Red White Fin Goby

About

'Red White Fin' is a shop label, not a species. The name comes off a wholesaler's stocklist - Ruinemans in the Netherlands lists item 39023 as 'RHINOGOBIUS SP. RED WHITE FIN M', wild-caught, at 3-4 cm - and it describes the fish's colours rather than identifying it. No described Rhinogobius carries that name, and the honest position is that nobody selling it knows which species it is either. Seriously Fish sets out exactly why, in a note it repeats across its Rhinogobius profiles: many trade fish 'have proven difficult to identify for a number of reasons including: taxonomic confusion. - lack of aquarium literature. - incorrect labelling by exporters and subsequently shops. - historical over-use of some names, e.g., 'Rhinogobius wui' which is itself an invalid synonym of R. duospilus. - likely trade of undescribed species without locality data. - mixing of species at export facilities.' Practical Fishkeeping counts 'more than 70 poorly known species, plus lots of undescribed ones' in the genus and says the duospilus complex - R. changtinensis, R. duospilus, R. genanematus, R. henryi, R. lungowensis, R. ponkouensis, R. sulcatus, R. wangei - is what most red-and-white Chinese gobies in shops belong to, adding that a single import 'can consist of several species'. German shops selling the very similar 'super red fin' line label it openly as Rhinogobius spec. (duospilus complex), which is as far as anyone can honestly go. What is not in doubt is the kind of fish it is: a small, sucker-footed stream goby from cool, fast, oxygen-rich water in southern China and northern Vietnam, sold to people who assume it is a tropical community fish. It is not one. Practical Fishkeeping puts it plainly - Rhinogobius 'are probably better considered sub-tropical and they'll do fine in an unheated aquarium indoors', tolerating '10-25°C/50-77°F', and 'High temperatures aren't tolerated'.

Care

Cool, fast, hard water and a floor covered in stones. Run it at 18-22 C, unheated in a normal room, in the 15-25 C FishBase gives for R. duospilus; a heater set to 26 C for the tetras is the usual way this fish is killed slowly. Give it strong flow and heavy oxygenation - these are hill-stream fish that hold station on rocks with fused pelvic fins - over sand, gravel and pebbles with rocks and boulders bedded into the substrate, because males excavate a nest under a stone. Slightly alkaline suits it: pH 7.0-8.0 per Practical Fishkeeping, medium-hard to hard water per the German trade sheets. PFK calls 60 cm 'an ideal minimum' and that is what we ask for. Buy a group with several females per male; males hold territories and will spar, though Seriously Fish notes that 'serious damage is unlikely provided the tank contains sufficient cover'. Because the label does not tell you the species, plan for the larger end of the genus: shop fish are 3-4 cm, R. zhoui stops at 3.6 cm, but R. duospilus reaches 6.2 cm standard length and R. candidianus 7.5-8 cm, so buy the tank for a 7 cm goby. Tankmates: hill-stream loaches such as Sewellia and Gastromyzon, or danios and Microdevario, all of which cope with 20-22 C. Not shrimp you care about, and not a heated community.

Diet

Opportunistic small-invertebrate carnivore. Frozen or live bloodworm, mosquito larvae, Artemia, Daphnia and Mysis; flake is refused and will not keep it alive. Eats shrimplets and fry, its own included.

Telling males from females

What works for this species, most reliable first.

• Colour and patternA hint only · from about 6 months, and only on a settled fish

  In rainbowfish, killifish and several barbs the male carries the colour — deeper and more saturated, intensifying further when he displays.

Also in these lists

Similar species

Same category and the closest water parameters — if this species isn't quite it, start here.

Sold in Lithuania

These Lithuanian shops listed this species in their public catalogue (checked August 8, 2026). Stock moves — ask before you travel.

These links are unpaid: we get nothing for them and ask for nothing.

Frequently asked questions

What tank size does a Red White Fin Goby need?

A Red White Fin Goby needs an aquarium of at least 60 litres (15.9 US gallons) with a footprint at least 60 cm (23.6 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.

What water parameters does a Red White Fin Goby need?

Red White Fin Goby does best at 15–25 °C (59–77 °F), pH 6.5–8 and a general hardness of 5–20 °dGH.

What group size does a Red White Fin Goby need?

Red White Fin Goby is a social species — keep a group of at least 4 so natural behaviour emerges and stress stays low.

Is the Red White Fin Goby suitable for beginners?

Red White Fin Goby sits in the middle of the difficulty scale — manageable for a careful beginner who has done the reading, but it has specific needs worth researching first.

Sources

• Ruinemans Aquarium — RHINOGOBIUS SP. RED WHITE FIN M (item 39023)
• Seriously Fish — Rhinogobius zhoui (Li & Zhong, 2009)
• Seriously Fish — Rhinogobius rubromaculatus (Red-spotted Goby)
• Seriously Fish — Rhinogobius candidianus (Regan, 1908)
• Practical Fishkeeping — How to keep Rhinogobius gobies (September 2009)
• FishBase — Rhinogobius duospilus (Herre, 1935)
• Zierfische.de — China Grundel "super red fin", Rhinogobius spec. (duospilus-Komplex)