GOBIES
GOBIIDAE
Crested Goby
Lophogobius cyprinoides
    Ecological Descriptors
Habitat Size (cm) Diet Behaviour Sex 
Man, R 10 Veg, Mol, Cru I PGH
 
 
Description:
Rounded, fleshy crest on head. Usually shades of brown to olive-brown with pale spots on head and pale blothches/ stripes on body. Body relatively robust.
Male: Large upturned mouth, with
large orange blotch on first dorsal fin. may turn dark violet when breeding.

Ecology
Adults inhabit tidal creeks, mangroves and other calm coastal waters. They utilize the mangrove and its roots as a hiding place and protection, they are known to dig small burrows usually around the sides of the mangrove or directly underneath the Mangrove’s roots. They inhabit water with salinity ranging from 0-39ppt. Opportunistic feeder, ingests diverse crustaceans, molluscs and barnacles, greatest part of their food comprises algae.

Life Cycle:
Benthic spawner. When fertilization takes place their eggs are laid on the sea bed, secured on rocks to ensure they are not swept away by the currents. These fish are born females and during their lifespan they change to males triggered by internal factors, with the exception of some that are born males and stay males, known as ‘primary males’. They have low fecundity rates, meaning they do not lay a large amount of eggs each time they reproduce, but have a reproductive cycle that is not limited to a particular season, being active throughout the year. When eggs hatch the parental care of the larvae is minimal to nonexistent, as the larvae are ‘pelagic larvae’, dispersed in the open sea.
Crested Goby (Male)
323
Male Only