Need Advice on Mudskipper

[Sploke]

And just FYI, the gobies that form symbiotic relationships with fish are marine species, they pair up with pistol shrimp. I don't know of any freshwater/brackish gobies that do this.

 

[palgo47]

but my betta seem to have bond a close relationship with the goby!..they always stay side by side...hmm..is tis a symbiotic relationship or a new relationship im yet to find out?? haha..

 

[SchizotypalVamp]

symbiotic means they are dependent apon each other in some way, aka one cleans each the other and the other provides the one food. They could just have developed a relationship, both are intelligent species. Or there may be signs of aggression.

 

[palgo47]

i just found out that my "goby" is actually a swamp darter!! lol!! could it be? any second opinions?

 

[Danyal]

same reply as on MFK, it's an etheostoma sp. could easily be a swamp darter but the exact species is sometimes hard to pin down.

 

[jflng]

I'd say it's a swamp darter. I catch them in my lake here in eastern NC.

They are commonly found mixed with glass/grass/ghost shrimp at LFSs.

If I dip a net in my lake, I will usually pull up several darters and several glass shrimp everytime.

 

[jflng]

Though I wouldn't rule out the Round Goby. That's a pretty convincing picture Schiz found.

 

[palgo47]

is there a way to tell the difference between the two?

 

[jflng]

I don't know. Just keep finding pictures and compare them all side by side.

It looks like the goby's eyes bulge out more above the head. The finnage and patterns also look a lot like yours.

On the other hand. I would think it is more probable to find a darter hitchhiker in a ghost shrimp stock. The darters I've encountered also look like a very close match to yours.

I still think it's a darter, but I can't be sure after seeing the goby pictures.

If you ever find out, let us know.

 

[RichardA]

Looks to be a darter..........that would explain how it came in with shrimp as most shrimp are farm raised outdoors.