Engineer Goby – Pholidichthys leucotaenia
Species name: Pholidichthys leucotaenia
Common names: Convict blenny, Engineer Goby, Pacific Neon Goby, Convict Worm Blenny
Family: Pholidichthyidae (Convict blenny)
Order: Perciformes (perch-likes)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 13.4 in
Minimum tank size: 70 gallons for two specimens
Hardiness: Easy. It adapt well to captive conditions.
Aggressiveness: Peaceful
Reef Compatibility: Good. Large individuals may eat ornamental shrimps and tiny fishes.
Distribution: Indo-Pacific. Absent from Australia.
Diet: Carnivore. In the wild, the Engineer Goby feeds on bottom-dwelling invertebrates. It should be fed a varied diet including frozen preparations for carnivores, fresh or frozen seafood, brine shrimp, and mysis shrimp. It should be fed at least twice per day.
Additional information:
Pholidichthys leucotaenia, also known as Convict blenny or Engineer Goby because of its digging behavior is neither a goby or a blenny. It is actually the only member of a family called Pholidichthyidae.
In the wild it occur in the Indo-Pacific region where it can be found in shallow lagoons and coastal reefs at depth of 30 to 60 feet. Groups of juveniles will form schools (they often occur in large groups in the wild) under ledges or coral heads.
As a juvenile the Engineer Goby is dark blue to black with white horizontal stripes running the length of the body. As it mature the lines become vertical bands and it resembles an eel when it reaches maturity.
This fish is very good at tunneling and digging sand out from under rocks so you really need to make sure that your rockwork is directly on the tank bottom. If you want your sand-bed turned over it is the fish for you.
The Engineer goby ship, adapt well to captive conditions and appear to be extremely hardy. Small groups or pairs tend to do better in an aquarium, but need to be introduced simultaneously to the tank. It will benefit from a thick sand bed and plenty of live rock so it can burrow a home. It is a jumper so the tank should be tightly covered. The ideal aquarium should have specific gravity of 1.020 to 1.025, with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4 and a temperature between 72 and 78° F.
Video: Juvenile
Video: Adult
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Article written by www.aquariumslife.com
References: FishBase, Wetwebmedia
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