gill chambers of larger fish like groupers and snappers.
Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops)
The Neon Goby has a thin, elongated body shape with two brilliant neon blue horizontal stripes and three black horizontal stripes on the body, white to silver underneath the lower black stripes, and light pink hues around and under the gills. They have clear fins and a pale stripe in front of each eye that almost reaches the snout.
A single or mated pair of Neon Gobies can be housed in a community or reef nano tank of at least 10 gallon capacity with a sandy or fine coralline gravel substrate and plenty of aged live rock arranged into caves, crevices, and overhangs for them to hide among. Excellent filtration, protein skimming and regular water changes are important to remove nitrates from the tank.
The Neon Goby is a peaceful species that feeds on parasites that can harm other fish housed in the aquarium. They are a natural cleaner fish that will generally coexist with a variety of other species and make a great addition to both community and reef tanks.
Although generally peaceful, Elacatinus oceanops can be territorial with their own kind. They are completely reef safe and will not harm other peaceful fish, corals, or invertebrates.
Although a single Blue Neon Goby can be easily housed in a nano tank; a live rock decorated tank of at least 30 gallon capacity is recommended to keep mated pairs and small groups of 6 to 8 individuals.
When housed with larger, more dominant fish species in larger tanks; Blue Neon Gobies can often be overlooked.
Ocellaris Clownfish, Firefish Gobies, Yellow Tangs, and Hippo Tangs all make good tankmates for Elacatinus oceanops.
The Neon Goby has been bred in an aquarium environment. Although they are difficult to sex; male genital papilla are pointed while the females are rounded.
The easiest way to obtain a mated pair is to purchase several individuals and let them pair off on their own.
Place the pair in at least a 20 gallon aquarium with plenty of space and live rock arranged into caves, overhangs and small crevices.
When ready to spawn, the female will lay 500 to 800 eggs in a small cave or crevice every 10 days. The male protects and aerates the eggs until they hatch into tiny larvae which takes six to nine days at temperatures between 75 to 81 degrees F. During this period, both parents aggressively defend the nest and eggs from intrusions.
Many breeders transfer the eggs or larvae into a 20 gallon tank and perform recurring water changes as the larvae grow out. They spend about 25 to 28 days as larvae until metamorphosis.
The Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops) regularly interbreeds with other fish from their genus like the Yellowlined Goby (Elacatinus figaro).
The Neon Goby is a carnivore that in their natural environment is primarily a parasite picker. In an aquarium environment they can be fed small bits of meaty foods such as shrimp, fish, worms, and copepods found in the sand. They will accept frozen foods, live brine shrimp and occasionally carnivore flakes or pellets as a supplement. Feeding several times a day is recommended.
The Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops) is readily available to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts mostly as captive bred specimens from a variety of of online retailers at a size of 1″ to 2″ at current prices from $18.99 to $23.99.
Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops)
Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallon nano tank
Aquarium Type: Reef or FOLR
Care Level: Easy
Temperament: Peaceful
Aquarium Hardiness: Hardy
Water Conditions: 72 – 78° F, dKH 8 – 12°, pH 8.1–8.4, sg 1.023-1.026
Max size: 2″
Color Form: Blue, Black
Diet: Carnivore
Compatibility: Reef Safe
Origin: West Central Atlantic, Caribbean
Family: Gobiidae
Lifespan: 5 – 10 years
Aquarist Experience Level: Intermediate
