Goby Facts
Goby Facts
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| Interesting Goby Facts: |
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| Largest species of goby can grow to the length of 12 inches. Most species are usually less than 4 inches long. |
| Goby can be transparent or brightly colored, covered with various blotches and bands. |
| Goby has elongated body that ends with rounded tail. Eyes can be large or nearly invisible in some species. |
| Goby is a carnivore (meat-eater). It eats insects, larva, eggs, mussels and plankton. Neon goby collects and eats parasites from the body of large fish. |
| Most gobies are bottom-dwellers that use disc-shaped sucker (fused pelvic fins) to attach themselves to the rocks on the ocean floor or to move across the vertical surfaces. |
| Some gobies live in the burrows inside the mud or sand. Certain types of gobies share burrows with shrimps to ensure double protection against predators. Shrimp uses its antennas, while goby relies on its eyes to detect potential predators. |
| Natural enemies of gobies are large species of fish and birds. |
| Mating season depends on the geographic location. It usually takes place during the warm season. |
| Male occupies territory and mates with couple of females. |
| Certain percent of males is small-sized, without typical male features. These males are known as "sneakers" because they sneak near the spawning areas to release the sperm. Females always choose to mate with large, strong males, and this is the only way they can fertilize at least some of the eggs. |
| Eggs are usually attached to the rocks, shells or corals. Male guards the eggs, keeps them well-oxygenated (by mixing the water with its tail) and clean (he removes detritus from the surface of eggs). Transparent larvae emerge from the eggs couple of days later. |
| Larvae of freshwater species often travel toward the brackish and marine waters via river currents. They usually return back to their native habitats couple of weeks/months later. |
| Gobies are able to change the gender and transform from females into males and vice versa. This transformation happens in only couple of days, when dominant male in the group dies or when weak males cannot find appropriate partners due to large number of strong males. |
| Gobies reach sexual maturity after couple of months (in tropical areas) or 2 years (in temperate areas). |
| Goby can survive from 1 to 10 years, depending on the species. Gobies in warm, tropical waters live longer than species that inhabit temperate waters. |
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