Red-tailed goby facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Red-tailed goby |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Gobiiformes |
| Family: | Oxudercidae |
| Genus: | Sicyopterus |
| Species: |
S. lagocephalus
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| Binomial name | |
| Sicyopterus lagocephalus (Pallas, 1770)
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| Synonyms | |
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The red-tailed goby, also called the blue stream goby, is a special type of fish. It lives in both fresh water and the ocean during its life! You can find these gobies around islands in the Indian Ocean, like the Comoros, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. They reach places like French Polynesia and even Japan.
Adult red-tailed gobies live in fast-flowing streams with rocky bottoms. But their eggs hatch in the sea, and the baby fish spend time there. Later, they swim back to fresh water. In some areas, people catch these young fish for food when they gather in river mouths.
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About the Red-Tailed Goby
Male red-tailed gobies can grow to about 13 centimeters (5 inches) long. Females are a bit smaller, reaching about 10.6 centimeters (4 inches). Their bodies have special fins. The top fin (dorsal fin) is split into two parts. It has 6 to 7 stiff spines and 9 to 10 soft rays. The fin on their belly (anal fin) has one spine and 10 soft rays. The fins on their sides (pectoral fins) have about 19 soft rays.
Colors of the Goby
During the rainy season, male gobies become very colorful. Their sides turn a shiny bluish-green. Their tail becomes a bright orange-red. They also have about seven dark, saddle-shaped marks on their back. Female gobies are usually grey or brown with similar dark marks. They have a pale belly and a black and white band near their tail.
Where Red-Tailed Gobies Live
This fish lives in many places across the tropical Pacific Ocean. Its home stretches from Sri Lanka and the Mascarene Islands to Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia, the Marshall Islands, and French Polynesia. Adult gobies prefer fast-moving streams with rocky bottoms. However, the tiny baby gobies (larvae) live in the ocean.
Life Cycle of the Red-Tailed Goby
The female red-tailed goby lays her eggs in fresh water. After the eggs hatch, the tiny larvae (baby fish) float up and down in the stream. This helps the current carry them along. They have a small food supply called a yolk sac. If they don't reach the sea within about seven days, they won't survive.
Journey to the Ocean
When they arrive in the ocean, these tiny fish are only about 1 to 4 millimeters (0.04 to 0.16 inches) long. They are almost see-through at this stage. In the ocean, they start to eat tiny floating plants and animals called plankton. They stay in the sea for a long time, usually between 133 and 256 days.
Returning to Fresh Water
After growing in the ocean, the young gobies feel a strong urge to swim back into fresh water. As they enter river mouths (estuaries), they start to change. This change is called metamorphosis. They already have special suction cups that help them stick to rocks. During metamorphosis, their mouth moves from the front of their nose to underneath their head. They also start to get their colors, their side fins change shape, and their tail becomes less forked. They even grow new teeth that look like rakes.
Growing Up in the Stream
With their new rake-like teeth, they begin to scrape off and eat tiny plants called diatoms and algae from rocks. After just two days in the river mouth, the young fish start swimming upstream. They use their suction cups to climb over small waterfalls! After about three or four weeks of swimming upstream, they find their own areas (territories) in the fast-flowing streams. This is where they will live as adults and eventually lay their own eggs.
