Trimma tevegae

[Anonymous]

Finally found one of these today after looking for the last 3 years or so.

They are very different in behavior from most of the other Trimma spp. These guys hover off the bottom much like a firefish. They're pretty much always in plain sight, and they don't seem to know which way is up! Right now he's getting along with a Helfrich's firefish and Yellow backed fairy wrasse.

Not my picture.

 

[Anonymous]

That's a cool looking fish!

Louey

 

[jhemdal1]

Matt,

Koji at Blue Corner has had them on his list, but I could never order one because he would have had to put it in with the coldwater items I usually order from him, or in a box by itself - neither was a good alternative<grin>.
Do you know, did you fish come from Japan?

Jay

 

[Anonymous]

Jay,
I'm not sure. We went to a local wholesaler to check out the facility and their husbandry. I spotted it in a small cubicle just as we were about to leave. They didn't know the latin name, what to sell it as, where it came from, or whether they could get more. Sorry, not very helpful.

The upside is that it seems to be extremely hardy like all the other Trimmas IME.

 

[delbeek]

That is not T. tevegae Matt, it is T. caudomaculatum, we have had 10 of them on display for several months now along with blue gorgonians from Japan.

Aloha!
Charles

 

[Anonymous]

That is not T. tevegae Matt, it is T. caudomaculatum, we have had 10 of them on display for several months now along with blue gorgonians from Japan.

Aloha!
Charles

Charles, could these be the same species? Fishbase lists the valid name for T. caudomaculatum as T. tevegae.

:?

 

[delbeek]

Let me check with Jack on this. Fishbase is not 100% reliable so its always best to get a second opinion.

Aloha!
Charles

 

[Anonymous]

Let me check with Jack on this. Fishbase is not 100% reliable so its always best to get a second opinion.

Aloha!
Charles

Thanks! That is good to know about Fishbase.

Any pictures of the group? What size tank are they in?

 

[delbeek]

From Jack Randall

Trima caudomaculata is a synonym of T. tevegae. Here's the reference for
this:

Winterbottom, R. 2005
On the status of Trimma tevegae and Trimma caudomaculata (Percomorpha;
Gobiidae). Aqua, J. Ichthy. Aquat. Biol. v. 10 (no. 2): 51-56.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

So it appears that either name is good.

I have 10 at the moment in a custom 40 gallon tank along with a few other species such as Trimma okinawae, Priolepis nocturnis, Eviota sp.

 

[Project Reef]

I had a group of these about a year ago. However, being the baffoon that I am, I put them in my tank containing a mystery wrasse and watched in horror when he promptly went on to eat 2 of them. Two others I believe got 'sucked' in the intake of a Tunze stream pump. I went on to catch the rest and moved them into another tank, however they did not make it, most likely post-traumatic shock. Lesson learned the hardway.

They were feeding before I placed them into the main display.

Relaxed atmosphere I believe is key for these fish. That includes calm water movement as well. In a few months I will be setting up a 80 or 90 gallon sea grass system for some ventralis, helfrichi, A. parvulus, D. pessuliferus, and hopefully these fish as well (if I can be lucky enough to find them again that is).

 

[Anonymous]

From Jack Randall

Sweet, thanks Charles!

 

[delbeek]

These fish are found along reef drop-offs in small schools, usually in the mouths of caves or under overhangs. They are not a shallow water nor a seagrass dweller. For example you can see them in this tank:

 

[Anonymous]

Well here's the one in my tank...

 

[delbeek]

Well in the August Aquarium Fish International there is a picture of MINE in my column.

Charles

 

[Anonymous]

Well in the August Aquarium Fish International there is a picture of MINE in my column.

Charles

Nice! Charles, in the picture you posted above, what is the shoal of fish at the bottom of the tank?

 

[IconicAquariums]

They almost look like those mini Dartfish - Tryssogobius colini - but I can't see them close enough...

Have you tried any of the Pterogobius or Parioglossus sp. from Japan? I have some of the latter coming next week.

joe

 

[delbeek]

Matt: I believe they are some sort of Eviota species, they are very common in Japanese aquariums, they look like black and white neon gobies but smaller and hover in the water column in schools as you can see. Somewhere I have better pics of them I took in a hobbyist's tank in 2005. They do not ship well.

Joetbs: No I have not.

Aloha!
Charles

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Charles! Sounds like E. bifasciata possibly?

Joe: I believe all the Pterogobius come from cool water. There's a member here named Nico (NKT) who kept a P. elapoides a while back in his reef tank. I don't think it lived very long in his tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Parioglossus sp. from Japan? I have some of the latter coming next week.

joe

Joe--how did these end up working out? I see liveaquaria has some of these in stock right now.

 

[IconicAquariums]

Matt,

they seemed to do very well. I sold all the ones I got. I'll check on the ones my friend grabbed for his tank.

joe