''Rhinogobius zhoui'', known as Zhou's scarlet goby in the aquarium trade, is a species of freshwater goby from the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Gobionellinae The Gobionellinae are a subfamily of fish which was formerly classified in the family Gobiidae, the gobies, but the 5th Edition of '' Fishes of the World'' classifies the subfamily as part of the family Oxudercidae. Members of Gobionellinae most ...

which was discovered in a stream on Lianhua Mountain in Haifeng County, Guangdong Province, China. This

goby Goby is a common name for many species of small to medium sized ray-finned fish, normally with large heads and tapered bodies, which are found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments. Traditionally most of the species called gobies have b ...

also native in the other part of Guangdong Province and

Guangxi Province Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ( ...

, for some similar described species，which are called Resemble Zhou's Rhinogobius (类周氏吻虾虎) and New Red Rhinogobius (新红吻虾虎) in China, are found in streams of those places. Because of the aquarium trade and development, the population from its type locality is endangered now, but the IUCN have not evaluated it, and it is not a protected animal of China. ''R. zhoui'' have become a popular aquarium fish in China, it is called as Zhou's

Rhinogobius ''Rhinogobius'' is a genus of primarily freshwater goby, gobies native to tropical and temperate parts of eastern Asia. Most are small, streamlined in shape, and often sexually dimorphic. Few are of commercial importance, but ''R. duospilus'' is ...

(周氏吻虾虎) or flame

(火焰吻虾虎) in China, this goby can breed in aquariums. ''Rhinogobius zhoui'' is a bit difficult to keep in aquariums, it needs clean water when it is invited into the aquariums. It can be kept with other gobies such as Rhinogobius wuyanlingensis and

Stiphodon ''Stiphodon'' is a genus of freshwater gobies. They inhabit swift, clear streams close to the sea and are found in large parts of Asia and Oceania. Many of the 36 currently recognized species have extremely restricted distributions on single isla ...

spp., but they may attack or eat the fish and shrimps which are too small. They usually make a nest under the stones and live inside of it.

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of Zhou Hang from Shenzhen, Guandong Province, China, who supplied the type specimens and photographs of the fish alive.

References

Li, F. and J.-s. Zhong, 2009. ''Rhinogobius zhoui'', a new goby (Perciformes: Gobiidae) from Guangdong Province, China. Zool. Res. 30(3):327-333. zhoui Fish described in 2009 Freshwater fish of China {{Gobiiformes-stub