Breeding Gobiodon multilineatus (Multi-lined Coral Goby)
Gobiodon multilineatus is an Acropora-associated coral goby with obligate monogamy. The male tends demersal eggs on the host coral, while validated aquarium larval rearing is still lacking.
Overview
Gobiodon multilineatus Wu, 1979 is a coral goby of the Western Pacific, recorded from the Ryukyu Islands, the South China Sea and the Chesterfield Islands. FishBase reports a maximum size of 3.5 cm TL across a depth range of 8-66 m and notes that the species is found among Acropora corals. Its breeding biology is documented at the level of the genus rather than for this species individually.
Sexing
Coral gobies are not reliably sexed by external features, and the genus exhibits bidirectional sex change. Research on Gobiodon describes sex change occurring in the direction needed to assemble a breeding pair, so a pair is best formed by introducing two compatible individuals and letting them resolve into male and female.
Conditioning
FishBase classifies the species' monogamy as both obligate and social. Conditioning relies on a stable reef with a healthy branching coral host and frequent small carnivorous feeds in line with an estimated trophic level of about 3.2; a secure host colony is central to maintaining the pair.
Breeding Setup
Provide a nano or small reef with stable chemistry and a single host colony per pair. The species' knowledge-base parameters are temperature 24-26 degrees C, pH 8.1-8.4 and moderate flow. Keeping one pair per colony avoids the conflict that follows when extra gobies crowd the same host.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
In Gobiodon, the size-matched pair attaches demersal eggs to the coral branch and the male guards them. No species-specific external trigger is on record for Gobiodon multilineatus; spawning depends on a secure, well-fed pair holding a healthy host coral.
Egg & Fry Care
The male tends and aerates the demersal clutch until hatching, and the emerging larvae are planktonic with no further parental care. No proven rearing protocol exists for the larvae of this species, which is the key barrier to captive propagation.
Common Challenges
- Forming a stable monogamous pair given obligate pairing and intolerance of extra conspecifics.
- Sustaining a living branching coral host as both shelter and spawning surface.
- Rearing planktonic larvae, with no documented feeding or settlement method for the species.