Candycane Pygmy Goby

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Tropical Western Pacific, distributed from the Philippines to Palau and the Great Barrier Reef. Inhabits steep outer reef walls rich in corals and sponges.

Taxonomy and Morphology: Family Gobiidae. Genus Trimma. Short, compressed body characterized by prominent eyes and transparent fins. Maximum length about 2.5 cm.

Social Behavior: Peaceful and lively. Constantly perches on rocky surfaces or corals with quick, darting movements. Tolerates other members of its species well.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Spectacular zebra pattern of vertical red-orange stripes on a white or translucent background. No obvious sexual dimorphism from external observation.

Aquarium Setup: Requires a pico or nano reef tank of at least 30 liters. Decorate with live rock full of holes and crevices, and soft corals to provide natural shelters.

Diet and Feeding: Carnivore. Feed frequently with tiny frozen crustaceans like cyclops, baby brine shrimp, copepods, and fine powder foods.

Water Quality: Standard marine values: temperature 22-27°C, pH 8.0-8.4, salinity 1.020-1.025. Keeping phosphate levels low is important.

Compatibility and Cohabitation: Extremely peaceful, poses no threat to any organism. Avoid housing with territorial or voracious fish of larger size.

Aquarium Breeding: Possible in mature tanks. Spawns adhesive eggs in tiny crevices, but larval rearing requires live phytoplankton and rotifers in separate systems.

Risks and Diseases: Sensitive to salinity swings during water changes. Being very small, it can be sucked into filters if they are not properly screened.