Pink Eye Goby Care Guide
Trimma cana is a tiny Western Pacific pygmy goby found on hard corals of steep outer reef slopes, suited to peaceful nano reef tanks.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Trimma cana is a very small marine pygmy goby of the family Gobiidae, described by Winterbottom in 2004. It reaches only about 2.5 cm and has a white background marked with eight distinct vertical bars and yellow spots on the median fins.
Taxonomy
- Family: Gobiidae
- Genus: Trimma
- Scientific name: Trimma cana
- Authority: Winterbottom, 2004
Habitat
The species occurs in the Western Pacific, including the Philippines, the Caroline Islands, Fiji, the Marshall Islands and Palau. It is a tropical, demersal fish that lives solitary or in small groups on the surface of hard corals along steep outer reef slopes, recorded at 12 to 35 m.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 50 L
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- GH: 8-12 °dGH
- Maximum size: 2.5 cm SL
- Lifespan: 3-6 years
Diet
Trimma cana is a carnivore. Small pygmy gobies of this type take tiny meaty foods; offering small portions about twice daily suits its size.
Compatibility
This is a peaceful, bottom-oriented nano goby. Because of its small size it suits calm reef tanks with similarly peaceful tank mates such as clownfish, cardinalfish and wrasses, and should not be housed with predators that could eat it.
Breeding Trimma cana (Candy-Cane Pygmy Goby)
Overview
Trimma cana Winterbottom, 2004, the candy-cane pygmy goby, is a tiny Western Pacific goby recorded from the Philippines, Caroline Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands and Palau. FishBase reports a maximum size of 2.5 cm SL and a depth range of 12-35 m, with the fish living solitary or in small groups on the surface of hard corals along steep outer reef slopes. It is a demersal (bottom-associated) species, but dedicated breeding studies are not available.
Sexing
No reliable external sexing characters are documented for Trimma cana. Several Trimma species are known sex changers, and where sex differences exist they are subtle in these very small gobies, so reproductive sexing is not practical with the published information.
Conditioning
As a micro-predator, this pygmy goby would take very small planktonic and benthic foods. In a nano reef, frequent feeding of fine meaty foods suits its small size, and stable conditions on or near hard coral structure reflect its natural microhabitat.
Breeding Setup
A stable nano reef with hard coral or rock surfaces matches the species' natural perch sites. Knowledge-base parameters are temperature 24-26 degrees C, pH 8.1-8.4 and moderate flow. No spawning-specific setup has been validated for this species.
Egg & Fry Care
Gobies of the genus Trimma are demersal egg-layers, so eggs would be attached to a hard surface; however, no documented account of egg care, hatching time or larval rearing exists for Trimma cana. Production of this species in captivity has not been described in accessible sources.