Taenioides cirratus

Bearded Worm Goby

Classification

Gobiidae

Distribution

India, Bangladesh, Andaman Islands, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Phillipines, Indonesia, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea.

Habitat

Inhabits coastal, usually estuarine waters where it lives in burrows in the muddy substrate.

Maximum Standard Length

12″ (30cm).

Aquarium SizeTop ↑

Likely to be quite inactive. An aquarium of 48″ x 12″ x 12″ (75cm x 12cm x 12cm) – 70 litres should suffice.

Maintenance

The most important aspects would seem to be the provision of brackish (1.005-1.015 sg) water and a soft, deep substrate into which the fish can burrow. Dim lighting is advisable, seeing as this fish spends the majority of its life in the dark. Other decor does not really seem necessary.

Water Conditions

Temperature: Given its natural distribution, a temperature in the range 72-82°F (22-27°C) would seem advisable.

pH: 7.5-8.5

Hardness: It's an estuarine species, so hardness of 10-20°H would seem appropriate.

Diet

Apparently feeds on crustaceans and small fish in nature, and is therefore likely to accept the usual frozen and live fare such as bloodworm, brine shrimp and chopped prawn in the aquarium.

Behaviour and CompatibilityTop ↑

Should certainly not be kept with anything small enough to be considered food. Given its weird looks and special requirements it’s probably worthy of a species setup.

Sexual Dimorphism

Unknown.

Reproduction

Unknown and in all honesty unlikely to occur. It isn’t even fully known how it reproduces in nature.

NotesTop ↑

Something for the true oddball enthusiast, this bizarre looking goby has been imported at least once over the last few years. It’s a mud-burrowing species that digs networks of sloping tunnels in the substrate in nature. Apparently each series of burrows has several openings, one of which has a mound outside. According to Itani and Uchino (2003), this mound suggests that the fish “actively process sediment”. Even more odd is its appearance (see picture). It has greatly reduced eyes, specialised bronchial chambers which mean it can breathe air (allowing it so survive out of water for some time) and most crazy of all has teeth on the outside of its mouth!